History isn’t just in books, it’s living and walking among us in the World War II veterans who can still share their own stories. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker reports on a Gen-Z man on a mission to make sure we know The Greatest Generation.
Rishi Sharma travels the world for a job that pays him nothing. It's more of a calling. Sharma wants to interview as many World War II veterans as he can while they are still here to tell their stories in their own words.
On Tuesday, he was at the Flower Mound home of 99-year-old Dr. Arzell Ball, a WWII veteran.
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WATCH HERE"He's actually the reason I came to Texas," Sharma said.
Sharma has interviewed more than 2,600 WWII combat veterans from around the world. His interest in hearing their stories started in high school after reading the book 'Citizen Soldier'.
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SIGN UP "Someone had told me there's a retirement community down the street from my high school, and obviously, I wasn't the cool guy in high school, so I had plenty of free time," Sharma said smiling. "One day I rode my bike over from school to the retirement community, and I walked to the front and I said to the receptionist...can I please meet some World War II heroes?"
From that moment Sharma had a mission. Through his nonprofit 'Remember WWII', he travels to interview WWII veterans. Donations make Sharma's mission possible. He takes no salary, living in a car to save money on the road, so he can get to the next veteran's interview.
"They say that a man dies twice; once when his heart stops beating, and once when his name is uttered for the very last time," Sharma said. "The reason I have dedicated so much of my life to meeting and documenting WWII veterans is because I feel it is a very sacred obligation that I have as one of the beneficiaries of what they sacrificed."
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Back in Ball's apartment, the veteran talked about the war injury that made him an amputee.
"I was hit by pieces of an artillery shell which blew my, this, leg off," Balls said taking off his prosthetic leg. He has lessons to pass on. "We should avoid war if at all possible."
Sharma shares his veteran interviews on his YouTube channel and his TikTok page, Remember WWII. He also gives the full, unedited interviews to the veterans for free.
"My entire day-in and day-out is just meeting WWII veterans because I have to," Sharma said, pointing out that the youngest WWII combat veteran would be 98-year-old today. "I mean, now's the time! Now or never to get these veterans on camera."
If you are a WWII veteran, or know someone who is, who would like to participate in the Remember WWII interview project, click here for information or call (202) 315-8743.
