Warriors In Their Own Words | First Person War Stories

Samuel Fine served as a glider pilot in World War II. He trained British Glider pilots, and flew in with them during the Invasion of Sicily. Fine also flew troops into D-Day & Operation Market Garden.

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Hi, I’m Ken Harbaugh, host of Warriors In Their Own Words. In order to gear up for some exciting new episodes, we’re taking a break this week. In the meantime, I wanted to share an episode from another podcast I think you’ll enjoy. Unsolved Histories explores forgotten mysteries and other little-known stories. The episode I’m sharing with you covers missing flight 293, where 101 people disappeared with no distress call. This multi-part story they covered in season 1 was so impactful that it directly resulted in Congress passing new legislation.

Here is Flight 293 Episode One: Brothers.

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The Unsolved Histories podcast team was pleased to get a phone call letting us know a U.S. senator not only listened to Season 1 but wanted to address a problem raised by our recounting of the tragic story of Flight 293. Military men and women who go missing, but not in action, are not remembered or memorialized and the families left without the support that is given to other MIA families. If passed, the Flight 293 Remembrance Act will change that. Host Feliks Banel researched this and other accidents involving service members who seemed to be forgotten by the government they served. Here’s a clip from episode one of Unsolved Histories: What Happened to Flight 293? 

For more information, including pictures and all episodes, see our website, unsolvedhistoriespod.com

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Major Robert Prince served as an Army Ranger during World War II. He fought throughout the Phillippines, and helped plan the Raid on Cabanatuan, a Japanese POW camp. 

With the help of Filipino civilians, the Rangers, Alamo Scouts and guerilla forces traveled 24 miles under the cover of darkness to launch a surprise attack on the camp. They successfully defeated the Japanese and liberated over 500  prisoners of war.

Actor James Franco portrayed MAJ Prince in The Great Raid (2005), which tells the story of Cabanatuan.

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Corporal Roy Roush served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He fought in the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of Tarawa, the Battle of Saipan, and the Battle of Tinian. 

He later served in the Air Force as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. 

In this interview, Roush describes his experiences during the Battle of Saipan & the Battle of Tinian

To learn more about Roush, check out his book, Open Fire.

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Corporal Roy Roush served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He fought in the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of Tarawa, the Battle of Saipan, and the Battle of Tinian. 

He later served in the Air Force as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. 

In this interview, Roush describes the Battle of Tarawa.

To learn more about Roush, check out his book, Open Fire.

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Colonel Francis Gabreski served in World War II as a fighter pilot. He flew bomber escort missions with the 56th Fighter Group in the P-47 Thunderbolt, and was the top U.S. fighter ace in the European theater. He’s credited with destroying 34 ½ enemy aircraft in combat, and is one of only seven American pilots to become an ace in two wars (WWII & Korea).

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Chief Petty Officer Otto Carl Schwarz Jr. served in the Navy in World War II. He was born in the Netherlands, but moved to the US with his family during childhood. He enlisted in the US Navy in January 1941 with the permission of his parents.

Schwarz served stints on several ships before making his way to the USS Houston, a heavy cruiser, in June 1941. 

During the Battle of Sunda Strait in February 1942, the Houston was sunk by enemy torpedoes and gunfire. Those who escaped the Houston came under machine gun fire from the Japanese as they floated in the water. In total, 700 men were lost. 

Like most of the 368 men who survived, Schwarz was captured by the Japanese and sent to a work camp. He was transported via a “Hell ship”. 

Hell ships earned their moniker from the allied prisoners of war who were unlucky enough to board one. They were requisitioned merchant ships that were extremely overcrowded with POWs. Described as “floating dungeons”, inmates had “no access to the air, space, light, bathroom facilities, and adequate food or water.” You can learn more about them here. 

Schwarz was first sent to Bicycle Camp, a POW camp in modern day Indonesia. There he experienced the best treatment during his time as a prisoner, but it didn’t last long. He was transferred to Changi Prison in Singapore, and then to a prison camp in Moulmein, Burma.

There he was forced to work on the Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway. According to Britannica “More than 11 percent of civilian internees and 27 percent of Allied POWs died or were killed while in Japanese custody; by contrast, the death rate for Allied POWs in German camps was around 4 percent.” Over 60,000 allies were forced to build it, and over 10,000 died during its construction.

Conditions for these POWs were unfathomable. They were underfed and overworked, they suffered from numerous diseases and illnesses, they were given little to no medical attention, they faced harsh weather conditions, they had to deal with insect infestations, and they were often subjected to beatings by their captors.

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Captain Tom “Bear” Wilson served in Vietnam as an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). He sat in the back seat of aircraft, and was responsible for monitoring radar in order to warn his pilot of threats, like surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-aircraft artillery, and enemy aircraft. He also protected his aircraft by jamming enemy radar. 

As a Wild Weasel, it was Wilson’s job to protect friendly aircraft attacking enemy SAM sites, who have one of the most dangerous jobs in modern warfare. Wilson and his front seater drew SAMs away from bombers, and targeted the SAM sites themselves. This meant that Weasels spent sometimes more than 20 minutes over the target, as opposed to the one or two minutes bomber pilots spent.

One of our favorite interviews features another Wild Weasel and MOH recipient named Col. Leo Thorsness. Check it out here. 

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Staff Sergeant Sam Hargrove served in the Air Force for 11 years, working in combat communications. During her deployment in Iraq, Hargrove survived a base bombing. The attack left her with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD, but both went untreated. 

When she returned home, Hargrove self-medicated with alcohol. Trauma and anger consumed her life until a drunken outburst caused her to punch a hole in a wall in front of her godson:

“He was scared. He was standing there to the side shaking and crying.”

Hargrove contemplated suicide after that incident, but decided to get help instead. Thanks to peer support groups at the VA, and multiple programs through the Wounded Warrior Project, she was able to find the help and support she needed to get better.

Learn how the VA can help you. 

Learn how the Wounded Warrior Project can help you. 

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Captain Lawrence Savadkin served as a computer data torpedo operator on the USS Tang, a submarine, during World War II. During a battle with enemy Japanese ships in October 1944, the Tang was struck by a torpedo and sunk. 78 men were killed. 

Savadkin narrowly escaped the sinking sub with his life. He and the 8 other survivors were rescued and captured by the Japanese. He spent the rest of the war as a POW in the Toyko Bay Area.

In this interview, Savadkin describes the battle that sunk the Tang, how luck helped him escape the sinking sub, and the conditions of the Japanese POW camp.

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