A Final Message From the Last Veterans of World War II

During World War II, over 16 million Americans served in the Armed Forces. Today, less than 45,000 are still alive. I spent the past ten years interviewing Marine Corps veterans who fought in the Pacific Theater for my forthcoming book, “The Last of the Old Breed: An Oral History of the Final Marines from World War II” (St. Martin’s Press). Of the 130 survivors I spoke with, the youngest was 90 and the oldest was 103.

And they have a final message for America.

Les Anderson was 95 years old when he sat down for an interview in 2021. He had never discussed the war before our meeting.

“I thought I would be able to talk about it now, but I still have trouble,” he said, tears streaming down his face. “I thought I could forget about it, but that doesn’t work either.”