Air Force is a 1943 Academy-Award-winning movie directed by Howard Hawks. It starred John Garfield, John Ridgely, and Gig Young. The film details the story the crew of the Mary-Ann, a B-17 bomber, in the early days of World War II. It begins with a flight from California to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, beginning on December 6, 1941. The unarmed B-17 squadron arrived right at the beginning of the Japanese attack (This really happened; radar operators thought the Japanese planes they detected was the incoming fight of B-17s). It portrays John Garfield as a disaffected gunner who was washed out of flight school after a mid-air collision where another pilot was killed. Harry Caray has a very effective role as the Mary-Ann's crew chief and a long time veteran in the Army Air Corps with a son who is a pilot. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Howard Hawks Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era. ... John Garfield John Garfield (born March 4, 1913 in New York City; died May 21, 1952 in New York City) was an American actor. ... Actor John Ridgely in The Big Sleep John Ridgely (September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. ... Actor Gig Young in City That Never Sleeps Gig Young (November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American film actor. ...

Made in the early days of World War II, there is quite a bit of anti-Japanese propaganda. The crew is shot at by "local Japanese" on Maui and the Hickam Field commander tells the crew that vegetable trucks knocked the tails off a row of P-40 Warhawk fighters as the attack began. As detailed in Walter Lord's book, Day of Infamy, later investigations proved no Japanese-American was involved in any sabotage during the Pearl Harbor attack.