Just off Chicago’s shoreline during World War II, the U.S. Navy trained more than 15,000 carrier pilots on a pair of coal-fired, side-wheel passenger steamers transformed into “flattops.” Not every pilot landed successfully on the pitching decks of the USS Wolverine and USS Sable, and many aircraft plunged into the watery depths. Today, more than 100 WWII aircraft rest at the bottom of the lake.

The acclaimed PBS documentary “Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan” tells the story of the recovery of those rare war birds and the ingenious training program that changed the course of the war in the Pacific. The Italian American Veterans Museum will screen the documentary on Dec. 7. Doors will open at 2 p.m., and the film will be screened at 3. Museum board member Joseph Troiani, a retired Navy commander and consultant for the film, will give a PowerPoint presentation and field questions before the screening.