I found this article in my grandpa's November issue of American Legion magazine this evening and thought I would share it with everyone.
Navy Artist killed at sea never to be forgotten:
When Earl Henry Jr. was old enough to appreciate his father’s gift for art, the elder Henry had been dead for years – lost when a Japanese submarine torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis in the waning days of WWII.
But his vivid portrayals of birds small and large live on, including the stunning “American Eagle in the Pacificâ€, painted onboard the Indianapolis in August 1944. Undoubtedly the most famous painting by Tennessee artist Earl O. Henry Sr., it pictures a majestic bald eagle with wings spread wide against the background of a US flag. The eagle’s talons clutch a writhing serpent with a torn and ragged Japanese flag on its tail, symbolizing the Allies’ confidence in an eventual victor over Japan.
“I’m especially blessed that my father left so much behind through which I could know him,†says Earl Henry Jr. and Army veteran and member of America Legion Post 5 in Nashville, Tenn. He was six weeks old when his father’s ship went down on July 30, 1945.
Before entering the Navy in 1942, Earl Henry Sr. was a dentist in Knoxville, Tenn, whose first love was birdwatching. Growing up, he collected bird pictures from soda boxes. He spent hours hiking through the woods to match them with birds he saw. Soon he learned to imitate bird calls and to mount birds, later painting life-size duck images for display in a sporting goods store.
His enthusiasm for birds grew after he joined the Navy. At Parris Island SC and the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, he observed and painted birds from the shoreline and countryside. He then asked for sea duty, feeling he owed his country a more active role in the war, and was assigned to the Indianapolis as the ship’s dental officer. He continued to paint birds from memory and sent work home to wife Jane. Once during battle while waiting at his post below deck for casualties to come, he painted sea gulls.
Henry earned the admiration of the Indianapolis crew on “amateur night†by performing bird calls. He also had a talent for building models, including a six foot replica of the Indianapolis using wood and dental clay. It was in his cabin when the ship went down.
“I suspect my father never knew what happened.†Henry Jr. says of the sinking, widely considered to be the Navy’s worst disaster at sea.
In July, Henry gave a presentation on his father’s life and artwork at a USS Indianapolis Survivors Association reunion. He played a rare recording of his father doing bird calls, displayed original paintings and sold prints. Naturally, “American Eagle in the Pacific†received the most attention.
For Henry, the long journey to getting his father’s work reproduced has fulfilled a longtime dream of his mother – and brought him closer to the dad he never knew.
