THE MILLIONAIRES’ UNIT is the unsung story of a group of Yale college students who took the initiative to learn to fly in preparation for America’s entry into World War I and became the founding squadron of the U.S. Naval Air Reserve.
Narrated by Academy Award®-nominated actor Bruce Dern, grand-nephew of one of the aviators, the feature-length documentary charts the romantic, little-known story of the origins of American airpower and features very rare archival footage and thrilling dogfighting sequences filmed air-to-air with replica WWI planes, some with original engines. Inspired by Marc Wortman’s book “The Millionaires’ Unit”, the film has been developed and produced by descendants of the First Yale Unit, including filmmaker Ron King, producers Harry Davison and Mike Davison, and narrator Bruce Dern who are all grand-nephews and grandsons of FYU members.
