The Power of Love

After interviewing a heck of a lot of people involved in World War II in a really short amount of time, one question pops up from time to time:  “How do you find all these veterans?”

Well, it wasn’t very easy in the beginning.

The first place I looked was the local VFW.  I didn’t find any World War II veterans there, so I was told I should hang around Veteran’s Administration hospitals.  I thought about that, and wondered how I would start a conversation….as in, “Hi, I know you may about to be poked, prodded or operated on, or be feeling poorly, sick or dying, but would you mind if we sat down and talked about your war experience?”

There had to be a better way.

And then I found it.

It was love.

After watching HBO’s Band of Brothers, I was driven by love to seek out the places in Normandy where the 101st Airborne fought and fell.  Surrounded by the eerie and palpable energy, the connections to veterans started finding me.

As I drove along Utah Beach early on June 6, 2010, I ran into French people carrying flags along the narrow road.  I parked, and was honored to watch the small, but deeply touching ceremony the local French people offered to the first Navy Frogman (Angelo Chatas) who hit the beach that morning 66 years before.

Alone at the Normandy cemetery early the next morning, I found four sets of flowers with pictures and names of aviators killed during the war, and set out to find their heroic stories, driven by love.  Those flowers have led me to a whole new world of adventure, veterans, friends, and incredible history.

Back home, and driving with my mom through Riverside, California, we saw a vintage bomber by the side of the freeway and pulled off to walk through the museum there.   Was it coincidence that I met an Old, Bold Pilot there?

After that, I drove every Wednesday morning to the Denny’s in Oceanside, and offered to record stories.

Did I have a degree in history?  No. Had I read about World War II battles and units for decades? No.  Did I know anything about aviation?  Hardly.

I offered veterans the only thing I had: my ability to listen with love.

It took some time, but eventually I gained the trust of veterans here and abroad, and the numbers of interviews grew.  Charley joined me, our 501c3 came through, and governing and advisory boards were formed.  We have been referred from friend to friend to friend.

Now we are drowning in a flood of names.  All of these men and women deserve to die knowing their stories will outlive them.  But as hard as we try, we cannot reach them all.

So, we’ll need your help.

If you know a World War II veteran, interview him or her.  You don’t need a list of questions, or a degree in history, or some background in the material.

You only need to be able to listen with love.