A new monument outside the Dee Glenn Spectrum pays homage to the aviation feats of Russell Maughan ’17. The Logan native made aviation history on June 23, 1924, as the first man to fly dawn-to-dusk in a transcontinental flight across the United States. Flying solo in a Curtis PW-8 aircraft, Maughan completed his record-breaking flight in 18 hours and 20 minutes with an average speed of 150 mph—a new world record. 

On the 50th anniversary of Maughan’s dawn-to-dusk flight, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., added his achievement to its Milestones of Flight, which highlights the most important moments in the history of aviation.

“Colonel Maughan is an American hero in every sense of the word. He was a man of
great valor in the skies during both war and peace, and he deserves a special place of honor in American aviation history,” said .Col. Dode Rees ’32, the 98-year-old World War I vet who chaired the monument planning committee consisting of retired USU professor and Army Col. Vernon Buehler ’41 and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Barney Rawlings.

During World War I, Maughan served in France, where he shot down four enemy planes and received the Distinguished Service Cross for saving the life of another pilot by flying between his crippled aircraft and an attacking enemy plane.

Maughan went on to enjoy a long and illustrious career in aviation. In 1922, while working as a military test pilot, he established a new international air-speed record to win the Pulitzer Flying Cup. He served as the secretary of aviation, and in 1939 he surveyed and selected airfields for the first secret ferry routes through Greenland and Iceland to Great Britain. He led both troop carrier and bomber groups on combat missions over Europe during World War II. He retired in 1946 and died April 21, 1958.

His monument, fittingly enough, was dedicated on Veterans Day 2006 with a 21-gun salute and a flyover by Hill Air Force Base. On hand were 40 members of Maughan’s immediate family, including son Weston and grandson Russell III. Among the dignitaries who spoke was retired Air Force officer Wallace Odd ’69 ’71MS, executive director of USU Alumni Relations. Afterwards the alumni association hosted a lunch and program. —Morgan Bramble