H96.1.1959

Handwritten on the back, "Mr. & Mrs. Maitland." Photo shows the couple standing side-by-side looking at each other amidst a crowd of people. Maitland is wearing his military uniform and has a large lei made of leaves around his neck. Mrs. Hegenberger is wearing a swearing presumably over a dress, a strand of pearls, and a cloche hat. On June 28, 1927 Lt. Lester J. Maitland, pilot, and Lt. Albert F. Hegenberger, navigator/radioman, left the Oakland Municipal for Hawaii. Both men were in the Army Air Corps. They flew a Fokker tri-motor which the Army had acquired in 1926. Although they had some serious instrument problems with their navigational equipment, Maitland and Hegenberger made it to Wheeler Field in Hawaii in 25 hours and 49 minutes making them the first to make the flight from the Pacific Coast to Hawaii.

Used: Oakland Tribune