Final Flight

Even if these art prints never passed through the hands of Jerry Kelley, each would possess a story. The images, mostly of aircraft in flight, recall a different era of warcraft, the kind with propellers and names painted on each nose.

But they did pass through Kelley, and the retired one-star Navy rear admiral and former chief of surgery for the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks medical center in Fayetteville knows about each in depth -- particularly because he took the time to meet the parties involved.

He first purchased a print of a Mitsubishi G4M -- often called a Betty bomber -- in about 1989. He soon bought more, amassing a collection of war plane prints of the Pacific theater of World War II. He guesses he has about 25 such works, almost all of which can be viewed during an art show Saturday at Drake Field.

But he didn't just pursue the art. He spent much of his time meeting with the aviators who piloted the machines. Among them is Kazuo Sakamaki, who was aboard a miniature submarine that grounded in Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He would be captured by American soldiers, becoming the first American-kept prisoner of war during World War II.

Sakamaki would later become friends with Kelley, who now lives in Little Rock after accepting a position at the veterans' hospital there. Like many of the American and Japanese servicemen that Kelley would find, Sakamaki signed one of the prints up for sale on Saturday.

Those stories add an infinite amount of value to the works, says Nadine Rippelmeyer, president and chief executive officer of The Art Location, the Fayetteville firm hosting the show.

"He has some very, very unique pieces," Rippelmeyer says -- so unique that she and her crew are having a tough time appraising the works. The pieces will appeal to World War II-era collectors and to history buffs, Rippelmeyer says.

That's what got Kelley started as a collector himself.

"I was interested in the history part," he says.

His collection, and his research and connections, made him a go-to for conferences and appearances. He recalls one time where he chatted on television about the Pearl Harbor attack. He said from a technical perspective, the Pearl Harbor raid was a successful one, crippling the American's naval capacity for a time, allowing the Japanese to gain territory in the Pacific.

"Here I am, defending Pearl Harbor," Kelley says, knowing how silly that sounds.

Of course, the attack awakened and galvanized the American people. Kelley says that when he got in a room full of pilots, two former enemies might still have a language barrier but could communicate because of their time in planes.

Kelley, now retired, says only that "it's time" to let this private collection go.