War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator

The 2024 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator. This film tells the story of three American pilots who flew with the Royal Air Force during World War I. The film chronicles the exploits of John Grider, Elliott White Springs, and Larry Callahan, all known as the “Three Musketeers”. War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator was originally published after World War I and became a bestseller. It was assumed that the diary was written and kept by Grider, the only member of the trio to be killed in action. However, it was later discovered in 1959 that Springs, who later became president of Spring Cotton Mills, Inc. and founder of Springmaid Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC, wrote and published the work in memory of his friend and other pilots who had died in the war.