For a decade, Rishi Sharma has journeyed across the United States with a unique purpose: to document the experiences of World War II combat veterans. At 28 years old, Rishi remains committed to his goal, having interviewed over 3,000 veterans so far.

Rishi recently met with 100-year-old Marine veteran Nils Mockler in Yorktown, New York. Nils served as a combat intelligence scout, participating in the harrowing Battle of Iwo Jima. When asked about witnessing the American flag being raised there, Nils expressed intense patriotism. ‘The hair on my arms still stands up when I think about how beautiful it was,’ he shared.

Rishi’s passion project began by visiting veterans in his Southern California neighborhood. To reach even more veterans, he mapped out various locations he aimed to visit. ‘There are real superhero World War II vets out there, and I want to meet them,’ Rishi proclaimed back in 2016.

His project, called Remember WWII, relies on contributions and emphasizes personal interactions. He spends hours recording veterans’ stories and later provides these recordings to their families.

When Rishi started, around 700,000 World War II veterans were alive. Today, that number has dwindled to about 30,000. He stresses the importance of their stories, underscoring their role as society’s moral compass. ‘For so long they have been the moral compass of our society,’ he notes.

As America celebrates 250 years as a nation, Rishi highlights the invaluable contributions of this generation, whose sacrifices and moral clarity propelled the nation to where it is today.