Interviewer on mission to share World War II hero stories visits 100-year-old Central Florida veteran

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A California man is traveling the world to interview all World War II veterans of allied countries and his most recent interview brought him to Central Florida.

Rishi Sharma runs a non-profit, and YouTube channel called “Remember World War II with Rishi Sharma”. He started the project seven years ago and said he’s always been interested in World War II.

“I’ve always read books about the war. You watch “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers”, but I wanted to meet some of them in the flesh just to express my gratitude,” Sharma said. “I’d never been to a retirement home, and the director was so happy to see a young person there that he personally introduced me to all the veterans. There was like 25 of them at the time, and they were so happy to see someone show a genuine interest in their life. God bless my mom, she got me a camera from Costco. The director of the retirement home let me use an empty office space, and then for the next two months, I would ride my bike there after school and interview them.”

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On Sunday, Sharma was scheduled to interview Albert Bruno, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Bruno was a soldier in the 134th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division where he was a scout in the United States Army during World War II.

News 6 also had the chance to sit down with Bruno — as he told us about serving on the front lines in Normandy, being taken prisoner by German troops and eventually escaping captivity after nine months.

After escaping, Bruno stumbled upon British troops and was eventually reunited with an American soldier.

“I woke up and there was an American soldier there,” Bruno said. “He came with them. I ran up, I grabbed him, I kissed him, and he said, ‘Come on let’s go!’”

Bruno said he appreciates Sharma traveling to meet him and share his story along with the thousands of World War II veterans he has interviewed.

“I thought it was fascinating,” Bruno said. “It was nice, it was so nice for him to come over, to do that story. I appreciate it so much. He did such a wonderful job. He did, he really did.”

If you know a World War II veteran who would like to share their story with Sharma, you can reach him on his cell phone by calling 202-315-8743.

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