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Pacific Glory
by Anthony Saunders
| On 23 December 1942, just days after their infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese captured Wake Island, a small, but strategic coral atoll in the western Pacific. Fought at the beginning of June 1942, the battle of Midway marked the turning of the tide. Over the next two years, the US Navy would build the largest naval force the Pacific had ever seen and one by one, island by island, base by base, the Allies would slowly advance in some of the bloodiest and most costly campaigns of World War 2. “Pacific Glory”graphically recalls a moment during the Allied fight-back. On 5 October 1943, ten months after the island had fallen to the Japanese, American naval aircraft raided Wake, one of many such operations carried out by the US Navy and Marines. At the forefront of the attack was Lt. Cmdr. Edward ‘Butch’ O’Hare, the US Navy’s first Ace and first Naval recipient of the Medal of Honor. Throwing his F6F Hellcat into a furious dogfight, he engages Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes based on the island and in the process adds two more victories to his tally. Under O’Hare’s experienced guidance his young wingman, Lt. Alex Vraciu, claimed his first kill, and would later become one of the foremost Aces in the US Navy with 19 victories. |
| Overall size: 19½" x 26" | Available in the following editions |
| 300 | Limited edition | Signed by Hellcat pilot Leslie Fortner. | $155 | |
| 25 | Artist's proof | As above | $245 | |
| 1 | Museum Presentation | Framed to include Alex Vraciu signature & WWII USN pilot wings. | $725 | |
| Museum matted | As above - matted only (minus fwood frame & glazing) | $425 | ||
| The Signatory (all editions) |
| Commander Leslie Fortner USN Joining the Navy in 1943, Les Fortner joined VC-88 flying Wildcats off the escort carrier USS Hoggatt Bay in the S.W. Pacific theatre. In early 1945 he flew in support of the landings at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Lingayen, destroying several Japanese aircraft on the ground. Les flew over 100 combat missions during the war, and in April 1945 he shot down a Kamikaze 'Nick' off Kerama Rhetto near Okinawa. |
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