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 [...]
Red Burning Sky is the latest work by Air National Guard Veteran Thomas Young. The novel was inspired by the real mission that is considered by many to be the greatest airborne rescue in history. Operation Halyard took place from August to late December 1944. Halyard successfully rescued 432 US aircrews and 80 allied troops from behind enemy lines. Thomas had over 5,000 hours as a flight engineer in C-130 and C-5 aircraft. During his career he deployed to Afghanistan, [...]
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 [...]
Merchant Marine Veteran Dave Yoho falsified his birth certificate so he could join the effort during World War II. He was fifteen years old when he joined the branch that would experience the highest casualty ratio of the war; 1 in 26 Merchant Marines would give their lives. Dave joined the crew aboard the SS Great Meadows, a T2 refueling tanker operating in the Pacific Theatre. He worked in the engine room, thirty eight below the water line. When he [...]
Rock Force is the latest book by bestselling author Kevin Maurer. It describes the experiences of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in retaking the fortress island of Corregidor from the Japanese during World War II. Kevin used unpublished transcripts provided by family members and at least one first person interview to “rebuild” the actions of those paratroopers in 1945. He also spent a week on Corregidor “walking the book”, at one point even finding scraps of a parachute. Kevin’s goal [...]
Richard Burt, like many of his generation, volunteered when our nation entered World War II. The Army decided he should be trained as a “Latrine Technician”. However, recognizing the positive morale building effects of music, the Army also was standing up nearly 500 bands and this proved Richard Burt’s ticket out of permanent latrine duty. Burt was a very talented trumpet player and volunteered to deploy to the Pacific with the 746th Far East Air Force Band so that the [...]
Here I Am, Send Me documents a very special parachute jump conducted over Normandy on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The film can be found on the Devinsupertramp YouTube channel. Two of the participants join us to share their thoughts and motivations. Scoti Domeij is the Gold Star mother of Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Kristoffer Domeij, the most deployed soldier in US history to be killed in action. Matthew “Griff” Griffin served with Kristoffer and did four [...]
Stalag 17B was “home” for B-17 radio operator Walter Ram for two years. Stalag 17B was one of the Nazi regime’s most notorious POW camps. Walter lied about his age in order to enlist at the age of 16. One year later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. His crew was assigned to the 94th Bombardment Group, 331st Squadron of the 8th Air Force. He shares the humorous story of how his aircraft, the “Helno-Gal” came to be named. On his [...]