The Story of ‘Crash Harrison’: A WWII Bomber Pilot’s Journey to His Nickname

SASKATOON—Canadian World War II bomber pilot Reg Harrison says he was lucky to walk away unscathed from the war, especially considering he crashed four times.Mr. Harrison joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1942, when he was 20. The following year, he was sent to England where he would serve, as were many other Canadians who had enlisted.“I had no concept of war and what I was getting into before I got to England. None whatsoever,” he wrote in a book that documents his experience.The WWII veteran told The Epoch Times that his nickname, “Crash Harrison,” came from one of his commanders. But more on that later. War Experience Mr. Harrison’s first crash was on March 15, 1944, on a flight he took to gain some experience. During the flight, the crew of eight dropped bombs on Amiens, France, and then turned to head back. However, what they didn’t know was that one of the bombs had failed to drop. When they went to land, the bomb suddenly dropped and exploded.Mr. Harrison said he never heard it go off. World War II veteran Reg “Crash” Harrison and author Deana Driver at an event at the Nutana Legion in Saskatoon on Nov. 1, 2023. Ms. Driver recounted Mr. Harrison’s war tales in her book “Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death.” (Chandra Philip/The Epoch Times)“We were 26 feet off the ground in the aircraft and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the grass, and I could see stars.”“If I had been standing as far back as the pilot wanted, I would not have survived the crash.”Author Deana Driver captured Mr. Harrison’s war tales in her book “Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death,” which was released earlier this year. It tells Mr. Harrison’s story of growing up in Saskatchewan, surviving four crashes, and returning to life in Canada after the war.“He has all of these detailed records of all of his flights and all of his missions,” Ms. Driver said at an event at the Nutana Legion in Saskatoon on Nov. 1, where Mr. Harrison, now 101 years old, was in attendance.Mr. Harrison’s second crash happened on July 5, 1944. It was his 13th mission. His was one of 20 bomber planes taking off from Croft, England, at night. But one of the engines on his Halifax bomber quit, causing the plane to veer to the right. He said he had to think fast because he didn’t want to crash into the other planes trying to take off.“I was a hell of a mess,” he wrote.Mr. Harrison received his nickname after this crash.“I think maybe my flight commander, Frankie Gullivan, from Montreal, I think he gave me the name,” Mr. Harrison told The Epoch Times at the Nov. 1 event. “We did that because there were two other Harrisons.”’My Exit Didn’t Go Smoothly’His third crash happened near the end of that summer, on Aug. 25, 1944. It was his 17th mission.On the return, his plane hit bad weather but no orders were given to change course. When the plane neared the control tower at Croft, the crew discovered that all of the other planes in their group had been diverted and landing was going to be a problem. They received directions to fly to Silloth and land there, but they did not have enough fuel. Years later, I asked some skydivers at an air show how high they thought I might have been when I bailed out. They said I bailed out somewhere between 800 and 1,000 feet. If I had been in the plane another two or three seconds, I wouldn’t be here.”After that crash, the RCAF decided to send him home. When asked what Remembrance Day means to him, Mr. Harrison said it’s an opportunity to reflect on how many people joined up and those who did not come home.



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