Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (RM)

On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Captain Joe Foss as he leads the F4F Wildcats of VMF-121 back to Henderson Field after a day of desperate fighting against the Japanese in the skies over the steaming jungles of Guadalcanal in November 1942 - it would be another three months before the island was finally secured during which time Joe Foss would achieve an astonishing 26 victories to become the first American pilot to equal WW1 Ace Eddie Rickenbackers score.

Signed by :
Commander Leslie Fortner USMC ,
Captain Stanley Swede Vejtasa USN,
Commander Dean Laird USN
and
Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased).

Limited edition of 25 remarques

Paper size 32 inches x 24 inches (82cm x 61cm)