Captain Beaman was a pilot flying with 365th Fighter Group, 388th Fighter Squadron USAAF, during the Second World War.
He’s pictured sat in the cockpit of a P-47D, with the original image (below) giving a location of RAF Beaulieu, in the New Forest, and a date of May 1944.
A few weeks later, on the 18th of July 1944, it is said that Captain Beaman shot down two enemy Messerschmitt Bf 109s, one of which was on the tail of a P-51D, before being shot down himself. He was able to bail out of his aircraft, near Flers, France, and evade capture. Beaman was reunited with his squadron within few weeks of the incident1.
The original image (above) was sourced from the American Air Museum collection.