Quiet Sanctity Hector John Gaudreau 8X10 Oil on Canvas This painting was inspired by High Flight, a poem by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
High Flight was written by Pilot Officer John Gillespie MaGee, Jr., an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of missionary parents. He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in September 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF and graduated as a pilot. He was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941. In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer MaGee composed High Flight and sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his Spitfire collided with another plane over England and MaGee, only 19 years of age, crashed to his death. It is rumored that MaGee collided with "pieces" of a German Messerschmitt 109 after having "pounced" on it over the English Channel. Seems the ME109 took some serious hits and as it went down, MaGee flew into pieces of the stricken German plane. His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire.
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Background music ~ "Blue Skies" ~ performed by Hector John Gaudreau. Please visit his web site Fireside melodies for Lovers http://www.freehomepages.com/fireside3/CD.html
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