'What these very young men did, I think is worthy of telling,' Herzog said about the real men of the 100th Bombardment Group
‘Masters of The Air’ companion doc director talks about the real men portrayed in the hit series
The director of "The Bloody Hundredth," the documentary on the aviators portrayed in AppleTV+’s hit series "Masters of The Air," praised the World War II drama for being "very authentic" and "true to form" to the struggle that these men endured.
The director of "The Bloody Hundredth," a new documentary on the real-life aviators portrayed in the hit AppleTV+ series "Masters of The Air," praised the World War II drama for being "very authentic" and "true to form" to the struggle that these men endured during some of the most dangerous and daring air missions in U.S. history.
Mark Herzog, who also directed "We Stand Alone Together," the companion documentary to the legendary WWII series "Band of Brothers" more than 20 years ago, spoke to Fox News Digital about his new documentary which tells the true story of the men portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s latest World War II series.
Spielberg executive produced the new series, along with "Saving Private Ryan" star Tom Hanks, who also narrates Herzog’s historical film.
An image of a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber, the plane flown by the 8th Air Force's 100th Bombardment Group during bombing raids in World War II. (Joe Giddens - PA Images / Contributor)
Herzog noted how his film and the show strove to accurately portray the men of the 100th Bombardment Group, a unit of the 8th Air Force that flew B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers on raids into Axis-controlled Europe.
The group earned the nickname "The Bloody Hundredth" because they sustained the heaviest losses of any U.S. combat unit in the war. Several of the show’s most dramatic scenes depict the brave men of the squadron desperately trying to shoot down Nazi fighter planes as they pick off B-17s one by one in the skies over Europe.
"This is a very authentic and, true to form series. This series – this is the 100th's story. And Playtone is very, vigilant in how they represent these men's stories," Herzog claimed, noting the production company's commitment to accuracy.
"And I think it shows in the series, and it shows in the documentary as well. We follow along with a lot of the missions that you see in the series. And what's great is that you get to hear it from the veterans themselves in this case, what it really was like on October 8th, in the mission where Gale Cleven got shot down," he continued.
Major Gale "Buck" Cleven is one of the "Hundredth's" B-17 pilots portrayed in the series. The real-life veteran is played by "Elvis" and "Dune: Part Two" star, Austin Butler.
Mentioning the harrowing true tales of one of series’ other main characters, Lt. Col. Robert Rosenthal, Herzog said, "And the fact that, Rosie Rosenthal – no one would believe it, but he did 52 missions. He was set to go home after 25, and he re-ups. Because in his mind, this is, you know, where the heart of the battle is. Why shouldn't he still be there?"
Herzog’s documentary is a mix of interviews with several of the pilots and crew members of these historic and deadly bombing raids – the real Rosenthal gets a lot of screentime – and scenes of restored historical footage of B-17 formations and brutal air-to-air combat.
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The filmmaker described the terror of these air combat missions that he and the series' creators strove to recreate for their recent productions, noting that he never realized how dangerous these situations were until working on the project.
"I have to admit, I didn't know much about what a B-17 crew member went through and, what the experiences of a B-17, or for that matter, B-24, or any of the fighter [pilots] that accompanied any of these, bombers – you know, what they really went through flying over on these missions."
He continued, describing how these pilots go "through flak, miles and miles and miles of flak, which is basically bombs that blow up right next to your plane and send shrapnel through the plane. And then battling the Luftwaffe, the most formidable, at the time, the most formidable air force in the world."
Herzog described their experiences, stating that these pilots "went through hell and back."
The director noted how important it was for him to tell the stories of the real men depicted in the series.
"I think it's important to tell stories of what we went through – Americans went through – in World War II," he said, adding that this "patriotic" generation did "stave off the Nazi takeover of the world."
"What these very young men did, I think is worthy of telling. This is why we're telling the story 80 years after."
The season finale of "Masters of The Air" premieres on AppleTV+ on Friday, March 15.
Fox News Digital’s Cortney O’Brien contributed to this report.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
