California teen dedicates life to finding World War II vets
LOS ANGELES — For as long as he can remember, Rishi Sharma’s heroes haven’t been sports stars or movie stars or any other kind of stars. They’ve been the U.S. combat veterans who won World War II.
Alarmed that even the youngest of them are now in their 90s and dying each day by the hundreds, the Southern California teenager has launched a campaign to try to ensure each one’s legacy.
“I’m on a mission to in-depth film interview a World War II combat veteran every single day,” the earnest 19-year-old says after a recent afternoon spent in the living room of William R. Hahn of Los Angeles, where Sharma mined the 93-year-old’s memories for hours.
His Canon 70D camera rolling, his long, jet-black hair tied back in a tight ponytail, the son of Indian immigrants listened intently as Hahn recounted how he received the Silver Star for bravery by charging through a hail of gunfire on Easter Sunday 1945 as Allied forces retook the German town of Hettstandt.