Drawing

Title:

The fatefull day

Object Name:

Drawing

Object ID:

2002.008.03.11

Creator:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Place of Origin:

England

Date:

1945

Description:

Drawing of Robert Jordan bailing out of airplane. Page 11 in sketchbook of Robert Jordan (1925-1993), U.S. Army Air Force, World War II. Pencil on paper. Vertical rectangle. Depicts Robert Jordan in flight suit falling headfirst from plane, getting ready to deploy parachute; plane is trailing smoke and is separated from remainder of squadron (six planes). Pencil inscription, lower left, "HANOVER, GERMANY, NOV 26, 1944." Described in ink on page 10: "The fatefull day - our ship 'Snowball from / Hell' going down above me. The rest / of the group going home to England." The sketchbook documents Sergeant Jordan's experience as a prisoner of war in Germany, including his capture, forced march, and recovery in England.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-14.5 W-10 inches

Provenance:

Robert Jordan (1925-1993) was a tail gunner when his plane was shot down over Hanover, Germany, on Nov. 26, 1944. He was captured and marched to a prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft 4. After liberation, he recovered in a hospital in England, where a Red Cross nurse ("Mom") bought him this sketchbook. After the war, he earned degrees from Dartmouth and Columbia, and became a talented landscape painter. In 1952, he bought a farm as a summer home in Eaton, NH, and returned every summer. In 1943, he worked as a cowboy in the Southwest at age 16.

People:

Jordan, Robert (1925-1993)

Subjects:

World War II, Prisoners of war, POW's, Prisoners, Prisons, Air forces, Airplanes, Air warfare