Gregory "Pappy" Boyington & the Black Sheep Squadron of WWII

Have you ever run across something you had no idea what was?  Well, I seem to do that quite a lot recently!  I love finding out what something is and the story behind it.  One (or 2) of my lastest research projects led me to WWII history and ace Pappy Boyington.  It all started when Vanessa (my good friend and business partner) and I were going through some estate items of another friend's sister.  She had asked us to help sell some of the items, including some artwork.  We came across these 2 Limited Edition Prints....

What makes these so interesting is the autograph that each has in the bottom left hand corner....

The prints were also signed by the original artists but these personalized autographed signatures intrigued me and so we started searching for more information on the history of Pappy Boyington.

Well.... our journey led us to WWII and the Black Sheep Squadron, who got there name from the fact that all of the pilots were orphans and not attached to a squadron when they got together, and the fact they had very few reliable planes and no mechanics.  As the commander, Gregory Boyington became nicknamed "Pappy". 

He wrote his autobiography and titled it "Baa Baa Black Sheep".  This title was later applied to a TV show loosely based on his story.  I definitely learned a lot while researching these beautiful pieces of art.

So.... what did I do with these wonderful pieces of history?  They are at auction on eBay for a lucky bidder to win and place in their home!  What a great conversation starter these will be! 

You can find them on eBay here if you'd like to see more detailed pictures or would like to own them!
 http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAPPY-BOYINGTON-AUTOGRAPHED-Corsair-LuLubelle-Limited-Ed-Print-Artist-J-Ficklen-/161231338347?pt=Art_Prints&hash=item258a22fb6b
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAPPY-BOYINGTON-AUTOGRAPHED-WWII-Limited-Ed-Print-Airplanes-signed-by-Reynolds-/161231361142?pt=Art_Prints&hash=item258a235476