World War II / Korea

Hometown Heroes Radio creator and host Paul Loeffler has done some amazing work assuring that the stories of World War II and Korean era Veterans are not lost to history. Since 2005 Paul has interviewed an average of one World War II Veteran per week. Much of Paul’s inspiration came from an early moment in his life when he accidentally came across a framed newspaper article hidden away in his grandfather’s closet. It described how Dr. Robert Loeffler pulled 26 [...]

Landing craft and the men who sailed them were often unheralded. But they were a critical part of our victory in World War II. They were especially important to the island hopping campaign in the Pacific theater. Like many of his generation, Steven Ganzberger enlisted as soon as he turned 18 following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  His grandson Zach Morris has always been an avid World War II historian. He was visiting town on May 18, 2011 and decided [...]

“Shot Down” tells the story of the crew of the “Susan Ruth”, a WWII B-17 shot down on Feb. 8, 1944 over the French/Belgium Border. The name was given to the aircraft by Pilot Howard Snyder in honor of his young daughter. Steve Snyder, Howard’s son, has written a meticulously researched and detailed book that describes the lives of the crew members and their harrowing months in hiding from German forces. The book also tells the stories of the brave [...]

D-Day was the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare and one that that Harper Coleman will never forget. A member of the 4th Infantry Division, he landed in the first wave at Utah beach carrying a 30 pound machine gun over his head. Harper just celebrated his 100th birthday and joins us to share his memories of D-Day and the other major battles he was part of as his unit moved across Europe. Suzanne Ryan is an avid [...]

“Richard Eager: A Pilot’s Story From Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery’s Flying Fortress” is the product of a 13 year  long collaboration between a World War II B-17 pilot and his family.  Because Richard Evans was such a gung-ho air cadet and an Eagle Scout at heart, one of his fellow cadets began calling him Richard “Eager” and the nickname stuck. Unlike many World War II Veterans, Richard often regaled his family with stories of his time in the [...]

Today, John “Lucky” Luckadoo is the last surviving member of the 100th Bomb Group from World War II.  Most of the bomber crews of the 100th only survived 5 missions, earning the group the unenviable nickname “The Bloody Hundredth". It not until 50 years after the end of the war that John began to talk about his time at war because “those were not the happiest days of our lives and recalling them was not a happy experience.” Lucky relates [...]

The Battle of Castle Itter was one of the most bizarre actions of World War II and just one of the interesting events we discuss with noted historian and author Professor John C. McManus. John is often called upon as a subject matter expert for numerous television programs and has authored 14 books on military history. Battle of Castle Itter began on May 5, 1945 during the last days of war in the European theatre and five days after Hitler [...]

Old Guys and Their Airplanes Founder John Mollison started drawing at a young age. His father built model airplanes and John’s mother would encourage him to draw the scenes depicted on the boxes. He has created thousands of works of art that are on display in fourteen countries. What makes his images extra special is that he also interviews the pilots who flew the aircraft he depicts. This “aha” moment came when John had already achieved success in his restaurant [...]

D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history and the beginning of Irv Locker’s World War II journey to Berlin. Along the way he survived the Battle of the Bulge and witnessed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps – a powerful moment for a Jewish kid from New Jersey. Irv was assigned to the 116th AAA Gun Battalion and landed at Utah Beach on D-Day. He says that a constant refrain on June 6th, 1944 was “You’re a victim if [...]