Anthony J. Marolda

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Lt. Len Langer, USN, was a 23 year old pilot of a PBY Catalina sea plane during WWII. He was one of our closeby, Annisquam neighbors until he died a few years ago. This painting is based on a photo of Len taken during a brief, 1945 stop over on the small, Japanese Pacific island called Marcus. I researched the PBY aircraft and the island itself to compose the painting. The island was formed from coral, and breakers can be seen in the background as the waves encounter the reef.

Len kept meticulous records of his flight training when he left Harvard University at the end of his sophomore year to join the Navy and to join the fight against the Axis powers. I used his information, along with a great deal of research on related background material, to do a special report on Naval flight training programs during the war. Above is a picture of the Naval Aviator Wings of Gold that a pilot recieved at the completion of two and a half years of training. The Naval Aviation Historical Center in Pensacola, Florida has Len's original records and appreciated the full report that I sent to them.