From the artist; "Foremost in the minds of Air Force pilots everywhere today is the tragedy of their fellow pilots imprisoned in Hanoi. All have heard from the few returnees of the brutal treatment, torture and deaths of our pilots. United States public support for demands for release of these sick and injured men is desperately needed. The public needed the fighter pilots and now the pilots need our help". Quote from Retired Officer Magazine/September 1991: “In her painting ‘To our comrades Up North’ artist Maxine McCaffrey captured the suffering of an American pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam as seen in the minds of fellow pilots”.
Writing in painting reads: “To our comrades Up North! Fighter pilots toast to over 1300 U.S. Airmen imprisoned and missing in Hanoi, North Vietnam since 1964."
