Their view: Veterans' stories need to be told

Rebecca Adling, an Air Force wife, writes a weekly column in Cannon Connections, our weekly military publication. Here is her latest effort:

A while back, I read a book that stuck with me. It was the almost unbelievable story of Louis Zamperini called "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption." His story, as written by Laura Hillenbrand, fascinated me with its depictions of life during such an intense period of American history. Louis, a juvenile delinquent, overcomes his restless nature to become a top Olympic athlete at the Berlin games. Before he gets a chance to compete again the war breaks out and he joins the effort as a bombardier on a B-24. After a plane crash in the Pacific, he spends rest of the war as a prisoner of Japan.

As I read this book it led me to think in real terms about what the aircrews of World War II faced. I imagine it was a raw fly by the seat of your pants leap of faith every time they stepped into their planes. Many of the safety guidelines and procedures that drive much of flight planning today were missing. From there I started wondering about all the fighters of the war and all the stories they had to tell. Then I thought about my own family and how the war affected them. I have one great uncle who died in France. His short life included just enough time to leave behind a new bride. What must it have been like when he left to go to war? How must she have felt when the news reached her that in this life she would never see him again?

On the other side of my family is an uncle who did make it back. He was a B-24 pilot who flew bombing missions over France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. The few stories he told before passing away in 2008 are both amazing and frightening. In a mass bombing over Royan, France, in April 1945, their flight of B-24s lost five planes out of the sky by friendly fire from a formation of B-17s aiming for the same target. I can't imagine how that must have felt having fire rain down and watching the planes in his formation exploding or falling apart.

There are so many stories of bravery and strength in every family's history. Not only are there extraordinary stories from times like World War II but fascinating stories from many periods in history. Now is the time to talk to family members and learn their personal stories. Write down those things they experienced first hand. It is easy to be caught up in the here and now of modern life but understanding our place in the world includes the stories of those who came before us.