The Warrior Next Door Podcast
We explore the oral histories of World War II veterans from interviews conducted by your hosts Tony Lupo and Ryan Fairfield.
We play selected clips from these veteran interviews to explore their experiences in their own words with the hosts providing compelling commentary and historical context. Be ready to get some mud on your boots!
Episodes
300 episodes
Dr. Myra Miller of Footsteps Researchers - PREMIUM EPISODE
Welcome to the uncut Dr. Myra Miller series. Dr. Miller discusses her company Footsteps Researchers and their focus of researching the veteran archives in St. Louis to help families learn details of their loved one's military service.
Dr. Myra Miller of Footsteps Researchers Ep 1/2
Welcome to episode 1 of the 2 part Dr. Myra Miller series. Dr. Miller discusses her company Footsteps Researchers and their focus of researching the veteran archives in St. Louis to help families learn details of their loved one's military serv...
Dr. Myra Miller of Footsteps Researchers - Episode 2/2
Welcome to episode 2 of the 2 part Dr. Myra Miller series. Dr. Miller discusses her research and the information that can be gleaned from the military Morning Reports to add detail to a veterans service record.
PREMIUM - Actions of 28th Inf Div's George Mergenthaler Dec 1944
Peter Lion's book "Merg" tells the story of Geroge Mergenthaler, an American soldier of wealthy upbringing who was stationed in Eschweiler, Luxembourg for the month leading up to the launch of the Battle of the Bulge. In this episode, Tony and ...
Lt. Pete Konduros - B-24 bombardier 5th Bomb Group, Pacific Campaign, Philippines - Ep 1 of 4
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Listen in as Pete tells us about his missions in the pacific theatre which would culminate in his harrowing n...
Lt. Pete Konduros - B-24 bombardier 5th Bomb Group, Pacific Campaign, Philippines - All Episodes - Subscriber Only
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Listen in as Pete tells us about his missions in the pacific theatre which would culminate in his harrowing n...
Lt. Pete Konduros - Voices from the Fleet Interview - Subscriber Only!
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. This is the ENTIRE Voices from the Fleet interview conducted onboard the USS Phoenix the day after their spot...
Lt. Pete Konduros - B-24 bombardier 5th Bomb Group, Pacific Campaign, Philippines - Ep 2 of 4
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Listen in as Pete tells us about his missions in the pacific theatre which would culminate in his harrowing n...
Lt. Pete Konduros - B-24 bombardier 5th Bomb Group, Pacific Campaign, Philippines - Ep 3 of 4
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Listen in as Pete tells us about his missions in the pacific theatre which would culminate in his harrowing n...
Lt. Pete Konduros - B-24 bombardier 5th Bomb Group, Pacific Campaign, Philippines - Ep 4 of 4
Lt. Pete Konduros served as a bombardier in the 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), in the 394th Bomb Squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Listen in as Pete tells us about his missions in the pacific theatre which would culminate in his harrowing n...
PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER - The story of the Edelweiss Pirates
Ryan and Tony discuss a relatively unknown WWII story we learned about while in Cologne of a group of freedom loving German teens in Germany who fought against the Hitler Youth.
B-17 Crash Recovery Researcher Patrick Murphy Ep 1/3
Episode 1 of our interview with WWII Battlefield Research and Preservation group President Patrick Murphy. In this episode he discusses how he got involved in crash recovery and his issues dealing with regulations and personalities within Luxem...
B-17 Crash Recovery Researcher Patrick Murphy Ep 2/3
EP 2 - Patrick discusses his recovery of the B-17 "Bull Session" from a field with layers of history.
B-17 Crash Recovery Researcher Patrick Murphy Ep 3/3
EP 3/3 - Patrick discusses what's next for the WWII Battlefield Research and Preservation Group.
B-17 Crash Recovery Researcher Patrick Murphy PREMIUM EPISODE
Full uncut version our interview with WWII Battlefield Research and Preservation Group President Patrick Murphy and his B-17 crash site recovery of the B-17 "Bull Session".
PREMIUM John "Benny" Solis - Seaman First Class USS Laws DD-558 WWII
John Solis takes through life aboard a Fletcher class Destroyer during the heavy fighting of 1944-1945 in the Pacific.
John "Benny" Solis - Episode 1 Seaman First Class USS Laws DD-558 WWII
Episode 1 of the John Solis series: A US Navy seaman who served aboard a Fletcher class destroyer during WWII. In this episode John describes joining the Navy and training aboard the USS Laws DD-558.
John "Benny" Solis - Episode 2 Seaman First Class USS Laws DD-558 WWII
John “Benny” Solis: A US Navy seaman who served aboard a Fletcher class destroyer during WWII. In this episode John describes working inside the 5” gun turret during the heat of battle in the Pacific.
PREMIUM - Hitler vs The Pope
Tony and Ryan discuss one of the most chilling era's in religious history as Hitler takes on the Catholic Church and the Pope by attempting remake the Bible in Hitlers image and nearly invades the Vatican.
John "Benny" Solis - Episode 3 Seaman First Class USS Laws DD-558 WWII
Final episode of the John Solis series. In this episode John details the role of his ship during the invasion of Okinawa and what it was like at wars end .
Part 1: The Top Five Nazi Blunders with Ray Harris Jr of The History of WW2 Podcast!
Fans of our show know that we occasionally combine forces with Ray Harris Jr., the host of The History of WW2 Podcast, to share our views on various topics associated with WW2. This two part series focuses on our picks for the Top Five Nazi Blu...
Part 2: The Top Five Nazi Blunders with Ray Harris Jr of The History of WW2 Podcast!
Fans of our show know that we occasionally combine forces with Ray Harris Jr., the host of The History of WW2 Podcast, to share our views on various topics associated with WW2. This two part series focuses on our picks for the Top Five Nazi Blu...
Premium Subscriber Edition: The Top Five Nazi Blunders with Ray Harris Jr of The History of WW2 Podcast!
Fans of our show know that we occasionally combine forces with Ray Harris Jr., the host of The History of WW2 Podcast, to share our views on various topics associated with WW2. This two part series focuses on our picks for the Top Five Nazi Blu...
Air Raid Edition with Cory Graff, curator of The National Museum of WW2 in New Orleans!
Our special guest, Cory Graff, is a curator at the largest museum for WW2 history in the United States - The National Museum of WW2 in New Orleans. The museum was started by the late Stephen Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers and m...
Frank DeCicco Jr: B-17 Waist Gunner, 303rd Bomb Group, WW2 - Episode 1 of 3
Co-hosts Tony and Ryan dug DEEP into their archives and share the second interview they ever conducted as volunteers for the Library of Congress. It was February of 2003 when they interviewed Frank DeCicco Jr., who served as a waist gunner in B...