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  • ANDY FANCHER: When I was nine years old,

  • I was sifting through old family photographs

  • when I stumbled on one of a young man in military uniform.

  • ROBERT FANCHER: We had a picture of my grandfather.

  • He would pull that one down and ask about him.

  • And I had no information.

  • ANDY FANCHER: I guess what really

  • piqued the interest was the fact that there were no answers.

  • And then that just cracked open this whole world

  • of what happened in Italy?

  • What happened in Germany?

  • Pacific?

  • I just wanted to find out all of it.

  • And when I was 16, I started a YouTube channel

  • documenting the services of World War II veterans.

  • The mission is just preserving history for future generations.

  • Whenever I go visit the veterans,

  • after the initial video interview,

  • a bunch of amazing stories come out.

  • You talk to these guys.

  • You feel the emotion.

  • You hear firsthand what they experienced.

  • How you doing?

  • Thank you so much for coming out here in the rain.

  • Calvin, it's been a while.

  • KEITH JERNIGAN: He was always a hero to me.

  • But as I've gotten older, I've realized

  • how important that service was.

  • And it seemed like Andy was the person to bring it out of him.

  • And he really cracked an egg open,

  • and I heard stories from him that I'd never

  • heard in all my life.

  • ANDY FANCHER: As soon as I got on the StoryCorps app,

  • I started listening.

  • And I found some amazing stories.

  • Stories really bring people together.

  • CALVIN JERNIGAN: And then I went into the ship, and they said,

  • the war is over.

  • And we celebrated.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • KELLIE FANCHER: You can read words.

  • When it comes from that person, I

  • think it creates lot more compassion because you're

  • actually hearing their heart.

  • ROBERT FANCHER: It does everybody good to open up

  • when both sides get medicine.

  • Listening is honoring.

  • Here are people that are sharing something that they haven't

  • talked about in 70-plus years.

  • Everybody should dedicate a little bit of time

  • to just preserve the stories of our veterans

  • while we still have time.

  • ANDY FANCHER: Sometimes all the veterans need

  • is just somebody to listen.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

ANDY FANCHER: When I was nine years old,

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