Among his impressive accomplishments, Long set fifteen aviation records, including a groundbreaking 1971 flight around the world over both poles, which earned him the FAI Gold Air Medal.

Navy veteran who navigated seaplanes across the Pacific during World War II, Long retired in 1987 after a distinguished career with The Flying Tiger Line, where he was a Senior Boeing 747 Captain.

In January 1949, while working as a navigator for Alaska Airlines, Elgen Long was redirected to a British Royal Air Forceb ase in Aden, Yemen.

There, he and his crew joined daring rescue mission Operation Magic Carpet that would come to be known as “On Eagle’s Wings”which airlifted tens of thousands of Yemenite Jews to Israel.

Using an aircraft with seats removed to increase capacity, Long’s team completed twelve trips over seven days, ultimately rescuing 49,000 Yemenite Jews..