The Arizona Museum Memorial Association and The War in the Pacific National Historical Park will present "Planes and Pin-Ups", a traveling exhibit set to open at the 60th anniversary veterans celebrations on Saipan and Guam beginning in June of 2004.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the United States was in a dire situation. Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, the United States adopted an "island-hopping" strategy for pushing the enemy back towards Japan. In June 1944, approximatly 2 1/2 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, US forces returned enmasse to the Mariana Island. On July 16th, 1945, the B-29s of the 20th Air Force began flying 12-to 14 hour missions to Japan from bases on Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.
Nose art, images painted on airplanes primarily during wars, provides powerful insight into the life and times of the soldiers involved in those wars. The art conveys a multiplicity of meanings, from pride in one’s country, to bravado, to the hope for a successful return from a dangerous mission.
During World War II, nose art reached its apogee, and many significant examples were produced in the Pacific Theater; many on the planes that flew in and out of the Mariana Islands. This exhibit will creatively display numerous works of nose art and will recognize the men who painted them. It will also delve into missions undertaken in the Pacific Theater, as well as the combat tactics employed there. The exhibit will include original nose art painted by Hal Olsen, a veteran who decorated over 100 aircraft during the Second World War while stationed at Tinian.
The exhibit will premier in Saipan. Subsequently it will travel to Guam, and then possibly to Honolulu and additional venues in the contiguous United States.
With funding provided by the Arizona Memorial Museum Association, the exhibit will be designed and fabricated by International Museum Corporation (IMC), a Houston, Texas based traveling exhibit company.
For additional information, please contact Eric Brunnemann, Superintendent of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park and the American Memorial Park, or John Griggs, Executive Director of Traveling Exhibits at IMC. Contact information is provided below:
Eric Brunnemann Superintendent, War in the Pacific National Historical Park 460 North Marine Drive Piti, Guam 96915 671.472.7240 x 222 Eric_Brunnemann@nps.gov
John Griggs Executive Director of Traveling Exhibits 4272 Clark Road Houston, TX 77040 713.690.4118 jgriggs@intlmuseum.com
