Former Marine preserves stories of WWII vets

CHIRIACO SUMMIT, Calif. -- Peter D. Minix wants their stories told.

About 1,500 to 2,000 World War II veterans die each day in the United States, he said.

"If you look in the obituary sections of the papers, they are always there."

For a decade, the former Marine machine gunner has patiently recorded everyday details of military life and wartime experiences that veterans are finally sharing.

He's compiled accounts from privates to generals -- even three Medal of Honor recipients.

He's chronicled the stories of more than 260 WWII veterans from around the globe.

Many of the veterans he has interviewed in person live in California. Others are scattered across the United States. A few fought for Britain, Germany, Russia and Poland.

Retired Marine Corps officer John W. Irwin, 89, is one of many grateful veterans who shared his stories.

"I commend him for the work he's doing," Irwin said. "It's the first time anyone has interviewed me like that."

Irwin enlisted in 1938, served as an aircraft mechanic during WWII and retired in 1963 as an aircraft maintenance officer. He now lives in Palm Springs.

Irwin's wife, Dorothee, who also served in the Marine Corps, adds, "Peter is like the History Channel. He won't let go of this."

Minix receives no money for his interviews and continues to work a full-time job. For now, soldiers' personal reminiscences stay tucked away in neat binders at his Indio home.

The wartime accounts will be on display during this year's Veterans Day celebration in November at the General Patton Memorial Museum. The files eventually will be donated to the museum, about 30 miles east of Indio.

Minix can't stop the loss of these veterans, but he can document their individual histories.

It started in 1998 as Minix, an emergency room technician at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, listened intently for about two months as a Navy seaman recounted life aboard the USS John Hood, a destroyer patrolling in the Pacific.

He heard about the uncertainty of never quite knowing when submarines from the Japanese Imperial Navy or kamikaze pilots would strike.

"I asked if he ever told these stories to anyone and he replied, 'No, most people weren't interested, didn't care,'" Minix said.

One day, the stories stopped abruptly.

"As I got ready to go to work, I learned he died the night before," Minix said. "All that history went with him to his grave."

Today, with many WWII veterans in their mid to late 80s, the passage of time and the soldiers' tendency to keep things bottled up inside work against Minix. But he slogs ahead.

"Most of them got out, went to work, raised their families and didn't talk about it," Minix said. "They passed away, and now the family wants to know.

"'Grandpa didn't talk about it.' 'Dad didn't talk about it.' And when they did talk about it, many in the family tuned it out because they got sick of listening to it," said Minix, who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War but never saw combat. He suddenly finds himself on the front line of preserving military history.

"I want them to know there are people like me who want to hear their stories."

He's created a form with more than 40 questions tailored for every branch of the service. He fills binders with veterans' stories that run only a few pages to more than 30 pages, packed with photographs, maps, copies of official documents and other material. One soldier only saved his discharge papers and a single photograph.

He tapes interviews, talks on the phone with the soldiers or their families, corresponds by e-mail or regular mail, writes embassies around the world for information -- working at keeping aging soldiers' stories alive.

It's turned into an obsession and thousands of hours.

"If a veteran can't tell me or their family can't, I do research on them myself."

At 54, Minix doesn't know how long his mission will last.

His wife of 28 years, Marilyn, helps with the typing, speeding things up for someone who only "hunts and pecks." Minix has a son serving in the Army in Iraq and a daughter working on a teaching credential.

"I'm going to continue doing this until my phone stops ringing, there aren't anymore veterans left to talk to or I just can't do it because of my health. Hopefully that's many years down the line."

(E-mail Steve Moore at stevemoore(at)PE.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)