US scholar seeking to document experiences of ‘the Limerick men who saved our lives’
AN American historian is on the look-out for veterans who served in the Second World War.
Rishi Sharma is in Ireland for the next few weeks – and will spend time in Limerick – to try and track down those who he described as “the men who saved our lives”.
The 22-year-old runs a non-profit company called Heroes of the Second World War.
He’s on a mission to meet and film all of the World War II combat veterans of the Allied countries - and has already tracked one locally, a Henry J Place, based in Parteen.
Now 96-years old, Henry lost his leg in the Battle of Normandy, and was five years ago awarded the French Legion of Honour.
Rishi is hoping to find more veterans in Limerick and the Mid-West region, with his global search featuring on the American CBS News network, plus Fox and Friends and BBC Breakfast in Britain.
“As far as I am concerned, Mr Place is a bona-fide war hero. He is Limerick born and raised. One of those people born and raised in Ireland, and despite the cultural differences, went to fight for Britain. He felt it was the right thing to do. It takes a big person to look past the differences you might have with a country to fight for the greater cause,” he told the Limerick Leader.
“Kids my age, if they don’t have an Internet connection or get stuck in traffic, it’s a big deal. But this man was young when he lost his leg. I can bet you he never complained. That generation didn’t. He was lucky to survive and I want to preserve his story.”
Rishi met Henry Place this week in Milford Hospice.
As part of his mission, he will record interviews with as many veterans as he can, pass them the copy on DVD, so their family can enjoy it, and eventually pass the films onto the Smithsonian Museum or the National World War II Museum.
“We are not in this to make money. The whole purpose of this is the preservation of the reality of war and what these men went through for our freedoms and our way of life,” he explained.
Rishi has been fascinated with World War II since secondary school, and he’s delighted at how easy the veterans have been to access.
“If I wanted to talk to some stupid celebrity like the Kardashians, I’d have to go through a million people to get to them. But to talk to a real hero, all I had to do was pick up the phone,” he said.
If you know anyone who Rishi should meet, please give him a call at 01-8747435. Or, email [email protected]