"Jim's Thud"

by Mike Boss
Casein and Gouache on Board
12" X 18"

The pilot who inspired this painting was the late 1st Lt. James Richard Shively, 357th TFS, 355th TFW, based at Takhli, Thailand. Jim was shot down 15 miles southwest of Hanoi on 5 MY, 1967. He was taken prisoner and spent almost six grim years in the Vietnamese jail, infamously dubbed the Hanoi Hilton.

Jim was released on 18 FB, 1973. After leaving the Air Force on 3 JE, 1974 Jim served as a U.S. Attorney in Washington until retiring in 2004. He passed in Spokane, WA on 18 FB, 2006.

I decided to display the same Republic F-105 Thunderchief, 610198 in its original natural aluminum and the later c. 1966 Southeast Asia camouflage. It seemed appropriate to add the Hanoi Hilton below.