Young Man Records Stories of 3,000 WWII Veterans

Rishi Sharma, a 28-year-old American, spent ten years interviewing 3,000 World War II veterans across the United States. He began the project as a high school student driven by curiosity about the war and it evolved into a mission to preserve their experiences.

Sharma documented the veterans’ stories, believing they represent a vital moral compass for society. He recently completed an interview with a 100-year-old veteran of Iwo Jima, marking the end of this decade-long endeavor.

The number of living WWII veterans has drastically decreased over the course of Sharma’s project. In 2016, approximately 700,000 WWII veterans were still alive.

Now, only around 30,000 remain. Sharma’s archive now serves as a significant historical record as the last members of this generation pass away.