He served as a telephone operator in the 149th Field Artillery Regiment, fought in France, was wounded and received the Purple Heart medal.

Their fleet consisted of a Pheasant H-10 and an Eaglerock Long Wing, both powered by OX-5 engines of World War I vintage.

He was also the first chairman of Lithuanian Physical Education Union, and a founder of Sporto Žurnalas (Sports Magazine).

On July 15, 1933, along with Stasys Girėnas, he attempted a nonstop flight from New York City, United States to Kaunas, Lithuania – a total of 7,186 kilometres (4,465 mi), in a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane named Lituanica.

After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 37 hours and 11 minutes, they crashed on July 17, at 0:36 am (Berlin Time), by the village of Kuhdamm, near Soldin, Germany (now Pszczelnik, near the Myślibórz area, Poland), most probably because of difficult weather conditions combined with engine problems[citation needed].