August 27, 2026 • 9 mins
Childhood can often be curious, as these two amazing tales should prove.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grim & Mild.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history
is an open book, all of these amazing tales are
right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It was the early 1940s in London, one of the
most frightening periods of the city's history, as German planes
regularly swooped down and bombed the great city, in an
episode known as the infamous Blitz. Many people, fearing for
their families, loaded their children onto trains and sent them
out of London, away from the Blitz and into the countryside,
(00:57):
where they would be safe far, far away. It's one
of the most enduring images of the war— Hundreds of
children waving goodbye to their parents from a packed train car,
heading for the relative unknown. The pain of war compounded
by the pain of separation from their families, not knowing
how long they would be away or whether they would
(01:18):
ever see their parents again. Among the waves of children
fleeing the city were 16-year-old June Fluitt and her two sisters,
June had many hopes and dreams for her future. She
wanted to be an actress, but that dream never felt
more distant than when she was boarding that train. The
three sisters moved to the suburb of Oxford, where they
(01:38):
stayed with a family friend to wait out the war years.
To pass the time in the summer of 1943, June
took a housekeeper job in this Oxford suburb. One of
the men that she wound up working for was Jack,
a 45-year-old writer. Like June, he was also Catholic and
and she was very much taken with him. He was smart, erudite,
(01:58):
and a perfect gentleman. And the two became fond friends.
June lived in his house for two years during the Blitz,
and as those years passed by, she started thinking about
going back to London, and then she found herself at
a crossroads. She wanted to go to the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art, or RADA as it's known, but she
saw Oxford as her home now, and she didn't really
(02:20):
want to leave. Jack received a letter from her parents
in 1945, asking what she should do about this. Both
she and her parents valued his opinion, and so Jack
wrote back immediately, insisting that she should pursue her dream
of acting. Ultimately, June did wind up going to RADA,
with Jack paying for her fees, and her acting career flourished.
(02:43):
Under the name Jill Raymond, she performed on the stage,
the screen, and radio from 1947 to all the way
into the early 2000s. Her final on-screen appearance, which may
be her most well-known now, was in the 2003 film
Love Actually, in which she plays a housekeeper for the
prime minister. Oh, and along the way, she married Sigmund
(03:05):
Freud's grandson. She started an immense family, which included five children,
18 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She was a vice president
of the Actors' Children's Trust and got an honorary doctorate.
She passed away in November of 2025 at the age
of 98. Her theatrical accomplishments are impressive. But somehow, that
(03:26):
is not the most miraculous part of her story. You see,
her war years, fleeing London and staying with a writer
named Jack, would become part of a story that defined
millions of childhoods around the world. It opens with the
names of four children and the innocuous line. This story
is about something that happened to them when they were
sent away from London during the war because of the
(03:47):
air raids. They were sent to the home of an
old professor who lived in the heart of the country,
ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles
from the nearest post office. The story, of course, was
the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. And June herself
became the inspiration for Lucy, the protagonist of the first book.
And you've probably figured it out by now, but Jack,
(04:10):
of course, was the nickname of C.S.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Lewis.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Donnie was only 13 and an orphan, working as a
machine operator in a factory. He had a secret, one
he hoped would never get out. He wanted to keep
a low profile and just get on with his life. Then,
in 1952, he was drafted into the Marine Corps, where
he worked to distinguish himself. If Donnie could prove that
he was tough, responsible, and kind, then maybe his fellow
(04:48):
Marines wouldn't judge him for his past. And he did
prove himself, becoming one of the youngest drill instructors in
the Corps' history. He was seen as a model, completely
reliable soldier. And so, when Donnie and his fellow Marines
were deployed to Vietnam in 1965, he and those under
his command were glad to have him by their side. Soon,
(05:10):
they were involved in the Tet Offensive, a brutal, violent
push by the North Vietnamese to try and take over
the South. Waves of soldiers and bullets fell upon Donnie
and his fellow Marines. He did everything he could to
keep his companions alive, with little concern for his own safety.
He was ultimately shot several times by enemy forces. Bullets
(05:30):
pierced his lungs, his left leg, one even bounced off
the back left side of his skull. And as he
lay dying, all he could think of was that he
hoped that he had proven himself. He hoped the men
wouldn't find out who he really was at his funeral.
But Donnie didn't die. His men got him out to safety,
and the doctors patched him up. He received a Purple
(05:51):
Heart and continued his service, now a spy in the
broader Cold War. And then, in 1977, just as he
was about to retire, Donnie's worst fear came true. He
was called into the office of a general who told
him that he had learned something very disturbing about Donnie's past.
He wanted Donnie to conduct a time-consuming audit of the department,
(06:13):
or else his secret would be revealed. He took out
a large, red, top-secret folder with Donnie's name on it,
saying that he was sure Donnie would find time to
conduct the audit. He finished by saying, Won't you, Major Bambi?
