Local heroes Harry Crosby and Marvin ‘Red’ Bowman of the 100th Bomb Group are highlighted in the Apple TV+ drama ‘Masters of the Air’
By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News
A pair of aviators with deep Massachusetts roots are central players in the hit WWII drama “Masters of the Air,” streaming on Apple TV+. The nine-part series recounts the harrowing exploits of the famed 100th Bomb Group, a heavy bomber unit that wreaked havoc on Germany.
Among the notable figures is Lt. Col. Harry Crosby (Irish actor Anthony Boyle), a longtime resident of Newton and professor at Boston University. Another key player is Major Marvin “Red” Bowman (Stephen Campbell Moore), a Harvard graduate and reporter for the Boston Herald. Both were integral members of the squadron famously dubbed the “Bloody Hundredth” for its staggering casualties during missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.
Operating Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, the men of the 100th were stationed in England and strived to gain dominance in the skies over its German counterpart, the Luftwaffe. Although “Masters of the Air” explores the bravery and camaraderie of many men risking their lives during the war, from bombing U-boat pens at Bremen to enduring months as POWs in the Stalag Luft III, a Nazi prison camp, the character at the center of the narrative is Crosby, a longtime Newton resident played by Boyle. Crosby, who ironically suffers bouts of airsickness, was the squadron’s navigator. It’s fitting that he is the character to lead viewers through the narrative journey as the series’ narrator.
The star-studded cast includes Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Callum Turner (“Emma.”), Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”), Bel Powley (“The Diary of a Teenage Girl”), and Joanna Kulig (“Cold War”). Produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman, the masterminds behind Emmy-winning series “Band of Brothers” (2001) and “The Pacific” (2010), the episodes were directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, Dee Rees, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and Tim Van Patten. Hanks also lends his voice to “The Bloody Hundredth,” a companion documentary honoring the real-life heroes of the 100th Bomb Group.
From 1943 until the war’s end in 1945, Crosby completed 32 combat missions. His strategic prowess guided crucial efforts such as the Munster Raid, the bombing of the Messerschmitt fighter factory, and the routes over France during D-Day, ensuring the safe navigation of countless warplanes to their targets and back home again.
Following the war, Crosby, a Des Moines native, pursued academia, obtaining his Ph.D from Stanford University. Relocating to Newton with his wife and four children, he embarked on a distinguished teaching career at Boston University before retiring in 1984. Active in Massachusetts politics, Crosby supported figures like U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and former Gov. Michael Dukakis. He died on July 28, 2010, at age 91, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and friendship. At his memorial service, Dukakis said, “He could be tough—and in being tough, he was often the best kind of friend.” Crosby’s 1993 memoir “A Wing and a Prayer” inspired the character’s narration in “Masters of the Air.”
In a smaller but pivotal role, British actor Moore plays Massachusetts native Marvin “Red” Bowman, an intelligence officer who drops his “Rs” in words like “navigate-ah” (navigator), “bawm-bah-dee-uh” (bombardier), and “ray-dah” (radar) during mission briefings. According to the historical records of the 100th Bomb Group Foundation, Bowman was born in Somerville and lived in Arlington, Cambridge, and the Wollaston section of Quincy. He served in the U.S. Air Service during World War I, spending six months overseas. He retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1955 as a lieutenant colonel and went on to have a long career in journalism, including reporting and editing for the Associated Press, the Boston Sunday Advertiser, and the Boston Herald.
By all accounts, Bowman was “the consummate New Englander” who could spin a yarn better than anyone. He was widely known for his spirited mission briefings, which “Masters of the Air” showcases in the third episode, where Bowman draws laughs for praising Keoghan’s character for his “uncharacteristically astute question.” He then goes on to outline a mission that will end in Africa “where cold bee-ah and lobstah tails” await. Bowman died on December 19, 1976, at age 80.
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