Jim Brooks, Present.

Jim Brooks with his grandson.

  The Mustang survived the War and was committed to the history books and to our memories. What’s past is truly prologue and the Mustang remains the fighter by which all other fighters built since World War II are measured. It’s birth, death and re-birth are a striking testament to the men who built her and to the boys who flew her into harm’s way.

  With less than 200 Mustangs remaining, it falls to another younger generation, this new band of brothers, the descendents, the pilots and future pilots, to write the next chapter in the Mustang’s transcendent history, as they fly in the wake of giants.

  In truth, those stories did more than that. Woods went on to become an accomplished pilot and restored a tired old Mustang, which he painted identically to the Mustang Brooks flew in Europe, “February”. It would become Woods’ homage to a man who ignited his desire for flight and helped fuel his passion for history.

  Set against the backdrop of the “Gathering of Mustangs and Legends”, “Gray Eagles” tells the story of Jim Brooks and his grandchildren Jim, Maura and Virginia Smith. Since the restoration of Woods’ Mustang, “February”, Jim’s grandchildren have grown to appreciate more deeply their grandfather’s contributions to their generation. In a quiet epiphany young Jim’s eyes light up when he realizes what his grandfather accomplished in WWII. Hopefully the 26-year old Smith and his sisters will become the next keepers of the flame of this family’s rich aviation history.

  Flying as a passenger in the backseat of Woods’ Mustang and using air-to-air photography, we filmed young Jim as he experienced flying with Woods in his grandfather’s Mustang. The in-flight conversations between Woods and Smith create a fitting segue to more archival wartimefootage of a youthful Jim Brooks at war in Europe in the fighter plane that made him feel invincible against his foes. The raw wartime photos and films of the ace and the Mustang in their prime will add depth and visual impact to an already compelling narrative.