Heroes In the Sky

• Original (Oil) - 46" x 52" - $54,000 SOLD
• Giclee Print (Signed) - $6,000
• Giclee Print - $4,000
• Poster Print - $100

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Pioneering the age of airmail, U.S. mail carriers had one of the most dangerous jobs during Worl War I. Previously, "fast mail" was by train, which could go round trip from Washington to New York overnight, delivering return-mail the next day. Airplanes were a groundbreaking advancement that allowed this to be done in the same day.

Many of the early airmail pilots were World War I aviators—and it turned out flying mail could sometimes be as deadly as war. Considered a job to end in fatality, it was often called "A Suicide Club."

"They all understood the bargain they had made: risking their lives to get the mail where it needed to go," said Nancy Pope, curator of the National Postal Museum's new "Postmen of the Skies" exhibition.

The pilots were viewed as the superstars of this early 20th-century cultural phenomenon. "These guys were the astronauts of their age," said Pope. The Post Office received hundreds of applications, many from men who had no flying experience but were "eager to learn."

Honored for their courage and dedication, these men are remembered today for their undoubtable bravery.