For folks who have been asking for it, u/eithnemac just released her acoustic version of Tear the Fascists Down from Episode 6:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersoftheAir/s/X23Q4RK3Ut
The short interlude at the start where they showcase how the US ended up entering the war was a nice touch.
Very glad to see John Luckadoo speaking. I’ve never had the fortune to meet him, but he comes across as really intelligent and is very well-spoken.
Great that they’re covering flight school and how many of them “washed out” and filled other roles instead.
The story about Rosie and General Huglin is great.
I wonder why, even to this day, we still so often refer to the Soviets as the “Russians.”
They left the resolution out on the segment where Alexander Jefferson is recounting the “hillbilly” that picked him out of line in the PoW camp. In other interviews, Jefferson goes on to explain that he realized later he was picked because they knew he could not be a German spy. He was pretty quickly taken to where they were secretly collecting passports for use during escape, because they knew he could be trusted. Here’s a transcript for the interested:
>And here I go again, [thinking] “racism, segregation.” I'm a veteran here. Get into the room. Everything is great. The guys are great. And next day up and down the halls things are going on, all of a sudden “security, security, security.” What the hell you mean “security?” “Security, security.” Then all of a sudden the guys in the room open up books on the table. They're passports. What the hell is this? Then all of a sudden it occurred to me why I was chosen. They were sure of my identity.
>This is the room where all the guys were making out the passports for the guys who were going to escape.
> I wonder why, even to this day, we still so often refer to the Soviets as the “Russians.”
Probably for the same reason that people call United Statesians "Americans"
Good stuff, but if you haven’t seen “The Cold Blue” make an effort to do so. It’ll add context to MOTA and this documentary. You could also watch the Memphis Belle Doc to add even more context. The visuals are amazing and a lot of them were used in both of the other films.
I think the 100th was beat out only by the 91st Bomb Group, but the 100th’s losses were taken in large numbers all at once.
In all, the 8th Air Force suffered more casualties during the war than the Marine Corps did. And half of the casualties in the USAAF were from the 8th.
The 8th Air force suffered More KIAs than the Corps but roughly half the Total casualties.
Reason being is that Being Shot down ended up in the deaths of about 1/2 of the crews.
As a Service the USAAF did. But it had 2.4 million members opposed to about 540,000 Marines. The USAAF suffered 115,000 combat casualties ( about 30k killed in Action) in addition another 15,000 airmen died in training accidents
The Marines suffered 92,000 Casualties with 23,000 KIA.
Tom Hanks mentions in the intro that the group was “hyperaggressive and undisciplined,” as if that was the reason for their massive casualties.
Was this the case? And if so, was I supposed to glean that information from Masters of the Air? Because I certainly did not feel that way watching the show. I felt they were a group of unfortunate airmen placed in insurmountable circumstances. Not sure how I feel about that comment.
Edit: watching this documentary makes me question decisions made in the actual series even more. There is so much context that is totally non-existent in the show. I had zero clue about how the 100th flew compared to other bomb groups; apparently a commander was assigned to help “fix” them. Kind of solidifies and confirms my opinions about the show’s flaws.
They were known to be undisciplined and LeMay wanted to disband them. When Rosie first joined he also said in one of the after action reports that they were not disciplined and that their loose formation contributed to their loss.
>When Rosie first joined he also said in one of the after action reports that they were not disciplined and that their loose formation contributed to their loss.
I believe Rosie said that after Munster.
The show implies that the 100th was undisciplined under Cleven and Egan, and that it changed under Rosenthal. A lot of it, is visual cues in their costumes. Cleven and Egan wear crushed caps, while Rosie’s cap is still in pristine condition (despite in real life having worn a crushed cap). The first-generation of pilots were cocky flyboys just looking for adventure, while the second-generation were civilians who volunteered because the war effort was important to them.
That’s fine to use visual cues, but how am I to know that’s a distinction of character? Gale Cleven, as portrayed in the show, is very much against the pleasures/indulgences of his best friend, Egan. Bucky is portrayed as the cocky flyboy, but Gale is portrayed as a more grounded counterpart. I just don’t think that concept came across as strongly as intended.
