Reg Harrison’s nickname fit him well during his time as a Canadian air force pilot in World War II.

“Crash,” as he was called, survived four plane crashes.

His story is just one of thousands of veterans’ stories that will live on with The Memory Project, an archive from Historica Canada that collects World War II and Korean War stories from Canadian veterans and shares them with students.

Harrison, a 92-year-old Saskatoon veteran, was stationed in Croft, England. He told CTV News the base was known as a place where if things could go wrong, they did.

“When I look back on my flying record, I survived four plane crashes. I probably added to their reputation,” he said of the Croft base.

Harrison’s first crash saw a 500-pound bomb, which was hung up on a bomb rack as the crew was flying, fall loose as the plane landed. The bomb exploded on the runway and the entire crew was blown out of the plane, he said.

Harrison was not flying the plane. He was observing the landing from inside the cockpit. He said, excluding himself, every crew member — the pilot, bomber, navigator and flight engineer — died in the explosion.

Harrison’s second crash saw him lose close friend, Gordon Dunville. The plane’s engine failed with a full bomb load. Everyone survived except Dunville on what was the crew's 13th flight.

Dunville was superstitious, Harrison said. He requested Harrison not refer to the flight as his 13th during their time in the air.

“He said, ‘You know what trip this is?’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s the 13th,’ ” Harrison recalled his conversation with Dunville. “He said, ‘I don’t really like 13. Can we call it 12A?’ I said ‘Sure.’”

Harrison got involved with The Memory Project partly because of Dunville, he said. Dunville’s brother Trevor still has his fallen sibling’s uniform and memorabilia.

“I’m going to write to him and tell him the memory of his brother is going to live on for many, many years in the minds and hearts of these students — even though he was killed,” Harrison said.

Harrison has received numerous letters from students across the country through the project. Many students thanked him for his service and asked him about his experiences.

“Somebody said, ‘Did you ever meet Hitler?’ I said, ‘No, but when I was dropping bombs I always hoped he was close by.”

The Memory Project was started in 2001. There are now 3,000 veterans involved. 60 are from Saskatchewan.

Organizers estimate thousands of letters have already been sent to veterans since the project began.