The Last of the Greatest: Stories from WWII Veterans
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Who is Andrew Biggio and what is his mission?
In this episode, we hear from Biggio about the stories he was able to document from our last few veterans from the greatest generation and how their stories helped him process his own experience as a Marine. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, May 26th, and this is a special Memorial Day edition of Morning Wire.
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What stories did Andrew document from WWII veterans?
So Andrew or Andy, I should say, I wanted to start for those viewers and listeners that didn't get to hear our first interview with you about a year ago. A little bit of background about your project, The Rifle. Tell us about that. How did this all start?
Sure. And you asked me if I prefer to be called Andrew or Andy. And yes, my name is Andrew, but I go by Andy because... That was my grandfather's brother who was killed in World War II, Andy Biggio. And I'm named after him. So when I survived Iraq and Afghanistan, I was trying to figure out a good way to honor my great uncle. I came home from combat deployments, read his letters home. And they really changed my life. And one of the letters he wrote home before he was killed in action in Italy was how much he enjoyed the M1 rifle, the rifle. So I went out and purchased one and then found myself traveling the country with it and putting it in hundreds and hundreds of different World War II veterans' hands and arms and recording their story, recording their reaction and their memories. And little did I know, I was on this therapeutic journey for seven years meeting these men and women, over 500 World War II veterans.
You know, it didn't seem this heavy when we were on a range with them, you know?
Does it feel heavier than it used to? Oh, yes, it does. A lot heavier. And Sal, how old are you?
90 what? No, 102.
Well, seven years and about 500 veterans. Do you know about how many World War II vets are currently still alive in the U.S.?
Sure. There was once 16 million World War II veterans. The VA and the government judged that by the 16 million... medals given out, which were the World War II victory medals. So that doesn't even mean the 16 million that served may have even served in combat. They were just people who earned that medal. That's what the numbers they go by for World War II.
How many World War II veterans are still alive today?
I think the VA now thinks there's less than 120,000 World War II veterans nationwide of the 116 million.
And I know many of those you've met with have passed away since your time with them. Do you know how many we've lost since that last time we talked?
Over the past year, it's hard to say, but I think of the 500 names featured on my rifle, because each veteran I had actually... sign their name on the rifle to remember them. I would say maybe there's 40 still alive of the 500 that I came close to know, and some closer than others. I have a funeral this Sunday for a gentleman who was really close to me. His name was Ed Cottrell.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who is Andrew Biggio and what is his mission?
0:15–1:39
2
What stories did Andrew document from WWII veterans?
1:39–3:45
3
How many World War II veterans are still alive today?
3:45–6:25
4
What inspired Andrew to take veterans back to battle sites?
6:25–9:28
5
What memorable experiences did veterans have on these trips?
9:28–11:22
6
How does Andrew honor the memories of veterans he met?
11:22–14:57
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Morning Wire
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