When World War II (WWII) is discussed today, it’s often just a section of a history textbook or a mention in a speech on a national holiday. Nearly 70 years after the end of the war, an entire generation of soldiers and survivors is quickly disappearing, but author and soldier Dave Mann is making sure their sacrifice is not forgotten.

At a Rotary Club meeting on April 7 at the Senior Center, members were joined by veterans of all ages and branches of the United States Armed Forces to listen to WWII veteran and Purple Heart recipient Dave Mann tell his story. Drafted into the war in 1943 at the young age of 18, Mann was made a combat engineer and sent overseas.

“I hadn’t even shaved yet, but they gave me a gun and they taught me how to be a killer,” he said. “They said, ‘Be very careful and try not to plan to come home in a body bag.’”

He saw action at the beaches of Normandy and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, which earned him the Purple Heart awarded to soldiers wounded or killed in combat. He was lucky—he lost his entire outfit in combat.

“They did pin that Purple Heart on me in the hospital,” he said. “I have mixed feelings about my Purple Heart. I am fiercely proud to wear it, but deeply saddened by the event that gave me the right to wear it.”

After three years of service, Mann returned to the states, was discharged, and went on to have a successful career in broadcast radio. He then went on to write the book What I Fought For; An Aging War Hero Remembers (which was handed out to veterans at the event), and has toured widely speaking about the war.

Mann said he speaks to remind people of the war and continuing conflicts.

“We were told WWI was the war to end all wars, and look what we have gone through since then,” he said.

Most important, Mann said he hopes his books and his presentations will encourage people to ask WWII veterans about their experience so that their stories live on.

“Many veterans returning home from war have not wanted to talk about it, but if you truly want to honor them—and we of the WWII era are dying at the rate of 800 a day—you have got to be responsible beneficiaries of their legacy,” he said. “Don’t let their stories die.”

The dwindling number of WWII vets is becoming more and more evident at each passing Memorial Day or Columbus Day parade, according to Mann. He said it is urgent their stories be recorded.

“So often today we say ‘Thank you’ for your service to a vet,” he said. “I speak for myself and other vets when I say it is very much appreciated, but it would mean much more to say, ‘Thank you for your service, but tell me about your service, I am interested.’ We have stories to tell, let us not bury those stories along with our dead.”

Mann said people need to remember what American soldiers have fought for.

“You never want to take that flag for granted,” he said.

For more information about What I Fought For; An Aging War Hero Remembers, visit http://whatifoughtfor.vpweb.com.