He wrote: "I was astonished at the effect my successful landing in France had on the nations of the world. It was like a match lighting a bonfire."[13] Lindbergh subsequently flew the Spirit of St. Louis to Belgium and England before President Calvin Coolidge sent the light cruiser Memphis to bring them back to the United States. Arriving on June 11, Lindbergh and the Spirit were escorted up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C., by a fleet of warships, multiple flights of military pursuit aircraft, bombers, and the rigid airship Los Angeles where President Coolidge presented the 25-year-old U.S. Army Reserve aviator with the Distinguished Flying Cross.[14]