“The Mosquito Bowl” Reveals War’s Human Toll
WHO:
CBS News - Director Peter Berg made “The Mosquito Bowl,” a Netflix film based on Buzz Bissinger’s book; Bissinger also wrote “Friday Night Lights.”
CBS News - The film tells the true story of four All-American football players who volunteered for the Marines after Pearl Harbor.
CBS News - Neal McCallum, a Marine who was 99 when interviewed, said he had joined the Marine Corps ten days after his 17th birthday and wanted to “get in the war and do my part.”
CBS News - Berg’s father was a Marine who served during the Korean War and is buried at Arlington. Berg said he loved his father and was sorry he could not see the film.
CBS News - Berg appears in the film as the commanding general. The film depicts American, Japanese, and Okinawan civilian wartime losses.
WHAT:
CBS News - The film portrays the human cost of World War II’s Pacific campaign, including the Battle of Okinawa, described as the last and costliest battle of the war in the Pacific.
CBS News - The four football players went to Marine boot camp and encountered Japanese forces at Tarawa. The film’s first battle sequence depicts American dead on the beach there.
CBS News - A football game between two Marine regiments, both containing college football stars, ended in a 0-0 tie. McCallum recalled that the teams wanted a rematch, but the 4th Marines’ colonel declined because battle was approaching.
CBS News - More than 12,000 Americans were killed at Okinawa, including 15 football stars who played in the Mosquito Bowl.
CBS News - McCallum said Okinawa’s casualties were “insufferable” and that the young men killed lost opportunities he had after surviving the war.
WHERE:
CBS News - The players reported to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina; the football game was played on Guadalcanal before the Marines shipped out for Okinawa.
CBS News - Berg recreated Okinawa’s battlefield in a quarry in Australia. CBS interviewed him at Parris Island.
WHEN:
CBS News - The Marines played the football game shortly before shipping out for Okinawa. McCallum joined the Marine Corps ten days after his 17th birthday.
CBS News - Berg said his father served during the Korean War. The reported Okinawa battle lasted 82 days.
WHY:
CBS News - Berg said he hopes the film prompts viewers to consider “what we ask of our young men and women” and feel the human cost of war.
CBS News - Berg said the football game mattered because it gave the young men an opportunity to remember what was good about life.
HOW:
CBS News - Berg said he sought an intense, terrifying portrayal of Tarawa and used real flamethrowers and explosions in his immersive filmmaking.
CBS News - Berg wrote most of the script on Parris Island and said his research and setting helped him carry the story’s “soul” onto the set.
CBS News - The football game is remembered through McCallum’s account, a photograph of the opening handshake, and a mimeographed program.
(UPDATED October 25, 2026 14:59 UTC)
Director Peter Berg’s Netflix film “The Mosquito Bowl,” based on Buzz Bissinger’s book, tells the true story of four All-American football players who joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor. At Parris Island, they trained before facing Japanese forces at Tarawa, where the film depicts the deadliest costs of battle. Before shipping out for Okinawa, two Marine regiments played a football game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Marine veteran Neal McCallum recalled the teams wanted a rematch, but an officer refused as battle approached. More than 12,000 Americans died at Okinawa, including 15 football stars from the game. McCallum, who enlisted shortly after turning 17, called the casualties “insufferable” and reflected on the lives the young men lost. Berg recreated Okinawa in Australia and said he hopes the film makes audiences consider the human cost of war and what is asked of young people.