Warriors in their Own Words

Warriors in their Own Words

Remarkable stories of war told by the men who fought for a proud nation. Their words. Their voices. Our first episodes tell riveting stories from World War II, then we move on to the Vietnam War and other dramatic conflicts.

Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube

Most Recent Episode

New episodes every Thursday

Falling Out of the Sky: COL Francis “Gabby” Gabreski

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).

More Episodes

View All

The Burma-Siam Death Railway: CPO Otto Schwarz

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:165
CPO Schwarz was captured by the Japanese during WW2 and spent four years as a POW....
Listen to The Burma-Siam Death Railway: CPO Otto Schwarz

The Wild Weasels: Capt. Tom “Bear” Wilson

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:164
Captain Wilson served with the Wild Weasels in Vietnam, tasked with drawing fire away from friendly aircraft and destroying surface to air missile...
Listen to The Wild Weasels: Capt. Tom “Bear” Wilson

Addiction and Trauma: SSgt Sam Hargrove

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:164
SSgt Hargrove describes surviving a base bombing in Iraq, and how the attack left her with physical and mental trauma....
Listen to Addiction and Trauma: SSgt Sam Hargrove

Imprisoned by the Japanese: CAPT Lawrence Savadkin

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:163
CAPT Savadkin was serving on the USS Tang when it was sunk in 1944. He was rescued and captured by the Japanese, and imprisoned in the Tokyo Bay A...
Listen to Imprisoned by the Japanese: CAPT Lawrence Savadkin

More About Warriors In Their Own Words and The HONOR Project

Warriors In Their Own Words brings to life the stories of those who have defended this nation. Using archival interviews going back to WWI, as well as current conversations about more recent conflicts, we hear remarkable accounts of service and sacrifice from those who lived them. These podcasts are a production of The HONOR Project: Heroes of Our Nation On Record.

Since 1991, award-winning documentarians Rob Kirk, Rob Lihani and Donna Lusitana have been recording and archiving the remarkable and very personal stories of veterans from World War I through modern conflicts. To provide an ongoing structure for the preservation of these stories, recounted by those who lived them, Kirk, Lihani and Lusitana joined with digital media pioneer, Marc Honorof, to create The HONOR Project.

“We are in the business of reporting history,” said Kirk, “Right now, these incredibly candid stories from a passing generation are what America wants to hear. We didn’t just sit these men down with a list of questions and ask them to reel off facts. We let them speak from the heart and captured all the emotion of their experiences.”

"By wrapping contextual narration around these astonishing stories and adding high quality production values,” said Lihani, “we have produced podcasts which are not only educational, but fascinating as well, along the lines of Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, or HBO’s Band of Brothers. Many of these veterans are no longer with us, so their accounts need to be remembered and archived. There simply is no substitute for listening to these men tell us their own experiences, in their own words and voices."

If you enjoy hearing these stories directly from those who lived them, please give us a 5-star review on iTunes or wherever you found us. Thank you.

The Team

Ken Harbaugh

The Host
A former US Navy Pilot and past president of Team Rubicon Global. He has served as a commentator for NPR, a host on Crooked Media, and a contributor to The NY Times, The Atlantic, and Yale Journal of International Law.

Declan Rohrs

Producer
Declan Rohrs (He/Him) was born and raised in Lakewood, Ohio. At Evergreen, he has assumed various roles, including Assistant Producer, Editor, Content Creator, and Email-Signature Guru.

Sean Rule Hoffman

Audio Engineer
Sean Rule Hoffman (mix engineer), hailing from Orange, Ohio, earned a degree in Music Technology with a minor in Electronic Media and Film from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.