ROBERT TAYLOR D-Day Drop Stick 21 Easy Company Dirty Dozen 82nd Airborne 10 Sigs

  

" D-DAY DROP -'STICK 21'". " D-DAY DROP -'STICK 21'" by aviation artist Robert Taylor is a signed and numbered limited edition print from an EXTREMELY small edition of ONLY 145 prints. They were the Screaming Eagles' most notorious unit.

A small bunch of raw, tough, ruthless young men, mostly from the Dustbowl, with scant regard for authority, these men had withstood the worst that the Depression could throw at them. Hard drinking and savage fighting - and that was only in training - they were never ones to salute an officer, clean their uniforms, or have a regular bath. Officially they were the First Demolition Squadron, HQ Company, 506th P1R, 101st Airborne.

Unofficially they were the'Filthy Thirteen'. And if the reputation of this unique bunch of renegades within the ranks of the 101st was formidable, for the Germans it became one of sheer terror. Because, for the'Filthy Thirteen', anything not directly concerned with killing the enemy was irrelevant. Theirs was a story so amazing it became the inspiration for the Hollywood war movie'The Dirty Dozen'.

Robert Taylor's classic Master Drawing " D-DAY DROP -'STICK 21' ", part of his acclaimed Graphite Collection, captures the moment at 23.45 on the night of 5 June 1944 when the 101st Airborne's most legendary unit of combat paratroopers - the notorious'Filthy Thirteen' - jumped into battle near the village of Sainte Mère Église, France, in the vital final hours before the D-Day sea-borne landings commence. The pilots of the 440th Troop Carrier Group struggle to keep their Dakotas level as deadly flak pummels the formation. This evocative limited edition is destined to become one of the most collectible Airborne editions ever published. Not only has the world's premier aviation artist created one of his most masterful drawings, but this print is signed by some of the Airborne Division's most respected and most famous veterans.

They include the rare signatures of Sergeant Jake McNiece, unofficial leader of the'Filthy Thirteen', and Lieutenant Colonel James Megellas, the most decorated officer in the 82nd Airborne. They also include several from the 101st Airborne's most famous unit, the celebrated men of'Easy Company', the Division's original'Band of Brothers' who would have been immortalized worldwide through books and film. These, and the other distinguished signatories, have signed in tribute to all the men who fought in 1944 with the Airborne Divisions following the Normandy invasion. In addition to the artist, this print was individually signed in pencil by TEN World War II veterans, including FIVE from the 82ND AIRBORNE ('ALL AMERICAN'). Lieutenant Colonel JAMES'MAGGIE' MEGELLAS.

And FIVE from 101ST AIRBORNE ('THE SCREAMING EAGLES'). Corporal BILL MAYNARD (Easy Company).

Sergeant ED TIPPER (Fox Company). Sergeant BILL TRUE - Fox Company. Staff Sergeant FRANK SOBOLESKI (Easy Company). Corporal HERB SUERTH (Easy Company). This mint condition print has never been framed and, like all of our prints, has been stored flat.

It measures approximately 33" x 25" and comes with Certificate of Authenticity and a single-sheet sales flyer. GOOD LUCK AND THANKS FOR LOOKING!