A WWII love story podcast — told a chapter at a time, straight from the diary of a real B-24 Pilot. B24Story-Italy — GiveSendGo Campaign

Campaign Title

B24Story-Italy: Help Us Tell One True Story of Courage, One Friday at a Time

Subtitle / Tagline

A WWII love story podcast — told a chapter at a time, straight from the diary of a real B-

24 pilot.

Every Friday, the next chapter of one true story.

In 1942, a lanky South Georgia farm boy named Max M. Johnson turned down an

appointment to West Point. His grandfather, a Georgia legislator, had secured it for him

— but Max didn’t want the Army or a military career. He wanted to fly.

That choice put him in the sky over Italy as a B-24 Liberator pilot with the 15th Air Force

— flying missions up the boot of Italy while a country at war held its breath. Along the

way, he fell in love with Frances Allen, a sharecropper’s daughter from Alabama, in a

romance the war would interrupt almost as soon as it began.

This is B24Story-Italy, a serialized true story told one Friday at a time — built around

Max’s real wartime diary, real letters, and real family history. It’s not a different story

each week. It’s one saga that builds: the farm boy, the girl he loved, the crew of ten who

became brothers, and the missions that took them across the world and back.

Week One — “The Farm Boy” — is already written and ready to air.

We’re tying the launch to Red Shirt Friday, the grassroots tradition where Americans

wear red every Friday so deployed troops know they’re remembered. R.E.D. —

Remember Everyone Deployed. This isn’t a new idea we’re inventing; it’s a ritual your

audience already lives. We’re just giving it a story.

Why we need your helpThis story already exists in the archive — diary pages, letters, photographs, a family’s

memory carefully kept for over eighty years. What it needs now is the work of turning

that archive into a podcast people can actually hear: editing, narration, sound design,

hosting, and the ongoing research to verify dates, units, and missions so every chapter

holds up to scrutiny.

Your gift helps us get Crew #8163’s story into the world — and helps make sure their

names are remembered the way Red Shirt Friday asks all of us to remember.

What your gift supports

Professional audio production and editing for the full first arc

Podcast hosting and distribution across platforms

Archival research — verifying military records, unit history, and timeline details

Historical photo and document restoration/licensing

Launch marketing tied to the Red Shirt Friday movement

A note from Sugah

“This is my father’s story — Captain Max M. Johnson, B-24 pilot, 15th Air Force. I’ve

carried his diary and his memory my whole life, and I believe his generation’s sacrifice

deserves to be told with the same craftsmanship as any prestige drama. Every dollar

here goes toward telling it right.”

Funding Goal: $5,000

Budget Breakdown

Category 

Item

Est.

Cost

Production 

Audio editing & sound design (6-episode arc) 

$1,500

Production 

Professional narration/voice work 

$600

Production 

Podcast hosting platform (annual) 

$250

Production 

Cover art & episode graphics (final polish) 

$300

Research Military records access (NARA, fold3, unit history docs) $500

Research Archival photo restoration/licensing $400

Research Travel/research for Italy mission sites or archives (if

applicable) $700

Marketing Red Shirt Friday launch campaign (social, partner

outreach) $400

Marketing Landing page / B24Story.com hosting & maintenance $200

Contingency Buffer for unexpected costs $150

Total $5,000

Suggested Reward Tiers (optional — GiveSendGo allows

perks even without formal tier structure)

$10 — “Remember”: Thank-you shoutout + early access to Week 1 episode before

public release

$25 — “Red Shirt Friday”: Above + digital B24Story-Italy commemorative card

(Flag Day PDF design)

$50 — “Crew Member”: Above + name listed in episode credits as a founding

supporter

$100 — “Love Interrupted”: Above + 3-month newsletter subscription ($4.77/mo

value) + behind-the-scenes research notes

$250+ — “Mission Sponsor”: Above + personal thank-you video from Sugah +

name read on-air in Week 1 sponsor credit

Suggested Update Cadence

Post a GiveSendGo update each Friday during the campaign — tying naturally into the

“Red Shirt Friday” release rhythm and giving donors a reason to keep checking back

even before the launch