On April 6, 1924, four Douglas World Cruiser biplanes—named Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and New Orleans—lifted from the waters of Lake Washington at Sand Point Aerodrome, Seattle. Their mission was audacious: to circle the globe by air for the first time in history. Led by Major Frederick Martin, the eight-man expedition faced freezing fog in Alaska, monsoon heat in Asia, and the diplomatic maze of denied Soviet airspace. On April 30 the flagship Seattle crashed into an Alaskan mountainside; Martin and Sergeant Alva Harvey survived ten days on foot before rescue. On August 3, over the Atlantic, Boston was forced down and sank. Yet Chicago and New Orleans pressed on, flying through Europe, the Middle East, India, and back across the United States. After 175 days, 27,553 miles, and 363 hours in the air, they touched down at Sand Point before a crowd of 50,000 on September 28, 1924. The Douglas Aircraft Company adopted the motto: “First Around the World – First the World Around.” The flight was not merely a stunt; it was a logistical triumph, proving that global reach by air was possible if one combined planning, pontoons, and sheer tenacity.