‘Masters of the Air’ Ending Explained: What Happened to the Real WWII Heroes the Show is Based on?

Masters of the Air Episode 9 “Part Nine” on Apple TV+ is a supersized finale that puts us through the wringer once last time before World War II ends.

**Spoilers for Masters of the Air Episode 9, now streaming on Apple TV+**

Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal (Nate Mann) is shot down over the USSR and discovers the horrors of the Holocaust. Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler) manages to escape a massive POW march, only to watch his friend George (Josh Dylan) get bayoneted to death by literal Nazi children! However, in the end, the Allies prevail. The show ends with John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) and his fellow POWs finally liberated by American forces right before V-E Day (or Victory in Europe Day) finally comes to pass. (Neither Buck nor Bucky die in Masters of the Air! Hurrah!)

So what happens next? Buck, Bucky, Rosie, Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle), Alex Jefferson (Branden Cook), and Richard Macon (Josiah Cross) aren’t merely characters in a television show. They are based on real-life servicemen who fought for their country in World War II. Did these heroic Air Force officers get a semblance of a happily ever after or were they doomed to more tragedy?

The final end credits for Masters of the Air gives us the lowdown on what happens to the major players in the show. So what happened to Buck, Bucky, Rosie, and Crosby? Here’s what you need to know about the fates of Masters of the Air‘s characters, including two key characters the Apple TV+ show doesn’t followup on before the credits roll: Ncuti Gatwa’s Robert Daniels and Rafe Law’s Ken Lemmons…

What Happened To Buck, aka Gale Cleven?

Unlike some of his peers, Buck stayed in the Air Force after World War II and retired a full colonel after also serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He received an MBA from Harvard and a PhD from Georgetown. He married Marge, aka Marjorie Spencer, upon his return to the United States. Buck was indeed his best man. Marge tragically died suddenly in 1953, eight years into their marriage. Her portrait would stay on Buck’s mantle for the rest of his life. Gale “Buck” Cleven died in 2006 at the age of 87.

What Happened To Bucky, aka John Egan?

John “Bucky” Egan also stayed in the Air Force after the war. He returned to his home town, Manitowoc, and fell in love with an old high school pal named Josephine Pitz. Like him, she had been in the military as a WASP, or Women Airforce Service Pilot, and she, too, had stayed in the service. They were married a few months later. Bucky would go on to fly combat missions in the Korean War and at one point was Director of Air Force Operations for the entire Pacific. He was working at the Pentagon at the time of his death, a heart attack, in 1961. He was 45 years old when he passed away. Josephine died in 2006 and is buried next to Bucky at Arlington National Cemetery. 

What Happened to Harry Crosby?

Harry Crosby left the United States Air Force in 1945 and returned to his wife Jean and their son, Steve. Take that, Subaltern Sandra! (I kid.) In 1953, he received a PhD in literature and would go on to be a professor at the University of Iowa, Boston University, and Harvard. Harry and wife Jean also served as co-presidents of the PTA of every school their four children attended. Harry Crosby passed away in 2010 at the age of 91. His 1993 memoir A Wing and a Prayer helped inspire the Apple TV+ series. 

What Happened to Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal?

Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal trained to fly B-29s in the Pacific Theater of World War II until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945. After the war, he helped prosecute Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials. There, he not only interrogated Hermann Goering, but met the love of his life, fellow prosecutor Phillis Heller. They literally married after two weeks of knowing each other and had three kids. As you might imagine, Rosenthal was heavily rewarded for this heroic war service. Rosie flew 52 missions in total, the most for any member of the 100th Bomb Group. He was awarded two Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Purple Hearts, a British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the French Croix de Guerre. Rosenthal passed away in 2007 at the age of 89.

What Happened to Alexander Jefferson?

Alexander Jefferson stuck with the Air Force for two more years after World War II, until joining the Air Force Reserve in December 1947. He then returned to his wife, Adella, in Detroit, where he worked as a science teacher for over 30 years. He would go on to become a founding member of the Detroit and national chapters of the Tuskegee Airmen. Jefferson passed away in June 2022 at the ripe old age of 100 years. 

What Happened to Richard Macon?

Richard Macon established a flight school in Birmingham, Alabama after leaving the Air Force in December 1945. He would go on to earn a Masters in Mathematics at Indiana University before working at Miles College in Alabama. In 1955, he moved to Detroit, where he worked alongside friend Alexander Jefferson as a teacher in the Detroit public school system. The two were close friends until Macon’s death at the age of 86 in 2007. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

What Happened to Robert Daniels?

Although Masters of the Air doesn’t bother to tell us what happened to the third Tuskegee Airman we follow to a POW camp, the Orlando Sentinel reported in 1987 that Robert Daniels had passed away at the age of 69. According to the local paper, Daniels became an air traffic controller after the war.

What Happened to Ken Lemmons?

Masters of the Air also doesn’t tell us what became of the group’s incredible lead ground mechanic, Ken Lemmons. The 100th Bomb Group’s official site reveals via Ken’s obituary that after the war, he returned home to his wife Fonda and continued work as a Service Manager until 1968. In 1974, he achieved his life-long dream of starting his own company, Ken’s Rebuilders Supply, selling auto parts all over the country. He passed away at 81 in December 2004 from complications from COPD.

Dying to know more about the real men who flew with the 100th Bomb Group? You can now watch The Bloody Hundredth, a documentary produced by Playtone-Amblin and narrated by Tom Hanks, now streaming on Apple TV+.