Carrying the Flame by Rick Herter

Carrying The Flame was Rick's "tune up" painting prior to embarking on the year long project to create the 9/11 paintings (Ground Zero, Eagles On Station and First Pass, Defenders Over Washington) for the Air Force.

The painting depicts a United States Air Force/Massachusettes Air National Guard F-15 making a low pass of the Statue of Liberty. The aircraft is from the 102nd Fighter Wing, the same unit that was first scrambled to protect the skies over New York City after the World Trade Center attack. The painting is meant to inspire that we as a country stand for Liberty and Freedom in the face of tyranny and evil. The Members of the United States Armed Forces are the first line of defense and carry that Flame of Freedom around the world on a daily basis. This painting was created to honor that commitment.