Will Rogers was selected for the award for meritorious service in the advancement of aeronautics by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers a month before his fatal plane crash on August 16th, 1935. His widow Betty Rogers accepted the award posthumously.
Similar photograph appears under the headline, "High Commands of United States Fleet Change Hands in Colorful Ceremony," Los Angeles Times, 02 Apr 1935: 18.
An Army official gives out medals to three young men in uniform while others watch. From left to right: Chauncey Thompson, Orvis Thomas, Herbert Gross, and Colonel E. W. Clark.
Royal Netherlands Consul in Los Angeles Dr. Adrian Hartog has bestowed William May Garland with the honor of the title of Commander of the Order of Oranje Nassau for his part in making the Tenth Olympiad a success.
Reported in the article, "This Most Decorated Man. Fourteen governments have placed medals of honor upon his breast. He is a simple private citizen. He's lived in Los Angeles for fifty years," Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 1934: H6.
Royal Netherlands Consul in Los Angeles Dr. Adrian Hartog has bestowed William May Garland with the honor of the title of Commander of the Order of Oranje Nassau for his part in making the Tenth Olympiad a success.