World War II Daily Podcast · WorldWarII_Daily

Episode 16 – Zach Dunn: Global Veterans Stories

June 2, 2025·55 min·4 clips

Pietro Deserchi and Samuel DeCourty welcome Zach Dunn, the creator behind Global Veteran Stories. Dunn says he has interviewed over 85 veterans. The conversation starts with the idea that these voices are getting harder to find, and that preserving first-hand perspectives still matters. When asked for the most powerful or emotional story he has heard, Dunn says it is hard to choose just one, but he lands on Jack C. Thomas. Thomas is a Canadian World War II veteran who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a tail gunner on Sterling Silver planes. He flew 20 missions, mostly over Spain, helping the French and Spanish resistance with supplies and ammo. He also did four combat missions toward the end of 1944, dropped British soldiers and paratroopers on D-Day, and fought in the Battle of Arnhem. Dunn says the interview hit him hard enough that he shed a couple of tears. He then recounts a combat mission in which Thomas smelled smoke after the plane was hit by massive flak, tried to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher, and then attempted to bail out. His parachute latch caught on the bottom of the aircraft, swung him into the belly of the plane, and injured his leg, forcing him to cut the strap to get free. Dunn begins to explain how these aircraft differed from the higher-flying bombers people usually picture, and the conversation stays locked on the physical danger and the value of keeping the account alive.

As heard by us

An oral-history episode that turns one air-war story into a strong case for preserving firsthand memory.

This episode lands best as oral history, plain and direct about why veteran testimony matters before those voices get harder to recover. Zach Dunn comes across as steady and unhurried, and the detail about drawing on more than 85 veteran interviews gives the piece real weight.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want one vivid veteran story and a serious case for why firsthand memory matters, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from World War II Daily Podcast