WWII B-17 crew members tell their story one last time to local documentary director

WARNER ROBINS — Very few World War II veterans remain alive to share their stories, but a local director made it his mission to record living history. The movie, “10 Good Men” will premiere on Sunday, May 24 at the Piedmont Grand Opera House in Macon. 

The film will be about the men who flew the Boeing B-17, also known as the Flying Fortress. 

Director Trent Jones said it was the most iconic bomber of World War II, and in his opinion, American history. 

10 Good Men is a 90-minute documentary that will include rare and colorized archival footage. Emmy Award-winning voice talent Dan Nachtrab will also narrate it. 

Jones said the film has already received rave reviews from New York Times best-selling authors and respected Air Force historians. 

The B-17 was the first heavy bomber developed by the United States. It was produced in mass numbers that were then sent to lead the bombing campaign in Europe. It was used against the Nazi war machine and Germany. 

Jones said the film tells the final story of the aircraft through the words of the men who flew it. He believes this film is important right now because, on average, veterans are about 101 years old. 

“This is their last time telling this story,” he said

Jones was born and raised in Warner Robins. He is also a graduate of Houston County High School.

He made his directorial debut on YouTube. He started by making short documentaries about aviation history. He said he was lucky that people enjoyed watching his videos. Jones then began making it his full-time job. 

From there, he built a large following on his YouTube channel, which has 295,000 subscribers, and on Facebook. 

In late 2022, he was allowed to interview their first WWII veteran. He then recreated his story through a video, which was a success. 

People then started reaching out to Jones, eager to share stories of other WWII veterans. He said that it is hard to find them, but thanks to technology and a passionate audience, he was able to locate them. 

“Through that we were able to find these guys and start to connect with them and start to put together this project,” he said. 

Jones and his crew also did the research to find other veterans, such as finding news articles. After the veteran’s approval, he and his Associate Producer, Joshua Profit, also a Houston County native, would travel to their location and interview them. 

Over the past three years, they have interviewed about 40 veterans. Only 15 of them were on the B-17, and of those, 10 are featured in the movie. Jones shared that this was the perfect number because it was the number of crew members that could serve on the aircraft. 

This then inspired the title of the film: 10 Good Men. 

At a young age, Jones fell in love with history. He would build model planes when he was about 10-years-old. He especially loved aviation history and enjoyed learning about old aircraft and aerial combat. 

Through his passion and creativity, he realized the people who experienced those time periods are still alive today. 

“At some point you realize as you get older that eventually they’re not going to be here. When they’re not here, their stories are gone and they’re not coming back,” he said. “If nobody records and preserves those stories and those firsthand accounts, then they’re simply gone forever.”

Jones learned people can read combat reports, but only the people who lived it can describe how it felt, how it smelled, how scary it was, and how it felt to lose a friend. 

“Those sorts of things cannot be conveyed by simple military histories. Those can only be preserved by firsthand accounts,” he said. 

Jones believes it is crucial to preserve their history, especially since those men are passing away. He said it is vital for people to understand what happened and know that thousands of young men answered a call to fight against tyranny around the world.

“Without that, the world would be very different and, likely, a whole lot worse today. It is because of the courage and sacrifice of a bunch of 18 and 19 year old kids that we have what we have today. If we forget that, then eventually we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes,” he said.

One of the most important lessons he learned is that making a movie is both difficult and expensive. The most important lesson he learned was that many of the veterans he met have something in common. Jones said that as they are nearing their final phase of life, their priority is that people remember. 

“That’s one of the crucial themes of the film is the word, ‘remember.’ As these guys leave us they almost, without fail, just want to make sure that people remember what happened to them, their friends, [and] the guys that never came back,” he said. 

Jones also learned how to live a life worth living. He said that many of those veterans have recognized what is important now.

He shared that if anyone wants to live until they are 100 years old, they have to be passionate about something and get up every day to do it. 

Those veterans are still active in their communities by participating in their local ping pong club, going out to swim, riding a bike, or volunteering at a church. Jones noticed they do not sit and do nothing, which stuck out to him. 

The premiere is on Memorial Day weekend, which Jones believes is a great time to remember the men who didn’t come back. He wants this to be a takeaway for the audience. 

Jones also aims to make history cool again. He remains very passionate about learning history. He recognizes how learning about something that happened 80 years ago can affect him today. 

Jones hopes to pass on that passion to other people. He wants to let them know that learning history and educating themselves can positively change their life; another takeaway he hopes audiences will feel. 

This is also why he decided to premiere the film in theaters rather than on YouTube. The movie will be featured in nine theaters across the country over the next month. Their goal was to support theaters that support them. 

“We want people to bring their families. We want people to experience this together. We want people to be able to put down a phone, get away from a computer screen and go experience this film with friends and family because it’s important to do that,” he said. “That’s the best way to share in watching something like this.”

10 Good Men will premiere on Sunday, May 24, at 5 p.m at the Piedmont Grand Opera House, located at 651 Mulberry Street, Macon. 

Those interested can purchase tickets through the theater’s website. They can also visit the film’s website here. 

To watch the film’s trailer, visit the TJ3 History YouTube channel.