Mac & Irene: A WWII Saga is based on the true story of Franklin "Mac" McMahon, Emmy and Peabody award-winning artist-reporter and filmmaker. In WWII, McMahon was a U.S. Army Air Corps B-17 navigator who survived the Stalag Luft III POW camp to return home to Chicago and his sweetheart, Irene. McMahon later served as the courtroom artist for the Emmett Till Trial and the infamous Chicago "Conspiracy" Trial of 1969/70. McMahon was also a Presidential and U.S. Space Program artist. Mac & Irene: A WWII Saga is the first in a trilogy on McMahon's legendary life and legacy.
"Mac maintained an aura of mystery about himself; that way, he wasn't pounced on by the guards and searched. He kept his sensitivity to the human condition alive by seeing into his captors. He stayed clean and orderly, implied he would be above escape. He earned freedom from being closely watched.
'Ya' frickin' Mac?' whispered a seasoned POW who bumped his shoulder during barracks check.
'I'm Mac, why?' His mouth was dry from not speaking.
'Don't ask, just meet me at the last goddamned lunch table on the right... And bring your frickin' map.'"
--from Mac & Irene: A WWII Saga