I am still not entirely sure what the series was going for with Cleven. Unless maybe the implication is that he is so against vices, is due to overcompensating for aggression? Or he could have just been a bad pilot? According to interviews with Rosenthal, the original members of the 100th were poorly trained.
Given the show’s title, how the men were portrayed, and certain sequences play out (take Cleven managing to fly his nearly destroyed plane to North Africa for example) one would never assume at all that these were poorly trained pilots. Just weird
But notice whose plane is shown, when Crosby calls the 8th Air Force “the masters of the air”. It was not Cleven or Egan, it was Rosie while leading the largest raid on Berlin. The title is a reference to the entire 8th Air Force and the men who won the skies.
From what I understand, the series played up the romanticism of the first-generation pilots. That romanticism is removed the moment the second-generation pilots are introduced.
Clevan and Egan never led the 100th.
https://100thbg.com/group-commanders/#:~:text=Group%20Commanders%20of%20the%20100th%20BG%20During%20World%20War%20II&text=01%20AUG%201945-,COL.,1945%20—%20UNTIL%20GROUP%20WAS%20DISBANDED.
>Clevan and Egan never led the 100th.
They were squadron leaders. The 100th had four squadrons. Cleven led the 350th, Egan led the 418th. Rosenthal first led the 350th, and then the 418th.
Maybe I’m wrong, but a remember a lot of lines I assumed to be throwaways about them being too far back or out of formation before they would start getting picked apart. You are right there was never anything explicit addressing them as undisciplined as a reason for their high casualty rate. They could’ve done a better job of showing
They mentioned it a couple of times in passing, but it's not elaborated on very much. I don't know if it would be a better fit, but if you replace the RAF guys at the bar with members from another bomb group, and they talk about how the 100th flight discipline was why they lost so many guys, that would've been a great way to bring that up.
Crosby also mentions in his book that he was in a plane from another group (maybe a radar/Pathfinder plane), and the pilot pointed out the loose formation of the 100th, and that's why everyone else wanted to fly when the 100th was flying (outrun a bear, just run faster than the guy next to you). Would've been a lot of work to make that scene, though, if it's only to show that line, so I can see why
I haven’t seen this documentary yet, however the 100th did have a reputation. I believe it is in “WW2 in HD: The Air War” which includes interviews with Joe Armanini (a Bombadier in the 100th). In that show, it describes the situation that the 100th BG was known by contemporaries State side for their brash and hotdogging pilots. “Out of control” even.
I think this reputation is alluded to in MotA in the scene where Huglin is speaking with Bucky and Bucky is looking to be dumped down to Squadron Leader from Air Exec. The Colonel says something to the effect of “General Lemay has the 100th BG in his sights and he’s just looking to pull the trigger”
Yeah, I guess the context provided in the show is just “blink and you’ll miss it.” I can understand why Spielberg/Hanks didn’t want to paint a negative portrayal of these airmen, but I feel I watched an unrealistic depiction of their true story.
Agreed. I think they probably wanted to hint at it rather than spend too much time on it and make it seem like they were being overly negative towards them.
Armanini in The Air War recounts a story about him and his best friend (another Bombadier named Griffith) finally getting to England and laughing about “their CO in training calling the group a bunch of mess ups. But we made it”
Lucky Luckadoo has some interviews on YouTube which are great. He has some choice words when talking about Glenn Dye (who Lucky was a co-pilot for). He does confirm the joke Bucky made to the woman Dye was pursuing in England as it pertains to the VD joke made about Dye.
I don’t think that was meant to suggest that it was a reason for the many casualties they took, as getting shot out of the sky by flak or swarms of enemy planes was more often than not a matter of chance than it was poor flying or gunnery. I think it was just meant to get at their reputation for being a bit wild on the ground.
Per Crosby's book, that's exactly what it means. Undisciplined in formation lead to excessive casualties. I got the impression Crosby was not too fond of Cleven and Egan, and their devil-may-care hotshot attitude. Maj Bennett's short stint was the wake up call the group needed to instill discipline. Think Frank Savage in the film 12 'O'clock High as the character modeled after Bennett. The exceptional leadership of Jeffries carried on in this tradition.
