"The Rover Boys Express" - B-29 print autographed by Ray 'Hap' Halloran.
This is the "Rover Boys Express", a print of a WWII B-29 by artist Roberto Cernuda and is autographed by both the artist and the aircraft's navigator Lt. Raymond "Hap" Halloran. The image depicts the last moments of the final flight of that aircraft on 27 January 1945 as it returned from bombing the Nakajima Aircraft plant on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Mt. Fuji appears in the background of this painstakingly historically accurate image which depicts the attack of the Japanese fighter ace, the "King of B-29 Killers", Captain (then 1st Lieutenant) Isamu Kashiide, piloting a twin engine Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Dragon Slayer) fighter plane, code-named *Nick*, on the last flight of the B-29 V Square 27, nicknamed the "Rover Boys Express", on its last mission.
Lieutenant Halloran was forced to bail out at a high altitude and as he parachuted into the Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, a flight of three fighters menacingly circled his descent until one of the pilots, Corporal Hideichi Kaiho, chivalrously saluted Halloran and flew off; an act which had a profound effect on Halloran in the years following his captivity.
Lt. Halloran was captured, beaten and tortured and then put on display in the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. He was ultimately imprisoned in Omori Prisoner of War facility along with other famous American prisoners: marine Aviator Fighter Ace & Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, some of survivors of the submarine USS Tang, and the Olympic runner and aviator Captain Louis Zamperini.
After the war he became a champion of forgiveness and reconciliation with the Japanese, traveling to Japan on goodwill missions many times and befriending both of his former adversaries, Capt. Kashiide and Cpl. Kaiho.
Halloran's B-29 the "Rover Boys Express" was a reference to the popular boys book series "The Rover Boys" by Edward Stratemeyer who, between 1899 and 1926 under the pseudonym Arthur M. Winfield, wrote a series of over 30 titles about the adolescent adventures of a group of prank-playing students at a military boarding school who fought criminals in their spare time by utilizing the emerging technologies of the day - radio, automobiles and aircraft - with story lines woven into a background of current events.
Provenance:
* Created by Roberto Cemuda
* Raymond H. "Hap" Halloran, until 2001
* Gifted to Ben R. Zaricor, 2001.
ZFC Significant Flag
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