Despite the fact that electronic copies of practically any newspaper can be viewed near instantaneously from around the globe, it is still a noteworthy event when someone reaches out to the Monitor from outside East Texas.

It is doubly noteworthy when that person is a teenager who has embarked on a personal quest to document, through oral history interviews, the last living veterans of the Second World War generation.

That young man, Jaxon Hekkenberg, resides near Toronto, Canada, and contacted the office after having read the feature about USS Indianapolis survivor Cleatus Lebow and his daughter, Mineola resident Sonja Rosson. 

A 16-year old high school student, Hekkenberg should be consumed by his studies and college entrance examinations. He admitted that he has plans for studying engineering as a collegiate undergrad and eventually pursuing a specialized medical degree. 

His uncle, history teacher Dave Shoesmith, spurred Hekkenberg’s interest in history. An awareness that the last of the Second World War generation is passing led Hekkenberg to begin his quest.

“I just felt that as the last living veterans from the Second World War passed, we were missing the last chance to record their experiences,” explained Hekkenberg. With that, the young student went to work.

Over the next several months, Hekkenberg has been busy – sending over 2,200 letters of introduction and conducting 62 oral history interviews. That is quite an effort.

As impressive as those numbers are, the manner in which he has executed this mission is equally noteworthy.

“When dealing with that generation and their families I found that using a personal letter may invoke a response much more easily than electronic communications or phone calls, ” he offered. The young man adjusted his own methods to connect with a generation very comfortable penning a letter.

Another interesting aspect to his quest was the commonality of age.

“In my first few interviews, I saw that enlisting at my age – the age of 16 – during WWII was pretty common.” That realization cemented his resolve.

Hekkenberg can list a whole series of organizations that have assisted him in identifying veterans for possible interviews. Honor Flight, the Canadian and American Legions, Veterans of Foreign Wars and a host of international charities have assisted him.  

Reaching out beyond national boundaries has added to the quality of his interview collection. He counts two Ukrainian and one German interviewees among those he has documented. 

The interviews are straightforward. “Of course, I receive a lot of personal stories about their service,” Hekkenberg summarized, “but I keep my questions simple.” Chief among those questions is: ‘What are your recommendations for future generations?’ 

Two interviews stand out for their overarching messages. Hekkenberg related that a Canadian veteran who had become a prisoner of war of the Japanese after the Battle of Hong Kong offered “Never let anyone take your freedom away!”

A Canadian artillery officer who participated in the Battle of Cassino in Italy shared, “War is stupid. We found out that the enemy was just like ourselves.”

Hekkenberg views this oral history project as a service as well. “I am doing this to help ensure that my generation will not be ill-informed,” he stated. 

After having amassed a significant amount of material, the young man from Ontario, is busily making those interviews available online.

With respect to future endeavors, Hekkenberg admitted that while he has done interviews of veterans from other conflicts, it is the world-wide significance of the Second World War which still captures his attention. He offered, “It was so significant, and so horrific, and it continues to shape world events today.”