Air Force is a 1943 Academy-Award-winning movie directed by Howard Hawks. It starred John Garfield, John Ridgely, Harry Carey, and Gig Young as crew members on a B-17 Flying Fortress named Mary-Ann. An uncredited William Faulkner wrote the emotional death bed scene for the pilot of the Mary Ann. Made in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, it was one of the first of the "patriotic" films of the war, most often characterized as a propaganda film.
The Mary Ann, a B-17 Flying Fortress, takes off from California for Hawaii on a routine training flight on December 6, 1941. En route, they learn of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Subsequently the crew mans the Mary Ann through action at Wake Island, the Philippines, and the Battle of the Coral Sea. Written by Jim Beaver
