WWII Veterans Dying At Increasing Rate
Please, if you know a WWII Veteran, talk to him or her. Now. Various academic and government sources estimate that WWII veterans are dying at a rate of 1,000 to 1,500 per day. Every 24 hours. Enough to fill a major league baseball park in less than 2 months. At one point there were 16,000,000 men and women in the armed forces of the United States in WWII, equivalent today to approximately 35,000,000 people. Now, there are less than 2,500,000 still alive. By 2020, a mere 10 years from now, they will all be gone and with them, their individual and collective stories, our stories, the nation’s stories. Reluctant to talk about their wartime experiences for decades many today are more than willing, understanding the importance of sharing their experiences so that their sacrifices and contributions to freedom are never forgotten, as well as the lessons of history. So please, reach out to a family member or friend, visit a veterans home or your local nursing home. Talk to them, ask them questions, give them the opportunity to share and yourself and the nation the opportunity to learn. They deserve that, as do we.