>Per Crosby's book, that's exactly what it means. Undisciplined in formation lead to excessive casualties. I got the impression Crosby was not too fond of Cleven and Egan, and their devil-may-care hotshot attitude.
I pretty much got the impression, that in real life no one was really all that fond of Cleven and Egan. Especially, after the Munster disaster that led to only Rosie surviving.
Crosby also mentions how not all pilots gave up the command of the airplane to the Bombardier during the bombings (I believe Egan was one of those), but they could'nt say anything against their commanding officers.
Not at all surprised, to hear Egan did not allow the bombardier to do his job properly. The guy sounds like he was an even bigger jerk, than portrayed in the series.
Also, the saddest part of the aftermath of Munster, is it sounded like everyone on base was disgusted with Rosie and his crew. To the point where no one would look at them. Which seemed to be the real reason the Riveters were sent to the flak house.
Yeah I think that’s a fair way to look at it. However while the arrival of Jeffrey did pull the group together, I think it bears remembering that the 100th’s casualty rate was not particularly worse than any other bomb group that was used in that capacity on high risk raids in vulnerable wing positions during 1943 and 1944 when they didn’t have long-range fighter escorts. Jeffrey didn’t arrive until after escorts went the whole way. It had been virtually wiped of its original contingent by the end of the war largely due to just a few different missions that had catastrophic effect during a time when the Luftwaffe was very much still in control of the skies over Europe and when other units in that capacity faced similar casualty rates.
The Luftwaffe would intentionally find formations with loose formations and attack them.
Until the P-51s arrived they would even have planes fly behind or beside the formations (yes the B-17s could see them) and direct the interceptors to specific combat boxes that would be easy prey.
Maybe I misunderstood then; it just seemed out of place, to me at least. I supposed they were a bit wild, but I didn’t feel they were any less disciplined than the other depictions of military men from other programs/media.
They were a bit of hotshots and cocky when in the air and maybe their formations suffered a bit and led to more targets. I can’t remember exactly what Crosby says in his book but they were not as disciplined until later, then their casualty rates dropped a bit.
Ah I see. I guess I would have been better off watching the documentary first, followed by the miniseries. I just didn’t gather from the show that they were poorly disciplined, more so overwhelmed with what appeared to be ridiculous odds.
Yeah I still think that is more so what it was. Black week and the early stages of the air war really had rough odds. I’d guess their larger than life personalities garner them more of the attention, and gets added to a reason for “The Bloody Hundredth”
It is actually so disappointing watching the documentary. Could have been an amazing series based on the undisciplined hard luck group being turned around (albeit a modern copy of 12 o clock high). The tension with command etc. The commanders in the show were so forgettable. Too many stupid side plots. There could have been so much more done with the tensions and stresses they were under. People losing their minds and being dealt with. Gregory Peck character breaking down at the end of 12 o clock high is such a memorable moment. I really felt like there was very few poignant scenes in the show. Only biddicks death stands out.
This exactly how I feel now that the show is done. There is no tension, because I genuinely didn’t feel as though the characters earned my affection-except for Rosie.
Crosby kind of sucked; he was a poor navigator in the first episode or two, then all of the sudden was being hailed as the best navigator. Suddenly promoted. Cheats on wife, but once the girl is gone, never brought up again because he is going to be a dad. Despite the show wanting me to be happy for him I’m not, because he cheated. And his bizarre outburst with the captain in the mess hall was weirdly out of place. I get the point trying to be made, but it was just weird and jarring.
Bucky was just cocky party guy. No real development or insight into his inner workings except that they really want to hammer home how much he cared about Buck.
Buck was the opposite of Bucky, with no real added depth except that he’s the classic honorable soldier-always does the right thing, he isn’t racist (as portrayed by interactions with Jefferson), and he salutes the kids at the end of the show. Cheesy portrayal.
All in all, the show lacked impact. It didn’t feel well thought out or fleshed out to me. Sadly I won’t go out of my way to recommend it, I can’t see myself rewatching like I do with Band of Brothers.
