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creative team, spent long hours interviewing the
family members of individual airmen, and where
possible, the veterans themselves... and last but
not least, the leadership of the 100th Bombard-
ment Group Foundation and its historians as well.
The power of the legacy of the 100th BG has
been preserved by the veterans themselves
for years and today by its Foundation as well.
The latter is made up of, in addition to the last
surviving veterans, by direct descendants of
the second, third and subsequent generations,
and will thus be strengthened by the work on
the front lines of attention and deep reverence.
Names such as Robert Rosenthal, Buck Cleven,
John Egan, Frank Murphy, Everett Blakely, John
Brady, Harry Crosby, as well as ‘forgotten’ ground
crewmen such as Ken Lemmons and many oth-
ers, will enter the general public’s consciousness.
And with them, of course, the iconic ‘Square D’,
the 100th BG identification marking that the unit’s
B-17s carried on their rudders in missions over
Germany and occupied Europe… and which was
also prevalent on the wreckage of the B-17G
flown by Lt. Trommer that was photographed
sticking out of the roof of the school in Kovářská,
which I went to four decades later as a pupil at
the local elementary school. The mysticism of the
place dug deep into me and caused me to pretend
to be ‘there’ and write with seeming insight about
figures like Rosie Rosenthal or Harry Crossby.
No way, I’m not an insider, I’ve just been extreme-
ly lucky and honored in this direction that at the
end of January the stories of the men of the
Bloody Hundred will come to life, I will be able to
look behind the faces of the actors and witness
the moments spent with those about whom the
stories will be told. And I’m just looking forward
to it.
Photo Sources:
Masters Of The Air Behind The Scenes (FB group)
100th Bomb Group Foundation - “The Bloody Hundredth” (FB group)
Archives of the 100th Bomb Group Foundation
Archives of the Museum of Air Battle Over the Ore Mountains
Additional information:
https://100thbg.com
https://100thbg.com/masters-of-the-air/
https://www.100bgmus.org.uk/
https://tv.apple.com/us/show/masters-of-the-air/umc.
cmc.7bxcni0vwgll9kmicq738k5q2
https://www.facebook.com/groups/873968469854049
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RWohylGm3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA-1JCRguZ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SDBjgIC93E
https://www.facebook.com/groups/873968469854049
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_the_Air
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_L._Miller
INFO Eduard
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January 2024