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Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer's "Eager Beavers" were a World War II B-17 bomber crew stationed in Australia and New Guinea in 1943, their nickname inspired by Zeamer’s constant volunteering for missions and the crew's happiness to oblige him.

They were part of the early aerial effort first to stop a Japanese invasion of Australia, and then to take the offensive against Japan. It was a part of the war as primitive as it is unknown, literally and figuratively the polar opposite of the European air war:

Handfuls of beat-up bombers flying two-day missions, unescorted, out of nomadic, Civil War-style tent camps in jungles and prairies, across thousands of miles of ocean and through the most violent storms on Earth, to bomb the most fortified harbor in the Pacific. A war in which dust and disease are as much an enemy as the Japanese.

It was an incredible feat of ingenuity and perseverance—traits the Eager Beavers would combine with training and preparation above and beyond, helping them repeatedly to take the initiative and defy the odds. Helping them, ultimately, to make history.

They are the most highly decorated air crew in American history.

IN THE WORKS

Watch BIG on YouTube for more info, and to see how to get a credit in the video!

COMING SOON on KINDLE

Paperback and audiobook in development

ZEAMER'S EAGER BEAVERS

The Incredible True Story

The culmination of over thirty years of research, this anthology will contain the most authoritative accounts of this historic crew, including:

  • The (real) story of the crew
  • The most comprehensive biographies available of Medal of Honor recipients Jay Zeamer Jr. and Joseph Sarnoski
  • The most up-to-date history available of B-17E "Old 666"/"Lucy"

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This story has received over 11 million views in various videos online, with 200,000 likes and tens of thousands of comments with one constant refrain:

"How is this not a movie or miniseries?"

I agree.  I have both an eight-episode limited series breakdown, including full episode summaries, as well as a feature script available to send.

Others can try to tell this story, but no one else has talked to the crew members themselves.  No one else has talked to almost thirty family members to learn who these men really were.

No one else knows this story—the real story—the real men—the way I do.

I've done what I can.  Now these men need a champion in the film/television industry to tell their story the way it deserves to be told.

Contact me at zeamerseagerbeavers@gmail.com.

The Story Behind the Story

Introducing myself, and explaining how—and why—I've come to know what I know about the Eager Beavers.

New + Popular Features

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My National Medal of Honor Museum article

The National Medal of Honor Museum invited me to write an article on Zeamer, Sarnoski, and the 16 June 1943 mission which resulted in their each being awarded the Medal of Honor.

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Front cover of LUCKY 666

My (former) Amazon LUCKY 666 review

I wrote an Amazon review of Drury and Clavin's Lucky 666 when it was published in 2016.  In 2023 it vanished without notice or explanation, and now I'm not permitted.  Why?  You be the judge.  Here's the bizarre story and the review.

Front cover of LUCKY 666
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My First Interview

An unexpected and exciting development. Excellent questions and commentary from the great gang at Mack Maloney's Military X-Files podcast.

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Photo of B-17E #41-266, a.k.a. "Lucy" and "Old 666"

History of "Lucy" / "Old 666"

What's the real story of B-17E #41-2666?  Read the most comprehensive history available of the Fortress made famous by the Eager Beavers.

Photo of B-17E #41-266, a.k.a. "Lucy" and "Old 666"

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