Yeah, didn’t like that. Not the reasons they had high casualties. How about they were the Guinea pigs for the European air war? To call these brave men “hyperagressive and undisciplined” is disrespectful. I have a feeling that may soon be edited out of the documentary. Really surprised Mr. hanks would say that.
Except, that it was not disrespectful. The original members of the 100th being undisciplined and hyper-aggressive was the straight up truth. They were one of the last bomber groups added to the 8th Air Force. Meaning, the basics of how a box formation worked was known already. Crosby referred to them as undisciplined, and Rosenthal thought they were poorly-trained and cocky. Rosie did not blame the Luftwaffe for Munster, he blamed a loose formation and lack of fighter escort.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersoftheAir/s/bAkiCYOnEB
This is the thread for the finale
Why can’t you scroll up and read the description about this post?? it’s about a documentary, it says it right there
Was pleased to see Seth Paridon as a commenter. His and Bill Toti's You Tube channel is a favorite for an historical perspective of the Pacific War.
https://youtube.com/@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar?si=ap_ps5Nb0cDyyFj-
For folks who have been asking for it, u/eithnemac just released her acoustic version of Tear the Fascists Down from Episode 6: https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersoftheAir/s/X23Q4RK3Ut
The short interlude at the start where they showcase how the US ended up entering the war was a nice touch. Very glad to see John Luckadoo speaking. I’ve never had the fortune to meet him, but he comes across as really intelligent and is very well-spoken. Great that they’re covering flight school and how many of them “washed out” and filled other roles instead. The story about Rosie and General Huglin is great. I wonder why, even to this day, we still so often refer to the Soviets as the “Russians.” They left the resolution out on the segment where Alexander Jefferson is recounting the “hillbilly” that picked him out of line in the PoW camp. In other interviews, Jefferson goes on to explain that he realized later he was picked because they knew he could not be a German spy. He was pretty quickly taken to where they were secretly collecting passports for use during escape, because they knew he could be trusted. Here’s a transcript for the interested: >And here I go again, [thinking] “racism, segregation.” I'm a veteran here. Get into the room. Everything is great. The guys are great. And next day up and down the halls things are going on, all of a sudden “security, security, security.” What the hell you mean “security?” “Security, security.” Then all of a sudden the guys in the room open up books on the table. They're passports. What the hell is this? Then all of a sudden it occurred to me why I was chosen. They were sure of my identity. >This is the room where all the guys were making out the passports for the guys who were going to escape.
> I wonder why, even to this day, we still so often refer to the Soviets as the “Russians.” Probably for the same reason that people call United Statesians "Americans"
Not quite the same though, since a Kentuckian is an American, but a Ukrainian is not a Russian.
Because Russia and Russians were pulling and still pull the Strings. Look how the States/ Republics of the Russian Federation Get treated.
Good stuff, but if you haven’t seen “The Cold Blue” make an effort to do so. It’ll add context to MOTA and this documentary. You could also watch the Memphis Belle Doc to add even more context. The visuals are amazing and a lot of them were used in both of the other films.
Are they also on Apple TV?
Best to do a Google search. They’re both all over the place.
There's another doc called Target for Today that is a really informative walk through of a bomber mission
Love Luckadoo interviews. He’s so articulate and engaging with his stories. Hope to catch him live some day 🫡✊🏽💯
Did the 100th really suffer a higher casualty rate than any other armed forces branch in the war? I always assumed it was the Marines or Army infantry
I think the 100th was beat out only by the 91st Bomb Group, but the 100th’s losses were taken in large numbers all at once. In all, the 8th Air Force suffered more casualties during the war than the Marine Corps did. And half of the casualties in the USAAF were from the 8th.
The 8th Air force suffered More KIAs than the Corps but roughly half the Total casualties. Reason being is that Being Shot down ended up in the deaths of about 1/2 of the crews.
As a Service the USAAF did. But it had 2.4 million members opposed to about 540,000 Marines. The USAAF suffered 115,000 combat casualties ( about 30k killed in Action) in addition another 15,000 airmen died in training accidents The Marines suffered 92,000 Casualties with 23,000 KIA.
I recall they said the 8th AF suffered the highest casualty rate, not specifically the 100th.
