TOWARD THE SETTING SUN

Toward the Setting Sun features the USS Hornet (CV-8) with the Doolittle Raiders' 16 B-25s lashed down across her deck as she steams majestically into a Pacific sunset. SBDs of the USS Enterprise's (CV-6) Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6) patrol the skies above.

At the time, the mission was referred to as the Halsey-Doolittle Raid; and here Phillips pays homage to the Navy's significant role. Sending two United States aircraft carriers, Task Force 16, to the coast of the Rising Sun in 1942 was a courageous and risky move; especially for a nation reeling from Japan's string of Pacific victories. Most of the ships and sailors that made up Vice Admiral Halsey's TF-16 would six weeks later, deal a staggering blow to the Japanese Fleet off Midway. The Halsey-Doolittle Raid truly marked when the Rising Sun began to set.

The print was personally autographed by the surviving members of Doolittle's Raiders who attended the 68th Reunion at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH, April 16-18, 2010.

Overall size: 27" x 26"
Image size: 24" x 16 1/2"