379th FS, 362nd FG, USAAF. Flown by Capt. George Rarey - Based at Headcorn, England, June 1944
Rarey worked as a commercial artist before the war, he designed and applied the nose art for no fewer than 28 aircraft, including his own. The plane started out as “Archy and Mehatibel,” a reference to characters in Don Marquis’ poetry, but when Rarey’s son Damon was born the plane’s name changed.
Sadly, Rarey never met his son; he was shot down by flak on June 27, 1944 while strafing road traffic and was killed.