The Distinguished Flying Cross Society

The Distinguished Flying Cross Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring, preserving, and teaching  the history and traditions of the men and women who have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. We are a national organization with 23 Chapters around the US.  Our office is located in San Diego, California.

The Society was founded in 1994. Members are DFC recipients who either joined the Society or whose loved ones made them members posthumously. Their names are listed on our Honor Roll in perpetuity. Associate members are spouses, relatives and descendants of individuals who were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and are members of the Society.

Our Honor Roll is the list of Society members.  It is not a comprehensive list of all DFC recipients. The US government has not compiled a cumulative record of all DFC recipients. Therefore there is no accurate record of the exact number of DFC's awarded and no formal master list exists. The DFCS staff would be pleased to help or advice on how to obtain records for family members or relatives of DFC recipients.

The DFC Society holds biannual Reunions throughout the United States to reunite DFC Society members. Each Reunion includes a variety of programs, lectures, tours, dinners, and other activities which provide an opportunity to engage with both old and new members.  Camaraderie is an important theme in our meetings as we strive to bridge the generations of recipients with our common experiences and support for all branches of the military.

We publish the DFCS News Magazine two times a year to keep members informed of Society activities and to highlight personal accounts of its members’ exploits. As compared to the first mimeographed newsletters, the contemporary news magazines, featuring color graphics and photographs, are digitally produced and shared throughout the international aviation and the air museum communities.

To further relate the history and traditions of the men and women who were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Society has an educational outreach program. We have developed documentaries and online streaming interviews about the Society and noteworthy members. We also reach out to schools, ROTC and JROTC units, Civil Air Patrol, scouting organizations, and the interested public.

The DFC Society has had an active scholarship program since 1998. The Society annually provides financial awards to deserving descendants or legally adopted children of DFCS members. The program was first endowed by Lydia Macauley and named in honor of her husband, Ward Macauley. We have since established Annual, Multi-Year Named Scholarship Funds by specific donations from The RGT Charitable Remainder Trust and from DFC Society members Colonel Bill Garner and Commander Evelyn Moy.