We’ve been fortunate to have photographed jackets across the United States, including from the following collections:

Smithsonian Air & Space Museum - Washington D.C.

390th Memorial Museum - Tucson, Arizona

March Field Museum - Riverside, California

475th Fighter Group at the Planes of Fame Museum - Chino, California

San Diego Air & Space Museum - San Diego, California

Allen Airways Museum - El Cajon, California

Indiana Military Museum - Vincennes, Indiana

Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota

National Naval Aviation Museum - Pensacola, Florida

The Lowndes County Historical Society - Valdosta, Georgia

Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum - Kalamazoo, Michigan

National Museum of the United States Air Force - Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio

We’ve been blessed to have the enthusiastic cooperation of many people across the USA…strangers who have become friends.

Recommendations to contact this or that person has led to some fascinating collaborations. A few jackets have been sent to me, when distance prohibited a trip to photograph them. Talk about trust…and yet there have been no problems.

Additionally, there have been jackets hand-carried great distances, and in one case, a jacket was driven several hundred miles to be included in the collection.

All of this generosity has been very gratifying and humbling…which has contributed to the impetus to getting this work finished.

When I began this project, I had no idea of the treasure trove of information available on the history of the Army Air Corps during World War Two.

I cannot begin to convey the number of books that I have (and haven’t…yet!) read on the subject. It seemed important to understand the missions these men flew, the equipment they had available (including A-2 jackets), and the social conditions of the time that influenced the artwork on the jackets.

A chapter has been wtritten on how these jackets influenced fashion and culture after the war…and have continued to do so…up to the present day.

In addition, there is an authoritative chapter on collecting the jackets, and a section on the proper care of a jacket, contributed by a professional conservator.

Lastly, a professional index should enable easy reference to a particular person, unit, and aircraft.

We think it’s a dynamic combination never before presented and will make for a compelling read.