I was born 11 years after WW2 so in my boyhood I knew a LOT of vets. My Dad and my uncle Walt were 2 of them, and I would have had another uncle, Sandy, but he was killed in Germany only 8 days before the war ended.
In my 20s I also met and became friends with one German combat vet and one Japanese air combat vet. Also a member of the Italian resistance, who was a wealth of inspirations information.
I grew up in a remote area and has very few boys of my own age around, so I found myself in the company of many of my dad's friends. Most of my friends were of the WW2 years or the Korean War years.
They has a profound influence on me.