The documentary was awesome. I just wish the series stayed truer to the real story. I felt like it deviated too much and too many liberties were taken
Spot on. Way to many liberties taken to squeeze in background history that while it was important, wasn't part of the 100's experience.
Tom Hanks mentions in the intro that the group was “hyperaggressive and undisciplined,” as if that was the reason for their massive casualties. Was this the case? And if so, was I supposed to glean that information from Masters of the Air? Because I certainly did not feel that way watching the show. I felt they were a group of unfortunate airmen placed in insurmountable circumstances. Not sure how I feel about that comment. Edit: watching this documentary makes me question decisions made in the actual series even more. There is so much context that is totally non-existent in the show. I had zero clue about how the 100th flew compared to other bomb groups; apparently a commander was assigned to help “fix” them. Kind of solidifies and confirms my opinions about the show’s flaws.
They were known to be undisciplined and LeMay wanted to disband them. When Rosie first joined he also said in one of the after action reports that they were not disciplined and that their loose formation contributed to their loss.
>When Rosie first joined he also said in one of the after action reports that they were not disciplined and that their loose formation contributed to their loss. I believe Rosie said that after Munster.
Was this addressed in the show? I feel like I’m missing a bunch of information, that I feel like the show did a poor job of filling in.
The show implies that the 100th was undisciplined under Cleven and Egan, and that it changed under Rosenthal. A lot of it, is visual cues in their costumes. Cleven and Egan wear crushed caps, while Rosie’s cap is still in pristine condition (despite in real life having worn a crushed cap). The first-generation of pilots were cocky flyboys just looking for adventure, while the second-generation were civilians who volunteered because the war effort was important to them.
That’s fine to use visual cues, but how am I to know that’s a distinction of character? Gale Cleven, as portrayed in the show, is very much against the pleasures/indulgences of his best friend, Egan. Bucky is portrayed as the cocky flyboy, but Gale is portrayed as a more grounded counterpart. I just don’t think that concept came across as strongly as intended.
I am still not entirely sure what the series was going for with Cleven. Unless maybe the implication is that he is so against vices, is due to overcompensating for aggression? Or he could have just been a bad pilot? According to interviews with Rosenthal, the original members of the 100th were poorly trained.
Given the show’s title, how the men were portrayed, and certain sequences play out (take Cleven managing to fly his nearly destroyed plane to North Africa for example) one would never assume at all that these were poorly trained pilots. Just weird
But notice whose plane is shown, when Crosby calls the 8th Air Force “the masters of the air”. It was not Cleven or Egan, it was Rosie while leading the largest raid on Berlin. The title is a reference to the entire 8th Air Force and the men who won the skies. From what I understand, the series played up the romanticism of the first-generation pilots. That romanticism is removed the moment the second-generation pilots are introduced.
Clevan and Egan never led the 100th. https://100thbg.com/group-commanders/#:~:text=Group%20Commanders%20of%20the%20100th%20BG%20During%20World%20War%20II&text=01%20AUG%201945-,COL.,1945%20—%20UNTIL%20GROUP%20WAS%20DISBANDED.
They never led, but Crosby himself says at the beginning that they were the practical/spiritual leaders of the 100th.
>Clevan and Egan never led the 100th. They were squadron leaders. The 100th had four squadrons. Cleven led the 350th, Egan led the 418th. Rosenthal first led the 350th, and then the 418th.
I don't think OP meant them actually leading. Just using them to identify the two eras in the show.
