Austin Butler's 'Masters of the Air' character lived in North Dakota and doctored at the Fargo VA Hospital

Mar. 2—Editor's note: The following story is the second in a two-part series about individuals featured on "Masters of the Air and may contain spoilers about the program.

A friendship formed at a P.O.W. camp led one of World War II's most decorated heroes to move to North Dakota, where he'd leave his mark on a local artist.

This Sunday, March 3, Scott Nelson of Solen, N.D., will share paintings and stories of heroism and friendship during his presentation, "North Dakota's World War II Pilots and the 'Masters of the Air' Connection," at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck.

The presentation is based on Solen's interactions with WWII pilot Gale "Buck" Cleven. Cleven, portrayed by "Elvis" actor Austin Butler, is one of the lead characters in the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks mini-series "Masters of the Air" streaming now on Apple+. The show recounts the story of Cleven's Eighth Air Force's 100th Bomb Group, sometimes called "The Bloody Hundredth" for the massive casualties the group endured. Over 22 months of flight, 732 airmen and 177 aircraft were lost.

On October 8, 1943, Cleven was shot down over Bremen and taken to Stalag Luft III (depicted in the film "The Great Escape"). While in the P.O.W. camp, Cleven, who was born in Lemmon, South Dakota, formed a friendship with New England, North Dakota native George Ott of the 92nd Bomb Group. Cleven and Ott endured life in the P.O.W. camp for a year and a half until the war ended in 1945. (Ott later talked about his memories of his World War II service in

an interview with UND's Chester Fritz Library.)

Cleven and Ott stayed in touch over the next 50 years. According to Ott's family, when George's wife became ill, Cleven even moved to Dickinson, N.D. to support him. He lived there for several years in the early 2000s.

Nelson first met Cleven in the spring of 2003 through Ott. He was doing a painting of Ott's plane when it was shot down during the bombing of ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany, on Oct. 14, 1943, which became known as

"Black Thursday."

Ott, who was living in Dickinson at the time, was going to Nelson's ranch to see the new painting and asked if he could bring a friend along.

"When George and his friend pulled in, I was introduced to an unassuming slight gentleman with white hair and an eye patch, Gale Cleven, who went by the name 'Buck,'" Nelson said.

Ott mentioned to Nelson that Buck had an interesting story to tell as well. But Cleven "would have nothing of it," said Nelson. "It was George's day and Buck was content with being silent in the background."

Nelson said he didn't give the interaction much more thought after that day. But then one day he stumbled upon a book that went into detail about Cleven's impressive military past — a past now documented in "Masters of the Air."

"I was bowled over," Nelson exclaimed. "I obtained Buck's phone number from George and gave him a call. I told Buck about the book and he reluctantly admitted that he was the man in the book but played down the whole thing and said the author had spread it on a bit thick."

Nelson would often drive to Dickinson to visit with Ott and Cleven over a meal at a local restaurant. Eventually, he decided (just like had with Ott) to make a painting of Cleven's plane, "Our Baby," from the day it was shot down. Cleven agreed to help provide the details for the painting since no photos of "Our Baby" existed. The "Masters of the Air" production team eventually used Nelson's painting as inspiration for the plane featured in the mini-series.

When Nelson finished the painting, Buck agreed to autograph 400 prints.

Eventually, Cleven moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, so Nelson didn't get to see him as often.

"Every six months or so Buck would drive back to Dickinson and he and George would run down to the Veterans Hospital in Fargo. I would meet them in Bismarck for a meal and visit when they would pass through," Nelson said.

Cleven died in Wyoming in 2006 at the age of 87. But his legacy lives on. Not just in Nelson's painting and the mini-series, but in the memories of fellow aviators, including Harry Crosby, who was a navigator for the Bloody Hundredth (and like Ott, a native of New England, N.D.).

In his memoir, "A Wing and a Prayer," Crosby wrote about Cleven and his "Masters of the Air" best buddy John Egan (who also had ties to the region as a one-time student at St. Thomas University in St. Paul.) Crosby called the two men, "dashing, undisciplined, superb pilots, exactly what Hollywood expected them to be."

But Nelson said the humble man he met many years later at his ranch would probably want to deflect any attention of the sort. He'd probably insist others be featured in the mini-series, including pilot Robert Rosenthal, who flew more than double the required missions and later served as a lawyer at the Nuremberg trials.

"If Buck was still with us, he probably would have had nothing to do with the series," Nelson said, "I can just hear him saying, 'Do it on Rosie, he's your man, do it all on him. Leave me out of it.'"

What: Artist Scott Nelson presents "North Dakota's World War II Pilots and the 'Masters of the Air' Connection."

When: 2 p.m., March 3

Where: North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck, 612 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, N.D.

Free and open to the public