Elmer Fowler Stone Elmer " Archie " Fowler Stone ( January 22 , 1887 - May 20 , 1936 ) was a United States naval aviator and a commander in the United States Coast Guard . Biography . Stone was born in Livingstone , New York and grew up in Norfolk , Virginia . He joined the U . S . Revenue Cutter Service in 1910 . Elmer Stone was a Coast Guard aviation pioneer , in early 1915 Stone and another officer Norman B . Hall , were the first to suggest that the Coast Guard develop an aviation capability . With the encouragement of their commanding officer , Lt . Stone and Hall approached the Curtiss Flying School in Newport News , Virginia about using aircraft in air - sea rescue operations , and participated in experimental flights in a Curtiss model F flying boat . In 1916 he was trained in aircraft use at the United States Navy flight facility in Pensacola , Florida , and also studied aeronautical engineering at the Curtiss factory . On April 10 , 1917 , Stone became the Coast Guard ' s first aviator upon graduating from flight training at Pensacola and was appointed as Coast Guard Aviator No . 1 and Naval Aviator No . 38 . In May 1919 first lieutenant Elmer F . Stone was the pilot on the first successful transatlantic flight on NC - 4 ( LCDR A . C . Read , USN was the Mission Commander and Navigator ) . After the historic flight , he was awarded the British Air Force Cross by the British government ( June 9 , 1919 ) , and received a promotion to the temporary rank of captain on 25 September 1919 . He was awarded the Navy Cross and Congressional Medal of Achievement for " distinguished service in making the first successful trans - Atlantic flight " on November 11 , 1920 . For the next six years he worked with the Navy ' s Bureau of Aeronautics where he assisted in the development of the catapults and arresting gear of the new aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga , equipment still used on aircraft carriers to this day . He continued to promote aviation in the U . S . Coast Guard during the 1920s , He collaborated with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on development of airborne " motor lifeboats " for the explicit purpose of lifesaving missions , and in this is one of the pioneers of modern air - sea rescue . He also commanded a former destroyer that was turned over to the U . S . Coast Guard and used in the enforcement of Prohibition . After a tour at sea , " Archie " Stone became the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Aviation Unit at Cape May , New Jersey , where he continued to develop his skill at making open - ocean landings . In 1933 Stone put his open - ocean landing skills to the test when the Navy dirigible Akron went down off the Atlantic coast in a storm with only three survivors of the 76 aboard , " Archie " was the only pilot available willing to attempt a landing in the heavy seas . He accomplished this successfully , but was too late to save any more lives . On December 20 , 1934 , he broke the World Seaplane Speed Record , 191 miles per hour over a 3 kilometer test course . Commander Stones ' last duty was as the commanding officer of the Air Patrol Detachment in San Diego . He died of a heart attack while on duty on May 26 , 1936 , while inspecting a new aircraft and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Stone was a pivotal figure in the establishment and development of aviation for the Coast Guard and the Navy and was a favorite of many of the famous aviation figures of the day , including Eddie Rickenbacker , aircraft designers Anthony Fokker , Igor Sikorsky , and Alexander P . de Seversky . Commander Elmer " Archie " Stone was inducted into the United States Naval Aviation Hall of Honor on May 5 , 1983 , and is also a member of the US Coast Guard Aviation Hall of Fame .