Class News

John Howells ’64 and Chris Getman ’64 liked The Millionaires’ Unit

February 5, 2020

Note from Tony Lavely, ’64 Class Secretary: Recently, John Howells and Chris Getman exchanged emails about the movie The Millionaires’ Unit, the story of a group of Yalies who formed a private air militia in preparation for America’s entry into WWI.  Known as the First Yale Unit and dubbed “the millionaires’ unit” by the press, they became the founding squadron of the U.S. Naval Air Reserve and were the first to fly for the U.S. in the war.

John Howells emailed:

I saw a documentary movie on Amazon Prime called The Millionaires’ Unit. It’s about the beginning of our Air Force and the air warfare in WWI. It involves a number of Yalies, including Robert Lovett and Ken MacLeish (Archibald MacLeish’s brother). It’s a good Yale story and good history. 

Chris Getman responded:

It’s a great story, isn’t it? The book was written by Marc Wortman and is a good read. I’ve been indirectly involved with the project for a long time.

By the way, I’ve had many positive comments about my new cane. I made a gift to the Swimming Association in your honor.