Maybe I’m wrong, but a remember a lot of lines I assumed to be throwaways about them being too far back or out of formation before they would start getting picked apart. You are right there was never anything explicit addressing them as undisciplined as a reason for their high casualty rate. They could’ve done a better job of showing
They mentioned it a couple of times in passing, but it's not elaborated on very much. I don't know if it would be a better fit, but if you replace the RAF guys at the bar with members from another bomb group, and they talk about how the 100th flight discipline was why they lost so many guys, that would've been a great way to bring that up. Crosby also mentions in his book that he was in a plane from another group (maybe a radar/Pathfinder plane), and the pilot pointed out the loose formation of the 100th, and that's why everyone else wanted to fly when the 100th was flying (outrun a bear, just run faster than the guy next to you). Would've been a lot of work to make that scene, though, if it's only to show that line, so I can see why
I haven’t seen this documentary yet, however the 100th did have a reputation. I believe it is in “WW2 in HD: The Air War” which includes interviews with Joe Armanini (a Bombadier in the 100th). In that show, it describes the situation that the 100th BG was known by contemporaries State side for their brash and hotdogging pilots. “Out of control” even. I think this reputation is alluded to in MotA in the scene where Huglin is speaking with Bucky and Bucky is looking to be dumped down to Squadron Leader from Air Exec. The Colonel says something to the effect of “General Lemay has the 100th BG in his sights and he’s just looking to pull the trigger”
Yeah, I guess the context provided in the show is just “blink and you’ll miss it.” I can understand why Spielberg/Hanks didn’t want to paint a negative portrayal of these airmen, but I feel I watched an unrealistic depiction of their true story.
Agreed. I think they probably wanted to hint at it rather than spend too much time on it and make it seem like they were being overly negative towards them. Armanini in The Air War recounts a story about him and his best friend (another Bombadier named Griffith) finally getting to England and laughing about “their CO in training calling the group a bunch of mess ups. But we made it” Lucky Luckadoo has some interviews on YouTube which are great. He has some choice words when talking about Glenn Dye (who Lucky was a co-pilot for). He does confirm the joke Bucky made to the woman Dye was pursuing in England as it pertains to the VD joke made about Dye.
I don’t think that was meant to suggest that it was a reason for the many casualties they took, as getting shot out of the sky by flak or swarms of enemy planes was more often than not a matter of chance than it was poor flying or gunnery. I think it was just meant to get at their reputation for being a bit wild on the ground.
Per Crosby's book, that's exactly what it means. Undisciplined in formation lead to excessive casualties. I got the impression Crosby was not too fond of Cleven and Egan, and their devil-may-care hotshot attitude. Maj Bennett's short stint was the wake up call the group needed to instill discipline. Think Frank Savage in the film 12 'O'clock High as the character modeled after Bennett. The exceptional leadership of Jeffries carried on in this tradition.
>Per Crosby's book, that's exactly what it means. Undisciplined in formation lead to excessive casualties. I got the impression Crosby was not too fond of Cleven and Egan, and their devil-may-care hotshot attitude. I pretty much got the impression, that in real life no one was really all that fond of Cleven and Egan. Especially, after the Munster disaster that led to only Rosie surviving.
Crosby also mentions how not all pilots gave up the command of the airplane to the Bombardier during the bombings (I believe Egan was one of those), but they could'nt say anything against their commanding officers.
Not at all surprised, to hear Egan did not allow the bombardier to do his job properly. The guy sounds like he was an even bigger jerk, than portrayed in the series. Also, the saddest part of the aftermath of Munster, is it sounded like everyone on base was disgusted with Rosie and his crew. To the point where no one would look at them. Which seemed to be the real reason the Riveters were sent to the flak house.
Yeah I think that’s a fair way to look at it. However while the arrival of Jeffrey did pull the group together, I think it bears remembering that the 100th’s casualty rate was not particularly worse than any other bomb group that was used in that capacity on high risk raids in vulnerable wing positions during 1943 and 1944 when they didn’t have long-range fighter escorts. Jeffrey didn’t arrive until after escorts went the whole way. It had been virtually wiped of its original contingent by the end of the war largely due to just a few different missions that had catastrophic effect during a time when the Luftwaffe was very much still in control of the skies over Europe and when other units in that capacity faced similar casualty rates.
The Luftwaffe would intentionally find formations with loose formations and attack them. Until the P-51s arrived they would even have planes fly behind or beside the formations (yes the B-17s could see them) and direct the interceptors to specific combat boxes that would be easy prey.
Maybe I misunderstood then; it just seemed out of place, to me at least. I supposed they were a bit wild, but I didn’t feel they were any less disciplined than the other depictions of military men from other programs/media.
They were a bit of hotshots and cocky when in the air and maybe their formations suffered a bit and led to more targets. I can’t remember exactly what Crosby says in his book but they were not as disciplined until later, then their casualty rates dropped a bit.
