Inside the Vault Takes to the Skies to Discuss Masters of the Air
By Angela Tudico | National Archives News
WASHINGTON, November 13, 2024 — The second installment of the National Archives’ new monthly virtual program, Inside the Vault, takes flight with Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War on Monday, November 18 at 6 p.m. ET.
Donald L. Miller, World War II historian and author of Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, and Kirk Saduski, co-producer of the related Apple TV+ miniseries, will discuss the book and series, as well as the history of the American Eighth Air Force in World War II that provided the inspiration for both. Clips from the series will also be shown.
"As the National Archives celebrates veterans this month, it's fitting that our second installment of Inside the Vault highlights those who served this nation in the greatest conflict in human history." said Ben Jordi, NARA's Acting Director of Communications and Marketing and the moderator of next week’s discussion. "As an Army aviation veteran, I'm personally looking forward to the discussion, and I'm excited to see where the conversation takes us."
Masters of the Air, published in 2006, blends archival research and oral histories to tell the story of the Eighth Air Force, stationed at bases across southeast England. Both the book and the nine-episode miniseries, released earlier this year, simultaneously offer a sweeping birds-eye view of this history and the up-close human side of this part of the Allied war effort.
From the cover of Donald L. Miller's Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.
Thousands of 10-man crews flew missions over Europe in heavy bombers like the B-17 Flying Fortress to bolster the campaign to liberate the continent. The book and the series portray these missions alongside the daily lives of the airmen who were critical to Allied success.
The cost of that successful air war is also explored. As Miller writes in Masters of the Air, “There were two sets of victims in the European bomber war: those who were bombed and the men who bombed them.” Miller later explains, “The cost in lives lost was appalling. The Eighth Air Force, the largest aerial striking force in the war, sustained between 26,000 and 28,000 fatalities, roughly one-tenth of the Americans killed in World War II.”
Registration for Inside the Vault: Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War is now open. The program will be streamed live on YouTube and Facebook.
Inside the Vault is fully virtual, accessible anywhere, and open to everyone. The program can be found on the National Archives YouTube channel after each month’s live stream.
Next month’s program in this series, Inside the Vault: Holidays at the White House, will take place on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET. It will feature a conversation with former White House chefs who helped First Families celebrate and will offer a behind-the-scenes look into life as a White House chef, as well as holiday traditions there over the years.
Learn more about Inside the Vault and upcoming programs by visiting the series’ web page. This and other future programming can also be found on the National Archives Calendar of Events.
This program is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation.