Stories of the Korean war by the men who experienced it.

In the initial stages of his interview, Fred retells the story of his younger years which led him to join the parachute regiment with the onset of war. He describes his disillusionment with the accustomed tactics of Western-front warfare, and his desire to join a new regiment where everyone chose to be there. Fred recalls the difficulty of training, and the seemingly impossible tasking of jumping from the planes. Describing his landing in Normandy in June 1944, Fred discloses that not only was he seriously injured on arrival but was also taken as a prisoner of war. In August, the opportunity to escape arose and Fred fled to Paris. Although the majority of his interview highlights Fred's enjoyment, then and now, of being a Para, it also showcases the emotional trauma that resides in those who fought in the war. In reflecting on his experience of patrol in the Ardennes, Fred describes the transformative power of war and its ability to turn men into killers. His account provides a thoughtful and emotional insight into the experiences of parachute regiments in the Second World War.

Sam was well travelled and hitch-hiked through Germany in 1938-39, where the atmosphere seemed to change as war neared. After joining the RAF in 1941, he was sent to Canada for training before heading to RAF Leuchars in Scotland where he hunted enemy submarines. Following a relatively uneventful period of wartime flying, Sam used his navigator training to join a charter aircraft company flying around Europe. He was then sent to fly planes rescuing Hindu refugees from persecution during the 1947 partition of India. Sam subsequently captained civilian planes during the Berlin Airlift. Unlike RAF pilots who took commands from operations officers, he was responsible for deciding when weather conditions made flying too treacherous. He recalls near crashes with a Russian plane flying off course and an RAF York whose pilot disobeyed tower landing commands. He worked hard during the airlift and had little time for leisure while flying 3 flights per day and sometimes at night. After returning to Jersey in December 1948, Sam joined a civilian carrier that later became British Airways. His account sheds valuable light on the essential role civilian charter companies played in the Berlin Airlift.