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.

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Most Recent Episode

"The aircraft started to spin. Not really thinking it was anything unusual, I remember calling the pilot saying, 'Hey sir, are we going to stop this?' When he responded with, 'I can't,' I knew this wasn't going to end well."

Click here to check out our web-exclusive interview with Staff Sergeant Mark Lalli. Lalli served in Iraq as a Blackhawk Helicopter crew chief and survived a helicopter crash that killed six of the eleven passengers on board, but he sustained life-changing injuries.

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Youngest Flying Ace in Korea: Lt Col Hank Buttelmann

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:125
In this interview, Lt Col Buttelmann talks about his time in Korea, the F-86, crossing the 38th parallel, and fighting enemy MiGs....
Listen to Youngest Flying Ace in Korea: Lt Col Hank Buttelmann

My Story: Lt. Ken Harbaugh

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:124
Lt. Ken Harbaugh, the host of Warriors In Their Own Words, talks about his service in the Navy. This special episode is guest hosted by MOH recipi...
Listen to My Story: Lt. Ken Harbaugh

Bullet Through the Jaw: COL Walter Joseph Marm Jr.

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:123
COL Marm explains how he was awarded the Medal of Honor for helping save another unit by single-handedly killing multiple entrenched enemies in Vi...
Listen to Bullet Through the Jaw: COL Walter Joseph Marm Jr.

Overcoming Trauma: CSM Tonya Oxendine

Warriors in their Own Words | S:2 E:122
CSM Oxendine describes the abuse she endured during her time in uniform, and how she overcame her trauma....
Listen to Overcoming Trauma: CSM Tonya Oxendine

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.