Episode 29: Harold Dunnigan and Duncan Smith

Tonight’s guests are Harold Dunnigan and Duncan Smith. Harold was born on Oct. 11, 1930, in Fall River, Massachusetts, and was raised in Santa Monica, California. He enjoyed surfing at Malibu Beach alongside surfing heroes Buzzy Trent, Matt Kivlin, and Peter Cole, then later became Santa Monica Lifeguard. In 1950, he joined the Navy and graduated from UDTR/A class 6 — for you young bucks, that’s BUD/S class 6. Harold would serve during the Korean War with UDT-1 and after the war enrolled in the UDT/SEAL reserve program. He would remain there for many years, including being recalled to active duty as an elderly SEAL during the Gulf War in the 1990s. He used to crush guys in PT and even participated in two water training jumps at the age of 60.  Harold is also an avid reader and felt it was important to be well-read. He’s mentored many children and young adults as a school administrator and lifeguard. Some of Harold’s students went on to create the famous Baywatch series as well as the movie Predator. Duncan served more than 30 years in the SEAL Teams before retiring as a captain. Duncan is instrumental in bringing Harold’s story to this podcast as it took much convincing to get Harold to open up about his time in the Navy. While we mostly focus on Harold’s life story, Duncan adds great points throughout the conversation, including discussing an interesting book tradition that’s developed into a prized memento. At the end of the show, Duncan shares his important work with the SEAL Family Foundation and what they do to support SEALs and their families.  Here is Episode 29 with Harold Dunnigan and Duncan Smith.

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