Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Hosts Special Screening of Masters of the Air
Student veterans from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, members of the local community, and local veterans had the opportunity to attend an exclusive screening of Masters of the Air, a new multi-part series on the World War II (WWII) air campaign over the Axis Forces territory. This new series is a continuation of WWII storytelling from the co-producers of the series Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
During our 16th Annual NatCon, we screened an exclusive preview of Masters of the Air to our attendees, and since then, many student veterans have been enamored with the series, watching the first few episodes as they aired.
Having seen a few episodes prior to the screening at Embry-Riddle, student veterans were still excited to attend the premiere on-campus and relive the excitement. Embry-Riddle Student Veterans Organization President and U.S. Air Force veteran, Brian Meakins was in attendance for the exclusive screening at NatCon, and has since watched a few episode, but was still excited to watch again. “I really enjoyed re-watching this, picking up on all the smaller details that I didn’t notice at first,” said Meakins.
On February 7th, attendees gathered at the Mori Hosseini Student Union for a catered reception prior to the screening of Masters of the Air. During the reception, student veterans networked and engaged with other students and members of the local community building relationships to support the on- and off-campus veteran community.
Immediately following the catered reception, attendees moved to the Capt. Willie Miller Instructional Center Auditorium to view the first episode of the nine-part series. At the screening, attendees were joined by WWII Navy veteran Joseph Camarda who served as gunners mate aboard the USS Houston in the Atlantic theatre.
The screening lasted only 75 minutes, but it had a profound effect on the viewers giving them a ride of emotions as they witnessed the opening scenes depicting the WWII air campaign. WWII veteran Joseph Camarda said, “this will bring back memories, some will be good and some will be bad, but the end result will be worthwhile seeing,” as he reflected on his experiences during the war.
Camarda also reflected on how after long missions abroad, him and his shipmates would venture into the nearest town searching for places to unwind and possibly have an ounce of fun. He said, “what you did throughout the day, you had to get rid of it.”
Nearly 80 years removed from the WWII air campaign depicted in Masters of the Air, Meakins can relate to several of the moments shown on screen. “Watching the aircrew perform pre-flight checks reminded me of my time as aircrew in the Air Force,” said Meakins. He served in an air squadron that dates back to the WWII era, very similar to those featured in Masters of the Air, while stationed in Ramstein, Germany.
Overall, attendees were impressed by the event and series. Their insights after viewing the episode hit directly at the scale of this project and its success in portraying the WWII air campaign. “I felt it brought to the screen the enormity of the task that these Airmen were facing in the air war over Europe, while simultaneously showing the smaller private wars that they were fighting in each aircraft,” said Embry-Riddle student veteran Christopher O’Neill. “If this is any indication of the rest of the episodes, the quality of it, I’m definitely watching the series.”
