Photograph of great grandfather in uniform inspires teen to film the stories of WWII Veterans

When I was nine years old, I found a photograph of my late great grandfather, Gene Therman Fancher in military uniform. Handwritten on the back of this aged black and white image was “Italy, 1945.” Being young, I had many questions regarding Gene Fancher, but very few answers from my family.

As it turned out, he spoke no detail of his personal World War II experience prior to his death in 1970. After a little research, I found out that my great grandfather’s story was quite common, as this was the unfortunate case with so many WWII Veterans – such gallant narratives forever lost in time.

I felt a calling and realized WWII Veterans were in my hometown area of Dallas, Texas, but fading at a rapid rate.

And so, at the age of 16, I created a YouTube channel under my name and designated my project Andy Fancher Presents. The purpose of my time sensitive mission was simple; capture the first-hand accounts of our heroic WWII Veterans, and publish their stories.

That was nearly two years ago. I am a high-school senior now and have since then had the privilege of interviewing roughly 60 WWII Veterans. Sadly, seven of these individuals have passed away, leaving me the last to capture their story.

Editor’s Note: We will be featuring Veterans’ stories from Andy Fancher Presents as VA’s Veteran of the Day. Learn more about how you can nominate someone for Veteran of the Day by clicking here.

About the author: Andy Fancher is a high school student passionate about capturing the stories of World War II Veterans. To see some of his interviews, visit https://www.youtube.com/AndyFancher.