D-Day, old soldiers & veterans video

Sandy Ross, who turns 88 in December and lives in Lake Forest, wanted to be a pilot ever since his days as a Lockheed riveter, riding in the cockpits on the assembly line. Before America's involvement in the war, he begged his father to let him go north to Canada to join up. His father refused. He did not have long to wait. Sandy and his brother joined the Army Air Corps and soon both were piloting P-47 Thunderbolts against German forces in Europe.

Proudly wearing his still-fitting brown bomber jacket and officer's cap, Sandy recalled some of his 51 missions over Europe. Asked about the dogfight that earned him the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross as well as a promotion to Second Lieutenant, he said:

"It wasn't heroic. It was exciting. It was fun."

Today - June 6 - is the 65th anniversary of the WWII D-Day landings at Normandy and President Obama is in Europe marking the occasion. With an estimated 1000 WWII veterans passing on each day, it is critical that their children and grandchildren take steps to ensure their stories are recorded.

Laguna Woods resident Jim Peirano, who turns 94 on December 15, fired at Japanese bombers from the deck of his submarine USS Dolphin during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He remembers with horror as the Arizona blew up scattering burning oil over the water - burning hundreds.

Soon after, his submarine left Pearl Harbor to carry the war to the Japanese:

"We did not know anything about fighting a war," he said. "We knew how to dive and exercise the submarine. But the rest we had to learn as the war progressed."

Jim was at the battles of Midway and Tarawa and he saw service in the Solomon Islands where he helped save a group of 29 missionary nuns and children. He was in the middle of the "Battle of Japan" as he terms it, his submarine sinking many enemy ships. He stresses that American forces would drop leaflets on civilian populations before bombing runs, warning them to evacuate - a fact he says is often overlooked.

We have recorded lots of veterans' history to video, including Sandy's and Jim's stories. Using personal photographs, National Archives campaign footage, historical images, newspaper reports, memorabilia and personal interviews we help make old soldiers' war experiences come alive for their children and grandchildren. Preserving the experiences of veterans is some of the most important work we do.

Julian Ertz, whose story we also helped preserve, was a WWII navigator - badly injured when his plane crashed in Wales.

Julian, now 90 and a Laguna Woods resident for 4 years, was anxious to fight in the war in Europe and trained as a pilot and a navigator. In December 1943, Julian and his crew took the "southern" route to England, via Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Natal Brazil then across the Atlantic to Dakar, Marrakech and finally Great Britain. The plane was stocked with candy for war-deprived British children the crew expected to meet.

Tragedy struck for Julian and his crew when his B-24 J Liberator - named "Bachelors' Baby" on account of the single status of its crew - crashed on take off in Wales. The plane was loaded with 50 caliber shells. Julian suffered a broken back, but counts himself lucky. He was able to shelter from the exploding bullets behind the plane's engine, which had become detached. Five of his 10 crew, and a sixth man - an unlucky hitch hiker - were killed. Booster, the mascot dog, was also killed in the crash.

He remembers to this day the cries of Sammy Offutt as he burned alive in the wreckage, begging Julian to end his misery with his pistol. Julian was unable to comply - he did not have the gun to hand. He does not know what he would have done had he had it. Julian returned to the US in a full body cast - later studying law and becoming an attorney.

The recent release of "The Pacific" - the Spielberg/Hanks' HBO 10-part veterans video about ordinary soldiers fighting the Japanese in WWII - keeps the spotlight firmly on "The Greatest Generation" - three of whom here who told their stories. But with around a thousand WWII war veterans now dying every day, it also challenges us to ask if we are doing enough to save our own families' old soldiers' stories.

Our World War II veterans lived through some of the most dramatic times of the 20th century. It is important that their stories are captured for their families and future generations. Most of our veterans are in their 80s and 90s and so there is a real urgency to record their stories now.

Video recording personal life history on DVD is an increasingly popular way for people to record their life history in their own words. It is a way for them to leave a lasting legacy and the life story video becomes a priceless treasure for children and grandchildren. Let's all do our best to record the stories of our Second World War and other veterans with a veterans video.