A Conversation with a WWII Hero

I recently had the incredible opportunity of interviewing a WWII veteran, thanks to the Best Defense Foundation. I was very excited for this interview since I very much enjoyed learning about WWII in my history classes and could not wait to talk to someone who personally experienced it. We talked about his experiences in the war, leaving his home, and what it was like to return to the US after the war.

One of the things that struck me the most was that this vet was my age when he enlisted. High school students left their homes to join the war, thousands of miles away. During the war, he was a pilot who flew secret agents into Europe behind enemy lines. When he returned to the US, he lived his life holding on to secrets. He wasn’t able to tell even his family what he did during the war because he would be putting others in danger. He said that he felt as if he was living a lie for all those years. This really touched me and helped me understand even more the extent to which veterans sacrifice their own lives for the betterment of our country. I want to thank the veteran for taking the time to talk to me and also thank him and all other veterans for the service to defending our country.