It's the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the entry of the United States into World War II. The war was fought by land, by sea and - of course - by air. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the planes that fought in World War II, you’ve probably seen the iconic paintings that often adorned the front, or nose, of the plane.
An unrivaled collection of nose art is currently on display at the Experimental Aircraft Association, or the EAA, Air Venture Museum in Oshkosh. And the story of how the collection came to be is as interesting as the story of the art itself.
"After the war there were so many airplanes that they were scrapped. They were used as target practice, they were chopped up, they were melted down; whatever happened to them, they were disposed of in a lot of ways," says Dick Knapinski, the museum's communication director.
"So all of these airplanes ended up in Arkansas and there was a man who worked for the railroad there, got the contract to salvage these airplanes for scrap metal." he continues. "He took a liking to some of the nose art, and that's really where the story began."
The nose art exhibit is on display at the EAA Air Venture Museum there through next year.