Donnie swallowed. After all these years, the truth was finally out. Donnie,
you see, was a former child star who, among other roles,
(06:36):
had been the voice of young Bambi in the classic
Disney animated film, Now, the general was mostly joking around.
The audit was just some clerical work that nobody wanted
to do, especially not right before retirement. But to Donnie,
it was no joke. He had tried to hide his
past for fear that his fellow Marines would make fun
of him and call him by that exact name. Even
(06:57):
worse would be if they saw his live-action roles. As
a little boy, he looked just like Shirley Temple, with
a big head of golden curls. He had actually really
enjoyed his time in Hollywood— He was pulled from poverty
in Tennessee after a talent scout saw him dance at
a talent show. He got to meet Walt Disney, who
coached him through making different goofy facial expressions when recording
(07:20):
his lines so that they would match Bambi's face. The
movie was a hit, and Donnie was proud to be
a part of it. He also worked with the legendary
Frankenstein actor Boris Karloff in the film Son of Frankenstein.
He played the son and remembers Boris being very playful,
hoisting the small boy up onto his large shoulders. All
of these men were a positive influence on him and
(07:41):
helped inspire his career in the service. He saw a
lot of the same leadership and maturity in the Marine
Corps that he had seen among those titans of filmmaking.
His acting career had come to an end because he
had simply aged out of it, and because his family
fell apart due to all the money and the fame.
Donnie has never said exactly what happened, but it was
(08:02):
bad enough to where he ended up broke and in
an orphanage by the age of 13. And this is
where he developed the grit to rise to the top
of the Marines and fight in heavy combat. In his retirement,
Donnie overcame his fear of talking about his Disney past
and instead embraced it, giving interviews and doing charity work.
He realized that as proud as he was of his service,
(08:25):
it was an equally positive thing to have brought joy
to so many people through film. Donnie Dunnigan led an
incredibly curious life, and as of the time of this recording,
he is still alive and kicking at the age of 91.
And I think it's fair to say that no one
could have predicted that playing a famously gentle fawn could
have ever prepared him for a lifetime of such grit
(08:47):
and bravery. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through
the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me,
Aaron Manke, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written
by the Grim & Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk.
Learn more about the show and the people who make
it over at grimandmild.com slash curiosities. You'll also find a
(09:11):
link to the official Cabinet of Curiosities hardcover book, available
in bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobooks.
And if you're looking for an ad-free option, consider joining
our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without the
interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign
up over at patreon.com slash grim and mild. And until
(09:32):
next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grim & Mild.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history
is an open book, all of these amazing tales are
right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It was the early 1940s in London, one of the
most frightening periods of the city's history, as German planes
regularly swooped down and bombed the great city, in an
episode known as the infamous Blitz. Many people, fearing for
their families, loaded their children onto trains and sent them
out of London, away from the Blitz and into the countryside,
(00:57):
where they would be safe far, far away. It's one
of the most enduring images of the war— Hundreds of
children waving goodbye to their parents from a packed train car,
heading for the relative unknown. The pain of war compounded
by the pain of separation from their families, not knowing
how long they would be away or whether they would
(01:18):
ever see their parents again. Among the waves of children
fleeing the city were 16-year-old June Fluitt and her two sisters,
June had many hopes and dreams for her future. She
wanted to be an actress, but that dream never felt
more distant than when she was boarding that train. The
three sisters moved to the suburb of Oxford, where they
(01:38):
stayed with a family friend to wait out the war years.
To pass the time in the summer of 1943, June
took a housekeeper job in this Oxford suburb. One of
the men that she wound up working for was Jack,
a 45-year-old writer. Like June, he was also Catholic and
and she was very much taken with him. He was smart, erudite,
(01:58):
and a perfect gentleman. And the two became fond friends.
June lived in his house for two years during the Blitz,
and as those years passed by, she started thinking about
going back to London, and then she found herself at
a crossroads. She wanted to go to the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art, or RADA as it's known, but she
saw Oxford as her home now, and she didn't really
(02:20):
want to leave. Jack received a letter from her parents
in 1945, asking what she should do about this. Both
she and her parents valued his opinion, and so Jack
wrote back immediately, insisting that she should pursue her dream
of acting. Ultimately, June did wind up going to RADA,
with Jack paying for her fees, and her acting career flourished.
(02:43):
Under the name Jill Raymond, she performed on the stage,
the screen, and radio from 1947 to all the way
into the early 2000s. Her final on-screen appearance, which may
be her most well-known now, was in the 2003 film
Love Actually, in which she plays a housekeeper for the
prime minister. Oh, and along the way, she married Sigmund
(03:05):
Freud's grandson. She started an immense family, which included five children,
18 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She was a vice president
of the Actors' Children's Trust and got an honorary doctorate.
