"At the Crossroads" - James Dietz - 82nd Airborne at Sainte-Mère-Église

$200.00 Buy It Now, FREE Shipping, 30-Day Returns, eBay Money Back Guarantee
Seller: airplanesandmore ✉️ (10,293) 96.7%, Location: Flower Mound, Texas, US, Ships to: US, Item: 353830054045 "At the Crossroads" - James Dietz - 82nd Airborne at Sainte-Mère-Église. WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND COUNTRY

"At the Crossroads"
 
On June 6, 1944, mission Boston was initiated by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division as a component of Operation Neptune. Neptune was the code name for the airborne assault behind German lines, which launched the Normandy invasion. It was the first major action of Operation Overlord.

Approximately 6,420 paratroopers jumped from nearly 370 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft into an intended objective area of roughly 10 square miles located on either side of the Merderet River on the Cotentin Peninsula of France five hours ahead of the D-Day landings. The drops were scattered by bad weather and German antiaircraft fire over an area 3 to 4 times as large as planned. Most of the troops missed their drop zones entirely. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped accurately and captured its objective, the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, which proved essential to the success of the division. The town was significant in theWorldWar II Normandy landings because the village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches.

The early landings, at about 0140 directly on Sainte-Mère-Église resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire during the night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire.Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose. The few who did make it alive to the ground were almost immediately taken prisoner. After the initial excitement, curiously, the Germans went back to bed after the immediate threat subsided.

The timely assembly enabled the 505th to accomplish two of its missions on schedule. The 3rd Battalion captured Sainte-Mère-Église by 0430 after small firefights. It set out roadblocks and took up defensive positions against expected counterattacks. The 2nd Battalion established a blocking position on the northern approaches to Sainte-Mère-Église with a single platoon while the rest of the unit reinforced the 3rd Battalion when it came under heavy attack from the south by infantry and armor at mid-morning. The platoon delayed two companies of German for eight hours, allowing the troops in Sainte-Mère-Église to repel the southern threat.

In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town, giving it the claim to be the first town liberated in the invasion. However, later in the day, heavy German counterattacks began and continued into the next day. The lightly armed paratroopers held the town until reinforced by tanks from the nearby beach landings at Utah.

At The Crossroads, depicts paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division on 7 June 1944. Private John Steele's parachute can still be seen caught on the spire of the town church. Also evident are vehicles that have recently arrived in the town. After almost 30 hours of fighting, these soldiers are taking a brief moment to relax and recover before moving inland to continue the fight across France. They were truly at the crossroads of the Normandy invasion.

25" x 16.5" image size print, 31" x 23" overall, Public Edition limited to 500 - $150
  Publisher Edition limited to 250 - $175 Artist's Proof limited to 100 - $200 
 
All Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered (S/N) by the artist. Limited Edition prints are restricted to a certain number. For example, if 400 prints are made from an original painting, once they’re gone, that’s it. There is no limit to the number of open edition prints of a particular painting. That’s why Limited Edition prints are more expensive — and more valuable to collectors — than "open" edition.  Rare objects are more valuable.
 
An Artist’s Proof (AP), generally, is the first 5% - 10% of the Limited Edition prints that come off the press. If the Limited Edition is 400 s/n, there would be 20 - 40 APs. This status is noted on the print. Collectors prefer APs because their value increases even more than a Limited Edition as time goes by.
 
All Limited Edition artwork is subject to availability at time of order. Although seller strives to remain current as to inventory, seller reserves the right to cancel a sale if item is no longer available at time of purchase.
  
Be sure to visit our eBay Store for thousands of great items
 
Visit Our eBay Store: Airplanes and more
 

THE ARTIST - JAMES DIETZ
 
The growing popularity of aviation art has brought before the public eye the works of a number of professional aviation artists. Among these one artist stands out for his unique approach to this genre. "The people, settings, and costumes are what make aviation history exciting and romantic to me." It is this feeling that makes James Dietz, and his artwork, so different from that of his contemporaries. Rather than simply illustrate aviation hardware, Dietz prefers to portray human involvement. 

After graduation from Art Center College of Design in 1969, Jim began a successful career as a commercial illustrator in Los Angeles. The subject matter varied from automobiles to action scenes to romantic book covers. A steady flow of work from New York enabled the Dietz' to move to Seattle in 1978. It was at this time that he took his first concrete steps toward fulfilling his dream to specialize in aviation art, at that time an almost unheard of genre. Since then, aviation art has played an increasingly large part in his career. Jim Dietz's clients include Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Allison, and Flying Tigers, to name just a few. 

Jim has also branched out into the fine arts field with his aviation art. A strong following has developed for his originals and a growing number of limited edition prints have introduced Jim's name to print collectors worldwide. Four of Jim's originals were put on display in the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Naval Aviation; one of the paintings was presented by the Navy League to then Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman. A regular contributor to the Air Force Art Program, Jim's work has been featured on the cover of AIR FORCE magazine. 

Jim Dietz has been honored with several gold medals from the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators and has won Best in Show in three successive years in the EAA Aviation Art Show. In 1988, at the second American Society of Aviation Artists forum, Jim was awarded the "People's Choice Award" for his painting selected by forum attendees. Major showings of Dietz's originals have recently been held at the EAA Museum and the San Diego Air Museum. His work is found in a number of private and corporate collections.

  • Edition: Artist Proof
  • Artist: James Dietz
  • Style: Realism
  • Theme: Art, History
  • Type: Print
  • Features: Limited Edition
  • Subject: History, Military, World War II (1939-1945)
  • Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes
  • Signed: Yes
  • Signed By: James Dietz
  • Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
  • Original/Reproduction: Original Print

PicClick Insights - "At the Crossroads" - James Dietz - 82nd Airborne at Sainte-Mère-Église PicClick Exclusive

  •  Popularity - 8 watchers, 0.0 new watchers per day, 823 days for sale on eBay. Super high amount watching. 0 sold, 1 available.
  •  Best Price -
  •  Seller - 10,293+ items sold. 3.3% negative feedback. Good seller with good positive feedback and good amount of ratings.

People Also Loved PicClick Exclusive