Texas teen films WWII vets’ stories because ‘we’re running out of time’ | American Military News

We are running out of time to get these stories first hand from the men that lived them. That is the focus of my book "The Old Man on the Bench". I applaud this young man for his project. I know a man that served in WWII in the Navy, who never talked about it. Then one day I was in his home and noticed a letter from the Secretary of the Navy on the wall of his den. As I began reading it, I realized it was the Navy Cross.......awarded to him for his actions as a dive bomber pilot in the battle of the Philippine Sea. This man, who had come home after the war and devoted the rest of his life to being a teacher, was one of the kindest people you would ever meet.......but in his day.....when his country called on him......he was a warrior! How many more of these stories are out there? I suspect a lot of them.

My grandfather's memory is going bad. He flew bombers over the Japanese mainland to hit oil refineries. He lost several friends and made several emergency landings on Iwo Jima. He's thankful for his fellow servicemen who died taking that island. Unlikely to be alive today if he landed there under Japanese control.

I saw this story some time back on a Sunday morning on I think CBS. It was good! Its HISTORY!