Pressing West at FRISCO

Two F-15E Strike Eagles of the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Rocketeers turn west over the FRISCO reporting point during an Operation Iraqi... more

by Wade Meyers

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

34.000 x 19.500 inches

Title

Pressing West at FRISCO

Artist

Wade Meyers

Medium

Painting - Oil On Linen

Description

Two F-15E Strike Eagles of the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron "Rocketeers" turn west over the FRISCO reporting point during an Operation Iraqi Freedom combat mission on 8 April 2003. The lead jet, callsign Shogun 53, was named Shangri-La II in honor of Capt. Don Gentile and his famous P-51B Mustang. The second Eagle, Back for More - Mad Duck IV, was named after a WWII F4U Corsair maintained by the grandfather of the F-15E's nose artist.

Interestingly, the date is significant because on 8 April 1944 Capt. Gentile got his last three kills while flying the original Shangri-La. Gentile earned the Distinguished Service Cross (now Air Force Cross) on that mission, and I depicted part of the action in my painting, One-Man Air Force (see my "Larger Paintings" page).

FRISCO was an OIF reporting point. The procedure to fly up the Arabian Gulf, thru Kuwait, and into Iraq was called the "Ocean Parkway". There were assigned altitudes for inbound and outbound aircraft to fly, as well as named reporting points that, when passed, had to be reported on the radio to the controlling agency (Red Crown, Absolut, etc.).

Uploaded

September 12th, 2013