This Veterans Day, the fighter pilot podcast, with help from our friends at L3 Harris, is honored to present a special tribute to the veteran aviators who have shared their time and stories, thus making this show possible.

L3 Harris is honored to support the military aviator community, both active and veteran, not just today, but every day.

Explore their cutting-edge technologies currently in production

and designed for today's fighter pilots by visiting L3Harris.com.

L3 Harris, power defense with the trusted disruptor.

Throughout the month of November, veterans and those still serving in their nation's militaries around the world are honored for their courage and sacrifices.

Here in the United States, military veterans are recognized specifically on November 11th, a federal holiday originating from Armistice Day that commemorated the official cessation of

hostilities of what was then known as the Great War. A military-themed show like the

fighter pilot podcast would not be possible without the veterans who first served in uniform

and then shared their experiences with our audience. So this Veterans Day, we're taking a walk down memory lane,

revisiting some of our most memorable episodes from among the nearly 300 in our catalog

as we wrap up this, our seventh year in podcasting.

Now, admittedly, when we debuted in 2018,

we were a bit late to the party to feature any aviators from the Great War, also known as World War I.

But it has been our honor to feature four World War II veterans.

The first was Mr. Crawford Hicks from episode 64, who flew the B-17 Flying Fortress in the European Theater of Operations.

I remember walking out on the tarmac one day and I saw it,

and I thought I'll never be able to fly that thing.

A 103-foot wingspan, and here I'd been used to a stearman.

And so you can imagine what the transition was.

He had a wonderful teacher,

and he put me in the left seat, which I was showing to fly, and maybe fly left-handed,

...