People with a metal detector seeking unwanted items isn’t just a simple hobby. For one man, his metal-detecting hobby became a treasure hunt as he put the pieces of a downed World War II plane in his backyard and united the families of the U.S. Airman on the story they never knew in the short documentary The Metal Detector.

Here is the official synopsis:

The Metal Detector follows the remarkable story of Georg, an Austrian retiree living in his hometown of Graz, who has picked up metal detecting to unearth remnants of the Allied B-17 that crashed near his childhood home during WWII. The deeper he digs into the history of the wreckage, the more invested he becomes in the stories of the American crewmembers who parachuted into the town—all in their early 20s during the war. His fascination drives him to locate the soldiers’ descendants, unearthing surprising revelations from the day of the crash and the unpredictable fates the soldiers faced in the weeks that followed as they found themselves behind enemy lines. A heartfelt and empathetic reminder of the importance of human connection, the documentary special is a powerful way to honor American soldiers and the impact they’ve had at home and abroad this Veteran’s Day.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta spoke with filmmaker Brendan Patrick Hughes on discovering his Austrian subject Georg Reutter in Austria, filming remotely, and the families united for the first time to witness the discovery.

Brendan Patrick Hughes is a professor at Occidental College, podcast host, and theater multihyphenate.

The Metal Detector premieres on PBS and PBS.org tomorrow for Veteran’s Day.

Watch the exclusive interview with Brandan Patrick Hughes below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

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Source: LRM Online Exclusive, PBS