She passed away in November of 2025 at the age
of 98. Her theatrical accomplishments are impressive. But somehow, that
(03:26):
is not the most miraculous part of her story. You see,
her war years, fleeing London and staying with a writer
named Jack, would become part of a story that defined
millions of childhoods around the world. It opens with the
names of four children and the innocuous line. This story
is about something that happened to them when they were
sent away from London during the war because of the
(03:47):
air raids. They were sent to the home of an
old professor who lived in the heart of the country,
ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles
from the nearest post office. The story, of course, was
the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. And June herself
became the inspiration for Lucy, the protagonist of the first book.
And you've probably figured it out by now, but Jack,
(04:10):
of course, was the nickname of C.S.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Lewis.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Donnie was only 13 and an orphan, working as a
machine operator in a factory. He had a secret, one
he hoped would never get out. He wanted to keep
a low profile and just get on with his life. Then,
in 1952, he was drafted into the Marine Corps, where
he worked to distinguish himself. If Donnie could prove that
he was tough, responsible, and kind, then maybe his fellow
(04:48):
Marines wouldn't judge him for his past. And he did
prove himself, becoming one of the youngest drill instructors in
the Corps' history. He was seen as a model, completely
reliable soldier. And so, when Donnie and his fellow Marines
were deployed to Vietnam in 1965, he and those under
his command were glad to have him by their side. Soon,
(05:10):
they were involved in the Tet Offensive, a brutal, violent
push by the North Vietnamese to try and take over
the South. Waves of soldiers and bullets fell upon Donnie
and his fellow Marines. He did everything he could to
keep his companions alive, with little concern for his own safety.
He was ultimately shot several times by enemy forces. Bullets
(05:30):
pierced his lungs, his left leg, one even bounced off
the back left side of his skull. And as he
lay dying, all he could think of was that he
hoped that he had proven himself. He hoped the men
wouldn't find out who he really was at his funeral.
But Donnie didn't die. His men got him out to safety,
and the doctors patched him up. He received a Purple
(05:51):
Heart and continued his service, now a spy in the
broader Cold War. And then, in 1977, just as he
was about to retire, Donnie's worst fear came true. He
was called into the office of a general who told
him that he had learned something very disturbing about Donnie's past.
He wanted Donnie to conduct a time-consuming audit of the department,
(06:13):
or else his secret would be revealed. He took out
a large, red, top-secret folder with Donnie's name on it,
saying that he was sure Donnie would find time to
conduct the audit. He finished by saying, Won't you, Major Bambi?
Donnie swallowed. After all these years, the truth was finally out. Donnie,
you see, was a former child star who, among other roles,
(06:36):
had been the voice of young Bambi in the classic
Disney animated film, Now, the general was mostly joking around.
The audit was just some clerical work that nobody wanted
to do, especially not right before retirement. But to Donnie,
it was no joke. He had tried to hide his
past for fear that his fellow Marines would make fun
of him and call him by that exact name. Even
(06:57):
worse would be if they saw his live-action roles. As
a little boy, he looked just like Shirley Temple, with
a big head of golden curls. He had actually really
enjoyed his time in Hollywood— He was pulled from poverty
in Tennessee after a talent scout saw him dance at
a talent show. He got to meet Walt Disney, who
coached him through making different goofy facial expressions when recording
(07:20):
his lines so that they would match Bambi's face. The
movie was a hit, and Donnie was proud to be
a part of it. He also worked with the legendary
Frankenstein actor Boris Karloff in the film Son of Frankenstein.
He played the son and remembers Boris being very playful,
hoisting the small boy up onto his large shoulders. All
of these men were a positive influence on him and
(07:41):
helped inspire his career in the service. He saw a
lot of the same leadership and maturity in the Marine
Corps that he had seen among those titans of filmmaking.
His acting career had come to an end because he
had simply aged out of it, and because his family
fell apart due to all the money and the fame.
Donnie has never said exactly what happened, but it was
(08:02):
bad enough to where he ended up broke and in
an orphanage by the age of 13. And this is
where he developed the grit to rise to the top
of the Marines and fight in heavy combat. In his retirement,
Donnie overcame his fear of talking about his Disney past
and instead embraced it, giving interviews and doing charity work.
He realized that as proud as he was of his service,
(08:25):
it was an equally positive thing to have brought joy
to so many people through film. Donnie Dunnigan led an
incredibly curious life, and as of the time of this recording,
he is still alive and kicking at the age of 91.
And I think it's fair to say that no one
could have predicted that playing a famously gentle fawn could
have ever prepared him for a lifetime of such grit
(08:47):
and bravery. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through
the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me,
Aaron Manke, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written
by the Grim & Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk.
Learn more about the show and the people who make
it over at grimandmild.com slash curiosities. You'll also find a
(09:11):
link to the official Cabinet of Curiosities hardcover book, available
in bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobooks.
And if you're looking for an ad-free option, consider joining
our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without the
interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign
up over at patreon.com slash grim and mild. And until
(09:32):
next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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