Question

Many of the men who fought in World War II had backgrounds similar to Yeager’s, yet they helped save the world from Hitler’s totalitarianism. Each veteran has an interesting story. Efforts have been made to preserve these oral histories. Watch one of the videos below to view an interview with World War II veterans. In your journal writing, give the title of the video clip that you watched, and briefly describe the interview. What do you think of the men who are remembering their experiences? Why do you think these men were able to do the things they did? How did the war change them?

Answer 1

They were able to do many of these thing because of the moden (1940s era) technology, and because of the sheer courage of the pilots in the planes. that is my opinion anyway

Answer 2

Building on HAYESxELITE's answer, many of these men also simply saw themselves as doing their job. They were ordered to go in and do the best that they can and simply did it. Many were scared, but it wasn't like working in a store where you could quit. If you quit out in the battlefield, you'd probably get yourself and your buddies killed.

From what I've read, a lot of the soldiers and pilots that came back didn't want to talk about their experiences. It changed many of them and not always for the better. Some couldn't live with the horrors that they had seen, others just tried to get back to living an ordinary life and finding it tougher to do than when they were in the armed forces. Others wrote books on their experiences to pass on what they knew. Or went on to careers that focused on what they did best like what Yeager did when it came to flying.

Not everyone's story is the same which also makes it important to try and hear as many of them as possible.