This podcast features an interview with 101 year old WWII veteran Casey Bukowski, who served as a waist gunner on a B‑17 flying out of Ridgewell Airfield in 1944. He also recounts his experiences as a prisoner of war and the brutal 86‑day forced march he endured before his liberation in 1945. I also highlight the Ridgewell Airfield Museum in Essex, UK, and explore the history of the area with Sarah Allen, a chairperson at the museum.

]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:19:17 GMTWed, 08 Apr 2026 14:12:58 GMT60Cami Kenworthy<p>This podcast features an interview with 101 year old WWII veteran Casey Bukowski, who served as a waist gunner on a B‑17 flying out of Ridgewell Airfield in 1944. He also recounts his experiences as a prisoner of war and the brutal 86‑day forced march he endured before his liberation in 1945. I also highlight the Ridgewell Airfield Museum in Essex, UK, and explore the history of the area with Sarah Allen, a chairperson at the museum.</p>episodicCami Kenworthy6bn4rmks78@privaterelay.appleid.comnoIn this episode, I speak with Casey about his life before the war. He reflects on his early romance with the woman who would become his wife and describes his experience after Pearl Harbor, when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and began training to become a B‑17 waist gunner.

]]>55f40049-8694-452e-8221-cc609e491515Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:16:44 GMT<p>In this episode, I speak with Casey about his life before the war. He reflects on his early romance with the woman who would become his wife and describes his experience after Pearl Harbor, when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and began training to become a B‑17 waist gunner.</p>no00:26:1211Casey Bukowski: On the Verge of Warfull