The Cal State San Bernardino Student Veterans Organization (SVO) will host a watch party for “Masters of the Air,” a limited series drama that takes place during World War II and is based on the non-fiction book of the same title written by Donald L. Miller.

The SVO is one of only 10 student organizations nationwide selected to host a watch party on campus, which will take place from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Santos Manuel Student Union South Theater. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Register on Coyote Connection.

“The Student Veterans of America in Washington, D.C., has taken note of the increase in participation from our campus with the Student Veterans Organization,” said Ralph Figueroa, president of the SVO. “The outreach coordinator for the SVA, Natasha Dixon, is an alumna of CSUSB. She championed for our campus to be selected to host this event. 

“The SVA has taken notice of what our student veterans at CSUSB have accomplished since our chapter was recharted in 2022, most notably, our volunteer work in the community, a G.I. Jobs Magazine 2023 Student Veteran Leadership Award honoree and a Cal-Bridge Scholarship recipient – all of which cemented why CSUSB was chosen to host the watch party,” Figueroa said.

Adding to the prestige of the event, Tasha Latimer, the director of Marketing and Communications for Student Veterans of America, will join the CSUSB watch party.

“Masters of the Air,” according to the show’s website, “follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the ‘Bloody Hundredth’) as they conduct bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of ‘Masters of the Air.’ Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.”

The show has a personal connection to Cyndie Hart, vice president of the CSUSB Student Veterans Organization: their grandfather was a co-pilot on a B-17 Flying Fortress during World War II, flying in missions similar to those portrayed in the television series.

“Masters of the Air,” which premiered on Jan. 26 and is produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone and Apple TV+, is currently streaming on Apple TV+.

Visit the CSUSB Student Veterans Organization website and the Veterans Success Center website for more information on their programs.

SVO event flyer