Spielberg/Hanks miniseries ‘Masters of the Air’ featuring Manitowoc native who earned Purple Heart in WWII set for finale
MANITOWOC — Not gonna lie, it is pretty cool to hear “Manitowoc, Wisconsin” mentioned in the opening scene of the first episode of “Masters of the Air,” streaming now on Apple TV+.
The nine-part film series, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, depicts the harsh reality of life in the U.S. Army Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group during World War II. They did daytime bombings under incredible circumstances, but their work “brought the war to Hitler’s door.”
The series shines the spotlight on Manitowoc-native Maj. John “Bucky” Egan (portrayed by actor Callum Turner) and his best friend Maj. Gale “Buck” Cleven (played by actor Austin Butler.)
Apple TV+ has dropped the first eight episodes. I watched them in preparation for the last chapter, which drops March 15.
The show is stylistically beautiful and dramatic, despite the gruesome shots of bodies mutilated by bullets and cities destroyed by bombs.
It’s amazing how young soldiers in the major wars were, and how they handled these impossibly dangerous situations despite not having a ton of training. They shot at other planes from wide-open windows and suffered frostbite because it was so cold. They did the best they could to hold the planes together. Several lost engines, forcing early crash landings, and in one series they have to remove what they can from the bombers to conserve fuel as they try to make it to Algeria.
The group was aptly named “The Bloody Hundredth” because of the large number of men they lost. Egan entered the Air Corps in March 1940 when he was 25. He graduated from training in less than a year, but wasn’t sent to London, alongside Cleven, until May 1943. Egan was promoted to Major by then and helped prepare the airbase for the missions over Germany.
Why the nickname Bucky?
Egan is portrayed as a charismatic party boy who has a great sense of responsibility for his men.
As an officer, Egan wouldn’t have to go up in the air, but he chose to fly as a message of unity to his troops.
The series opens in the spring of 1943 as Cleven and Egan prepare to head overseas. Manitowoc comes in when the men are asked about their similar nicknames.
Egan says he’s always been called Bucky. There’s a guy at home in Manitowoc who goes by Buck, and since Cleven reminded him of his hometown buddy, Buck became his nickname.
Manitowoc is mentioned in a later episode when Egan is shot down and caught by the enemy. As he’s processed to go into a German prison camp, the Nazi officer notes he is from Manitowoc.
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But aside from the Badger State references, this series is compelling and worth a watch. It shows how the pilots tried to remain positive and sane even as planes and men were going down by the hundreds — 757 men were killed or missing and 923 became prisoners of war, according to Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The entire Eighth Air Force lost more than 26,000 men during the daytime bombing campaign, about 30% more than the number of Marines killed in all of World War II.
But because of their bravery and tactics, the campaign helped the Allies cross from Normandy to Berlin in less than a year, where it took four years to go just a few miles in either direction in the first World War, Birkey said.
Egan’s plane is shot down in episode five of the series, and although he likely tried to return to England, he ultimately was captured by the Germans.
In one of the most touching scenes of the series, as the captured soldiers are being loaded onto a train, Egan looks over to a nearby railroad track. There, he sees several cattle cars packed with humans, most screaming and begging for help, their hands waving through the slots of the cars. The look of disbelief and horror in Egan’s eyes stays with the viewer.
What happens after the war?
The final episode will detail when they are released. According to previews, pictures of the actual men in the 100th are featured, as well as a Holocaust survivor who had to bury their entire family.
We know that near the war’s end, Egan was released from the German war camp along with thousands of others. They experienced the horror of that journey in freezing temperatures, in which roads were jammed with fleeing German civilians, as well as many POWs.
There was often no place to shelter at night, and released prisoners suffered from frostbite and dysentery. Guards were trigger happy.
He and fellow POWs were on the road for five days and nights.
According to the American Air Museum, Egan recalled one night spent in a “building so infested with bugs that the bunks and straw mattresses were moving by themselves.”
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After the war, Egan was promoted to deputy colonel and was one of 172 Wisconsin men given permanent military commissions.
Egan received many awards for his valor, including the Purple Heart.
He married Josephine Pitz of Manitowoc in 1946 when he was assigned to the general staff school at Fort Leaveworth, Kansas.
Pitz had flying chops of her own. In 1930, she became the first female pilot licensed in Manitowoc. She also was a flyer and a member of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots for 21 months during World War II.
The two were married Dec. 26, 1946, at St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc. They had two daughters.
“Masters of the Air” can be viewed as a companion to Spielberg and Hank’s previous TV series “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.”
“Masters of the Air” launched with more viewers for its opening weekend than any Apple TV+ series ever has in its first season, according to Variety magazine. The streaming service doesn’t release exact viewership numbers, however.
According to the streamer, following the premier of “Masters of the Air,” viewership across all of Apple TV+ spiked by 65% worldwide compared with the week before.
Contact reporter Patti Zarling at [email protected] or call 920-606-2575. Follow her on X @PGPattiZarling or Instagram @PGPatti.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ features Manitowoc native Bucky Egan
