a fighter pilot in World War I, and because the infantry commander assigned by the War Department to assist in the making of Wellman's acclaimed Wings in 1927 so disliked the Air Corps that he had attempted to renege on the cooperation and obstruct the filming. Cowan made two other attempts to cajole Wellman into accepting the assignment, first by bringing a personal letter from Pyle to Wellman (who was quoted as saying it was "like waving a red flag in front of a bull" and resulted in Wellman slamming the door on Cowan), and by bribing Wellman with gifts for his children. The latter resulted in Wellman threatening Cowan if he came back again. Cowan persisted, however, and had Ernie Pyle (who had returned to Albuquerque for a rest from combat) personally telephone Wellman. Pyle overcame Wellman's resistance by inviting him to his home where two days of discussions resulted in a complete change of heart by Wellman. Suid goes on to note that although Wellman was dictatorial in his management of the filming and crucial to the style and final form of the script, that Wellman's greatest impact was as the "catalyst" for the "collective process" (as opposed to the more modern philosophy of filmmaking as a "director's medium") of bringing together "Pyle, his stories, the actors, and the Army to create a uniquely realistic movie." Historical basis Pyle covered the 1st Infantry Division, including the 18th Infantry, in Tunisia from January to May 1943, and wrote a column on the American defeat at Kasserine Pass. He also landed with the 1st Division during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. However, after the Sicilian campaign, which is mentioned but not portrayed in the film, the 18th Infantry moved to England to prepare for the Allied invasion of France, while the film's "Company C" is said to have made a landing under fire at Salerno. While the screenwriters chose the 18th Infantry Regiment to be depicted in the film, Pyle made clear that his favorite outfit, "my company", was in the 133rd Infantry Regiment (originally part of the Iowa National Guard) of the 34th Infantry Division, a unit he had covered in 1942 while it was still stationed in Northern Ireland, then again in Tunisia. Pyle devotes Chapter Thirteen, "The Fabulous Infantry", of his book Brave Men to this unnamed company of the 133rd Infantry, which he accompanied