CBS Eye on Veterans

The Metal Detector: Short film shares the epic story of an Austrian man’s quest to find survivors of WWII plane crash

This week we discuss an epic short film “The Metal Detector”. It’s a WWII veteran story with a modern twist. The film documents how Georg, an Austrian retiree whose mother witnessed the crash of an Allied B-17 during World War II, takes up metal detecting to find the wreckage.

His fascination (and sheer determination) lead him on a heartfelt mission, to not only research the backgrounds of the American crewmembers who parachuted off the plane into enemy territory, but also locate their descendants, and bring them to his Austrian town for the 75th anniversary of the crash.

Our guests; Filmmaker Brendan Patrick Hughes and documentary subject Mick Berry, an actor, musician and gifted playwright, discuss the trip to Austria where they met the townspeople who helped their fathers, other descendants of the crew, and discover pieces of the wreckage.

We also discuss the lives of these brave men, and are offered a glimpse into how they dealt with their PTSD after the war, as told through Berry’s one-man play “My father fought Hitler, the bottle and me”.

It’s a fascinating story of empathy, resilience, and the enduring power of human connection.

See The Metal Detector trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5nQe52xqAk

Watch the film on PBS here (or stream on the PBS app):

https://www.pbs.org/show/the-metal-detector/