Manitowoc native who earned Purple Heart in WWII subject of Spielberg/Hanks mini-series ‘Masters of the Air’
MANITOWOC — From building submarines to manufacturing “big blue” cranes for the United States Navy, Manitowoc has a long history of supporting the military.
Now, a film series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg shines the spotlight on Lakeshore hero John “Bucky” Egan, who made a name for himself in the air rather than by sea.
Egan was one of the most notable U.S. pilots during the Second World War, according to the American Air Museum’s archives. Alongside his friend Gale “Buck” Cleven, this larger-than-life local hero is now a main figure of Apple TV+'s "Masters of the Air."
The character of Egan is played by British actor Callum Turner in the mini-series.
Egan piloted in dangerous circumstances. He served as a pilot in the 418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group. He was an original member of the 100th, and first served as its operations officer. In June 1943, Egan took over as command of the 418th Bomb Squadron, leading B-17s on a dozen missions, including the noteworthy Schweinfurt-Regensburg raid of Aug. 17, 1943.
But long before he crawled into a cockpit, Egan spent his days on the Lake Michigan shoreline. He was born Sept. 8, 1915, in Manitowoc, and attended Manitowoc schools. He left the area to attend St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
When war broke out, he joined what was then the Air Corps and received his flight training in Texas. He served as an instructor at Randolph Field in Texas before leaving for the European Theater, according to his obituary in the Herald Times Reporter, which ran April 17, 1961.
Egan served in many successful campaigns and was known for the sheepskin jacket he always wore, with a jaunty cap perched on the back of his head.
He was shot down in October 1943 and was a prisoner of war in German concentration camps for the rest of World War II.
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Near the war’s end, he 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.”
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 1945 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, the obituary said. They had two daughters.
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Egan’s military career continued. He rose to the rank of full colonel in 1951 while teaching at an Air Force school in North Carolina.
He served in the Korean War as commander. In 1956, he was appointed director of operations for the Pacific Air Force, and in 1958 he took on top-secret work at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on April 19, 1961.
According to a news release describing “Masters of the Air,” the show follows Egan and his mates as “they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air” and depicts “the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich.”
Contact reporter Patti Zarling at [email protected] or call 920-606-2575. Follow her on X @PGPattiZarling or on Instagram @PGPatti.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Masters of the Air: Manitowoc native focus of Spielberg/Hanks series
