182436hike

As an amateur historian I have been familiar with the Eighth Air Force and the 100th Bomb Group since middle school (I'm 66 now). I've visited the 100th Bomb Group Museum in Thorpe Abbots and other bases where friends of mine were stationed during the war. The main characters Harry Crosby, John Egan, Gale Cleven, Rosie Rosenthal and others are very real to me since they were well covered in Edward Jablonski's book "Flying Fortress" published in 1966. As a passion I've worked on and flown in a number of the remaining flying WWII aircraft, including B-17s and a B-24 and met hundreds of veterans of the air war who, sadly have all now passed away. Allowing for the dramatization that must come with a film production I can say with absolute certainty that "Masters of the Air" is a masterpiece. As I watched I kept my copy of "Flying Fortress" by my side as a reference and was delighted by how true to the facts the producers kept the story. The scenes are accurate; the stories are accurate; the people are real and as a historical piece it is a must for the generations that followed to see in its entirety so as to appreciate what sacrifices were made to give us the freedom and security we've enjoyed for almost 80 years now. As the final episode wound down I felt a tear as the local townspeople came out to wave goodbye to the boys and their airplanes as they departed for the United States, never to return. To this day the people of East Anglia remember as do the Dutch who received the food and supplies the Allies dropped to them during the famine at the end of the war. As a lesson we need to remember here in the States, too, especially when there are so many Americans who don't understand our connection to Europe and its role in our own security. Those boys and millions of other young Americans fought successfully for Democracy at home and abroad during WWII and the years since and today with European security and Democracy under threat once again it is absolutely imperative that we remain steadfast in our resolve to continue in that role. To do otherwise would be a betrayal to all of them, and to ourselves. As a companion reference I strongly recommend watching the 1984 NBC News Documentary "The Eighth Air Force - All the Fine Young Men" which is easily found on Youtube. The film quality is degraded somewhat but the sound is good and the imagery satisfactory.