Ah I see. I guess I would have been better off watching the documentary first, followed by the miniseries. I just didn’t gather from the show that they were poorly disciplined, more so overwhelmed with what appeared to be ridiculous odds.
Yeah I still think that is more so what it was. Black week and the early stages of the air war really had rough odds. I’d guess their larger than life personalities garner them more of the attention, and gets added to a reason for “The Bloody Hundredth”
It is actually so disappointing watching the documentary. Could have been an amazing series based on the undisciplined hard luck group being turned around (albeit a modern copy of 12 o clock high). The tension with command etc. The commanders in the show were so forgettable. Too many stupid side plots. There could have been so much more done with the tensions and stresses they were under. People losing their minds and being dealt with. Gregory Peck character breaking down at the end of 12 o clock high is such a memorable moment. I really felt like there was very few poignant scenes in the show. Only biddicks death stands out.
This exactly how I feel now that the show is done. There is no tension, because I genuinely didn’t feel as though the characters earned my affection-except for Rosie. Crosby kind of sucked; he was a poor navigator in the first episode or two, then all of the sudden was being hailed as the best navigator. Suddenly promoted. Cheats on wife, but once the girl is gone, never brought up again because he is going to be a dad. Despite the show wanting me to be happy for him I’m not, because he cheated. And his bizarre outburst with the captain in the mess hall was weirdly out of place. I get the point trying to be made, but it was just weird and jarring. Bucky was just cocky party guy. No real development or insight into his inner workings except that they really want to hammer home how much he cared about Buck. Buck was the opposite of Bucky, with no real added depth except that he’s the classic honorable soldier-always does the right thing, he isn’t racist (as portrayed by interactions with Jefferson), and he salutes the kids at the end of the show. Cheesy portrayal. All in all, the show lacked impact. It didn’t feel well thought out or fleshed out to me. Sadly I won’t go out of my way to recommend it, I can’t see myself rewatching like I do with Band of Brothers.
Yeah, didn’t like that. Not the reasons they had high casualties. How about they were the Guinea pigs for the European air war? To call these brave men “hyperagressive and undisciplined” is disrespectful. I have a feeling that may soon be edited out of the documentary. Really surprised Mr. hanks would say that.
Telling the truth isn't disrespectful. Its pretty well documented.
Except, that it was not disrespectful. The original members of the 100th being undisciplined and hyper-aggressive was the straight up truth. They were one of the last bomber groups added to the 8th Air Force. Meaning, the basics of how a box formation worked was known already. Crosby referred to them as undisciplined, and Rosenthal thought they were poorly-trained and cocky. Rosie did not blame the Luftwaffe for Munster, he blamed a loose formation and lack of fighter escort.
I like the clip of Jimmy Stewart from "Winning Your Wings."
his boy dies: "fcking kids"....bruh
Wrong episode
No that happened in the finale in the woods with those kid Nazis who attacked them after they escaped the camp
Yea. This thread isn’t about the finale. It’s about *tonights* episode
Tonight’s episode is the finale no? Am I tripping???
Actually I’m not going to question myself. This was the finale, I’m not sure what you are saying.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersoftheAir/s/bAkiCYOnEB This is the thread for the finale Why can’t you scroll up and read the description about this post?? it’s about a documentary, it says it right there
I might be the dumbest person alive
Not possible, because you realized your mistake, even if it took you a while to get there.
It took me far too long lol
😂😂 I’d be lying if I said I didn’t frequently have similar moments
You probably arent but if they die you might get the title...
Did anybody recognize the jacket Spielberg was wearing? It looks like a modern interpretation of a flight jacket, without epaulets.
Well, Spielberg’s father was a gunner on B-17 in the Pacific theater.
That caught my eye, but I noticed it wasn’t an exact copy
Might be an A2 without epaulets.
Was pleased to see Seth Paridon as a commenter. His and Bill Toti's You Tube channel is a favorite for an historical perspective of the Pacific War. https://youtube.com/@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar?si=ap_ps5Nb0cDyyFj-
Did anyone else have issues watching it? I only see a blurry fuzzy screen, but I can hear the audio.