No, the title of this painting doesn't mean that the artist is taking himself too seriously. The new mission mark being carefully placed on the side of this Fortress is indeed a "Very Important Painting." Each new marker meant that crew members were one mission closer to the end of their combat tours; it meant another flight through flak and fighters, bad weather and worse odds, had been survived.
John Young puts us in the English country-side, at the 8th Air Force base Ridgewell, Essex, on October 15, 1943. The day before, the 381st Bomb Group had been part of the second Schweinfurt raid, flying back to base only at dusk but lucky enough to return. This B-17F rests on its hardstand, its crew attending to patching, repairing, and some "very important painting."
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