I have previously written about 384th Bomb Group navigator Edward Field and ball turret gunner Jack Coleman Cook, and about the animated short film Edward’s niece, Diane Weis, created from Edward’s poem, “World War II.” The poem chronicles the events of their B-17’s crash into the North Sea on their return to England following the 8th Air Force’s mission to Berlin on February 3, 1945.

Today happens to be the seventy-sixth anniversary of Edward and Jack’s crash into the North Sea and today I’m happy to be able to share the entirety of the film, “Minor Accident of War” with you.

The film did very well on the film festival circuit and is now in consideration for this year’s Oscar race. The 93rd Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.

If you’d like to watch “Minor Accident of War” in its entirety, which comes in at just under ten minutes, I’ve embedded it below. Be sure to turn up the volume, go to full screen, and just click the Play button.

* * * Minor Accident of War * * *

*  *  *

The talented “Minor Accident of War” team includes,

• Executive Producer Diane Fredel-Weis
• Story Edward Field
• Animator Piotr Kabat
• Narrator Edward Field
• Producers Diane Fredel-Weis and David Finch
• Animation Consultant Alex Kupershmidt
• Sound Design Michal Fojcik, Soundmind Studios
• Composer Alex Gimeno
• Production Supervisor Stephen M. Cyr
• Narration Recording John Kilgore Studios
• Technical Support Gabriel Weis
• Film Photographer Elise Bloom
• Legal Assistance Alana Crow
• Research Consultant Cindy Farrar Bryan
• Business Manager Andrea Ferraco
• With Special Thanks to 384th Bomb Group website and Craig Murray

I am proud to have played my part in the making of the film as the team’s Research Consultant. And I am especially proud that Diane chose to include a photo of my father, George Edwin Farrar, who was a fellow 384th Bomb Group airman of Edward and Jack, although at a different time in the war, in the film. If you were wondering, that’s my dad who shows up at 7:11 in the film.

I’d also like to share a few recent articles about the film.

• “Diane Weis & Piotr Kabat Discuss Their Powerful Short ‘Minor Accident of War'” by Animation Magazine
• “Gay WWII Veteran Tells Harrowing Tale of Survival in Animated Short” by The Advocate
• “Hand-Drawn ‘Minor Accident of War’ Tells Harrowing Personal WWII Story” by Animation World Network
• “Miami Beach native makes film about gay uncle serving in WWII” in the Miami Herald

For more information, visit…

The “Minor Accident of War” website

You may read more – all previous posts, in fact, if you’re so inclined – about Edward and Jack and their crash into the North Sea on February 3, 1945 by following the links at the end of this article.

And for the curious, a few photos…

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021