Posted on 05/01/2018 3:42:21 AM PDT by Libloather
**SNIP**
So far, Sharma has interviewed more than 850 veterans in 45 states.
“They can say that their lives have had a purpose greater than themselves. Lot’s of people are born, they live and they die without having an impact on the world,” Sharma said. “But every single World War II veteran have given millions of people a chance at life. Because of the hell they went through at 18-19 years old.”
Sharma’s goal is to preserve their stories for future generations through his nonprofit, Heroes of the Second World War.
(Excerpt) Read more at wjla.com ...
My Dad, European Theater and Battle of the Bulge, was interviewed by a congressional staffer in So Cal.
Some of the boys in our Trail Life USA troop are working on a badge called Military Heritage.
Part of it calls to interview a veteran and ask about their service.
Last night we had a panel of Veterans, mostly troop dad’s. I also invited a friend from church who was a retired Lt. Colonel from the Air Force.
I don’t know him really well. We found out he flew B-52’s and transferred to Huey Helicopters, earned a Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam and was the pilot for a former President.
We can all learn from these men.
Just spent some time with a guy who was a belly gunner on a b-17 in Europe. That’s like finding a 4 leaf clover! Sweet man. “ They picked me because I’m so short”.
Wow! Good for him!
Truly wonderful
HOORAY Rishi Sharma!
Military Heritage badge BUMP!
Thanks for your work, cyclotic
Clearly, Sharma is a brilliant and far-seeing fellow.
Let’s hope he publishes at least some of his findings.
I was extraordinarily fortunate to actually serve with a WW2 USAAC vet.
It was 1975 in Thailand. LtCol Harley Hooper was on his final assignment and I was on my second; we were flying AC-130s in the 16SOS.
I wondered why nothing really bothered him while everything seemed to bother me; I was that young.
Harley told me he had served as a B-24 crew member in Europe prior to D-Day. He was shot down, captured, escaped, and was being hidden by the French underground in Paris, August 1944.
One day he heard singing, the “la Marsellaise”. When he looked out an window he saw Allied troops marching a newly freed Paris enroute to fighting German forces east of the city.
Harley told me it was both the best and worse day of his life. The best because for the first time in two years he knew, for an absolute fact, he was going to go home alive. The worse because he was the only one his B-24’s 11-man crew who went home.
How do you talk about this to the “home folks”?
To repay Harley for this important history lesson I bought him his brandy for the next six months. It was a very cheap price.
Sorry for the length but it is important to me and, IMHO, the reason why so many real combat vets, past, present, and future, don’t talk about their combat experiences.
1944 to 1975 is one hell of a career - just think about the leap in military technologies he's seen.
And thanks for the post, and for bringing LtCol Harley Hooper his brandy.
That wacky Indian-American youth! Rushing all over documenting the history of freedom fighters instead of joining an identity group’s hatefest... /s
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