Warriors In Their Own Words | First Person War Stories
The unsanitized truth of what we have asked of those who defend this nation. From archived tapes of WWI veterans, to conversations with modern-day warriors, these are their stories, in their own words.
Episodes
September 28, 2023 • 28 mins
Major Richard Jacobson served as a pathfinder pilot during WWII, and fought in the Invasion of Normandy. Pathfinders were small paratrooper groups that were sent to mark landing zones ahead of major paratrooper missions. Their work helped insure the success of the drop, but it was incredibly dangerous because they flew in very small numbers, very low to the ground (to avoid radar), and had no backup chutes.
As a pathfinder pilot, ...
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September 21, 2023 • 28 mins
Staff Sergeant Alfred Bell served as a Tank Platoon Sergeant during World War II. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the famous Spearhead Division.
In this episode, he recounts the Battle of the Bulge. During the battle, Bell commanded all five tanks in his platoon. When the company-wide radio communications weren’t working, he left his tank on foot and fought across the battlefield to...
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September 18, 2023 • 62 mins
Today as a bonus episode we wanted to share an episode of The French History Podcast, which we think you'll find incredibly interesting. This episode details the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre of WW2.
The French History Podcast tells the story of France from 3 million years ago to present. The main series is a narrative, ala Mike Duncan's the History of Rome that has gone from woolly mammoths to the First Crusade. Interspersed are gue...
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September 14, 2023 • 32 mins
Seaman First Class Richard Coombs served in World War II as a Navy Seabee. He fought in the first wave of the Invasion of Normandy, where he was a part of the Naval Combat Demolition Unit. In the interview, he says his about crawling up the entire beach:
“If you were to stand up, you're dead, you would've got hit for sure. I never knew there was so much firepower like that. You can't imagine, bullets hitting the sand, 88s going ov...
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September 7, 2023 • 59 mins
Colonel Robert E. Stoffey served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and Forward Air Controller in the Marines. It was his job to support ground troops by directing fire and performing evacuations.
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August 31, 2023 • 64 mins
Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey served in WWII as a Paratrooper. In this interview, he recounts
the D-Day invasion and hedgerow warfare.
To learn more about Malarkey, check out the HBO show Band of Brothers , which tells the story of Malarkey and his Company.
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August 24, 2023 • 43 mins
Captain Warren “Bing” Evans served in World War II as a Ranger. The Rangers were an elite American task force that trained and operated with the famous British Commandos. Using the element of surprise as their main weapon, the Rangers played an important role in the Invasion of Normandy, the Dieppe Raid, and many other significant campaigns.
In this episode Evans recounts the allied invasion of Italy, including the landing at Sal...
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August 17, 2023 • 41 mins
Captain Warren “Bing” Evans served in World War II as a Ranger. The Rangers were an elite American unit that trained and operated with the famous British Commandos. Using the element of surprise as their main weapon, the Rangers played an important role in the Invasion of Normandy, the Dieppe Raid, and many other significant campaigns.
In this first part of his interview, Captain Evans describes the Rangers, Operation Torch (the...
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August 10, 2023 • 32 mins
Corporal Ted Fleser served as an Army Ranger during World War II. He was a BAR gunner (Browning Automatic Rifle), and fought in North Africa and the Allied Invasion of Sicily.
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August 3, 2023 • 38 mins
Commander Ronald Leonard Smith Sr. served in the US Navy and sailed all over the world in the 80s and 90s. In this interview, he describes one of the Navy’s famous initiation rites, his deployments, and the dangers of Mother Nature.
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July 27, 2023 • 40 mins
Captain Zeke Zellmer served as a Communications Officer aboard the USS Cavalla during World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history, and helped destroy a Japanese aircraft carrier called the Shokaku. Thanks in large part to the contribution of the USS Cavalla, the Japanese lost the battle, and their navy never recovered.
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July 20, 2023 • 33 mins
Staff Sergeant Leonard Goff served as a Tank Commander in World War II, fighting in both the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge.
In this interview, he describes what it’s like to be a Tank Commander, and the Invasion of Normandy.
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July 13, 2023 • 21 mins
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jim White, callsign Sneaky White, served in the Marine Corps before transferring to the Army to become a helicopter pilot.
In this second part of his interview, White talks about returning home, and why he was sent to prison. While in prison, he created a veterans group with Geronimo Pratt, an influential and high-ranking member of the Black Panther Party who was wrongfully convicted. With the help of that ...
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July 6, 2023 • 47 mins
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jim White began his military career in the Marine Corps as a machine gunner and helicopter pilot in Vietnam. After earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first Marine to do so since World War II, he got the opportunity to transfer to the Army. His plan was to transfer, fly with them for a few years, and then transfer back to the Marine Corps as a commissioned officer. He liked the Army so much that he s...
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June 29, 2023 • 49 mins
Colonel Leo Thorsness served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. He was a Wild Weasel, whose missions required them to draw surface-to-air (SAM) missiles away from bombers, and then destroy the SAM sites. This meant that Weasels spent sometimes more than 20 minutes over the target, as opposed to the one or two minutes bomber pilots spent.
On one mission, COL Thorsness’ wingman was shot down, forcing him to eject. As he parachuted to th...
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June 22, 2023 • 27 mins
Corporal Oda Charles “Chuck” Miller served as a tank loader and tank commander in World War II. He fought in the Normandy Invasion a week after D-Day, and in the Battle of the Bulge.
During World War II, American tanks were inferior to German tanks in almost every way. As a result, serving as a tank crewman was incredibly dangerous. Few made it out alive.
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June 15, 2023 • 42 mins
Corporal Clarence Smoyer served in World War II as a tank gunner. After fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, Smoyer was assigned to the ‘Eagle 7’ M26 Pershing, a “Super Tank” developed for the U.S. Army. With this new assignment came the responsibility of spearheading future attacks, including what would become the Battle of Cologne.
Cologne was a German stronghold. It was defended by a German Panther tank, which was far superior...
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June 13, 2023 • 9 mins
In this bonus episode, Col. Jack Tomarchio provides his reflection on the war in Ukraine based on his research since leaving the military. This doesn't fit in with our usual content, but we wanted to share his insightful take.
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June 8, 2023 • 37 mins
COL Tomarchio talks about going to jump school, defending service members as a military lawyer, and nearly losing his life in Iraq.
Jack Thomas Tomarchio served in the army as a JAG officer in Grenada in the early 80s. As a JAG officer, he provided legal advice to senior Army officials and represented servicemembers in a variety of misconduct and court martial cases. He was a paratrooper, and attended both jump school and law scho...
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June 1, 2023 • 30 mins
Sergeant Aurio Pierro served as a Tank Commander in WWII. He fought amongst the notoriously difficult hedgerows during the Invasion of Normandy, and in the Battle of the Bulge.
During the Battle of the Bulge, Pierro and his platoon were under heavy fire in an extended battle with the Germans. After their tank was heavily damaged and they ran out of ammo, they left their tank and took cover in a bakery, but Pierro was injured in t...
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