NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks series drew on an autobiographical account of a WWII veteran’s service as a B17 bomber navigator. Now, the author’s granddaughter, CNN correspondent Chloe Melas, is working to republish her grandfather’s book to ensure his story lives on.
“My grandfather originally wrote his memoir, ‘Luck of the Draw’ for our family, but we truly believe he would have loved for it to reach a wider audience,” she told 1010 WINS. “He spent nearly 10 years writing it and doing intense research.”
Frank Murphy was a navigator for the 100th Bomb Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth.
His “flying fortress” B17 bomber was shot down over Germany, and he spent 18 months in a Nazi POW camp.
“This story is about perseverance,” said Melas. “My grandfather overcame insurmountable odds. Almost daily he faced death, survived being shot out of his airplane, stayed mentally strong during his 18 months as a prisoner of war in Germany and went on to have a wonderful life after the war. I hope that his experiences inspire everyone to hold on, because things will get better.”
“Luck of the Draw,” Murphy’s account of his ordeal, was originally published 20 years ago. With his story slated to be retold in Spielberg’s “Masters of the Air,” Melas and her mother, Elizabeth Murphy, worked to get an updated publication with a new forward.
“I went to my agent and told her that my grandfather had written this unbelievable book over 20 years ago and that he would be featured in the upcoming Apple TV series, ‘Masters of the Air,’” said Melas. “She immediately put me in touch with a fabulous book agent named Anthony, who helped us get the book in front of numerous publishers.”
“Masters of the Air” will be one of the most expensive television shows ever made with a budget of over $500 million. The show will be primarily based on Donald Miller’s book “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.” Murphy’s account helped inform the show, and he will be represented as a character in the series.
No premier date has been set for the show, but the new version of Murphy’s book will be released Tuesday.
All proceeds will go toward the 100th Bomb Group Foundation and the Mighty 8th Museum.
Murphy died in 2007, but Melas said she hopes the book will honor her grandfather’s legacy and that of all the lives lost and impacted by the war.
“To be able to shine a light on not just the hard work he put into the book but the bravery of these young men during WWII is what this is all about.”
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