“They were men at the age of 16 and 17 and many were handling man size responsibilities before they were sweating it out in Marine Boot Camp.”
Today’s young people look at photos taken during WWII and often marvel that the 18-19 year old men in uniform looked already thirty.
When “Memphis Belle” was filmed in 1990 the actors playing B-17 crews looked to me like boys dressing up in their fathers’ uniforms. No comparison to the originals.
Back in the '90's, I watched "Memphis Belle" and immediately afterwards turned on my VCR and watched the War Department documentary "The Memphis Belle: The Story of a Flying Fortress" (1944). This is the real thing--the cameramen, using 16mm film cameras, shot their footage under enemy fire. The Hollywood production doesn't hold a candle to the documentary, which you can watch on Youtube.