Signed by Amelia Earhart and Field Commander Hap Arnold to Commemorate Earhart’s Trip Across the Atlantic Ocean

Earhart began flying in 1920, and set out to break flying records, breaking the women’s altitude record in 1922. In April 1928 Earhart received the telephone call that would change her life: an offer to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic in an airplane. “The idea of just going as ‘extra weight’ did not appeal to me at all,” she said, preferring to be at the controls rather than be a passenger, but she accepted the offer nonetheless. Her job was to keep the flight log for co-pilots Wilmer “Bill” Stultz and Louis “Slim” Gordon. The party would make their way from Boston to Newfoundland and depart from there in a plane named Friendship. In Newfoundland, they were delayed 13 days in departing for Great Britain, waiting for favorable weather and shedding unnecessary weight from their airplane. Earhart and the crew finally departed Trepassy, Newfoundland, at 11:40 a.m. on June 17, 1928. Originally headed for Southampton, England, they instead landed in Burry Port, South Wales, after a flight of 20 hours and 40 minutes. Earhart thus became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. When the trio came ashore, some 2,000 people — nearly the entire population of Burry Port — came out to see the woman who had conquered the Atlantic Ocean. After a night’s rest, the three flew on to Southampton. Earhart, who never touched the controls over the Atlantic, finally got her chance to pilot the Friendship on this last leg. They were greeted by cheering crowds, proud dignitaries, and excited reporters. Earhart had carried with her on the flights 150 small American flags as treasured mementos.

Earhart became an immediate international sensation, and she was astounded by the reception she received. She was feted in London, received a ticker-tape parade through New York City, and had a visit with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. Earhart realized that she had a unique opportunity to promote her passion for aviation and interest in being an example to girls everywhere. She became an accomplished speaker and writer, and also a columnist for Cosmopolitan. She joined Charles A. Lindbergh in promoting a new air mail service, and she purchased a Lockheed Vega, which she flew in the first women’s cross-country air derby in 1929. She encouraged girls to believe they could achieve anything they set their minds to, and wrote letters of encouragement to them.

But Earhart’s most famous achievement was yet to come. Determined to prove herself in what was essentially a male preserve, Earhart decided to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone. On May 20-21, 1932, she achieved this goal. In the plane alone, she left Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada, and landed 15 hours later near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Acclaimed as a pilot, not merely a passenger, in London, Paris, and Rome, she returned home to a ticker tape parade in New York City and honors in Washington, D.C.

Amelia Earhart was a regular visitor during Brig. Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold’s tenure as the commander of March Field. General Arnold was a master of publicity and sought to take advantage of the American love affair with aviation that followed Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927.

Starting in 1932, to promote his beloved Air Corps, General Arnold regularly held huge aerial reviews on Saturday mornings with as many planes as he could put in the air. The proximity to Hollywood meant he had a continuous supply of willing stars and other personalities, Earhart among them, to attract even larger crowds.

On August 6, 1932, Hap Arnold held an event in her honor and Earhart attended.

Document signed, August 6, 1932, just two months after her acclaimed flight as the first woman to fly the Atlantic, a signed cover commemorating her visit to Hap Arnold’s field, signed by Earhart, Arnold, and two other aviation officials stationed there. Number 8 of a select few created for the occasion. We found record of only one having sold publicly.