It is sunrise here on the beaches of Normandy, where 80 years ago, in the early morning hours, thousands of brave American sons began storming the beaches of Normandy, and they would keep coming for days.

Everybody was scared because the long life we figured we were going to have could be ended with one bullet or one bomb or one mind. People say, How did you get off that boat and go in on the beach? There was a job had to be done. Somebody had to do it. We did it. I've never seen as many dead men on the beaches as I've ever seen. You couldn't stop and help anybody because they kept hollering, Get off the beach, get off the beach, and get set to go fire those guns. Seeing all of these boys that was killed and just laying there on the beach, it was just tough for a little kid to handle. And we were all young. Man, I was scared. I didn't realize what war was until that day. It was awful. There was no sleeping on that ship. So we were up all night. We had to climb down the net, big cargo net, hanging down the side of the ship with your equipment. If you slip, you wind up in between them being crushed. There were parachutes and trees. We knew the people had to be killed.

You grew up in a hurry.

For five years now, we have been documenting our World War II veterans. We lose 131 heroes every day in the US. Fewer than 1% of them are still here. In this towing garage in Vineland, New Jersey, a quiet World War II veteran has been coming to work here since 1964. Tim, how are you?

What an honor and a pleasure this is for me.

Oh, this is an honor for me. Tim Canire is 102. You still remember you were 22 years old when you landed on that beach?

Yes, I do. What you were doing was you had to keep moving.

You didn't have time to think about. That's right. He was a medic. You were there to help the injured? Yes. And there were many. Yes. He shows me the photos and the notes he took as a young man at war. You wrote here, Bloody Beach.

Bloody Beach.

He was part of the 45th Evacuation Hospital. He helped get them home.

Well, that's the thing.

That's the thing. A lot of them didn't make it. We spent time with Harold Himmelsbach, too, raised in Yakima, Washington. He is now 98. Harold, how are you? It's an honor. He remembers landing on that beach on D-D.

It was the most dramatic time of my life, and I remember best and saw things that very few people would ever see. I was saved, other guys died within feeding me.

He was just 18.

I remember I had to pick up one guy's head because he'd been cut and so forth, and you almost took it as the reality of where you were. In other words, you knew Yeah, you do these things. It was just take care of your friend. And that's what we all did. We were all Americans.

The letter he wrote home to his mother.

Dear Mom, I suppose I should begin this by telling you I am somewhere in France.

So many of those young American soldiers kept diaries. June sixth, 1944.

Invasion started.

Harold McBurren's diary had no entries for the next five days. He was with the fourth Infantry Division, and he told us he watched the medics trying to save his friends.

They would try to perform. Sometimes they would be in more shape than the men that's trying to take care of. We all had what we called a buddy, and we knew that that buddy would give his life for us in the last person.

One of those brave combat medics at the war, Jake loser who is now 99. Jake. It's an honor.

Dave, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too. Jake knows how many heroes we lose every day, which is why he's on his way to a high school history class in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, to make sure their sacrifice is not forgotten. You didn't even talk about it for years and years.

For years, for 67 years, I never talked about it.

Why do you think you didn't talk about it for so long?

I don't know.

You all came home.

And got to work. We got home, came home, went to finish our education, and we went to work.

Hello, Mr. Ruzer. Back again. How are you? The principal and the students who are now nearly Jake's age when he was sent off to the war. The world we live in today is no accident. The freedom we enjoy today is a result of the actions of heroic folks like Mr. Ruzer. The students fixed on Jake's words about the combat medics who would go out into no man's land German snipers waiting. A lot of people don't realize that you were not armed. We were not armed. When you went out in the no man's land. Yeah.

You had to keep your eyes and ears open.

There were times when the Germans took aim.

Their idea was to try to knock you out.

Do you remember losing any of your medics?

Oh, we lost quite a few of our medics.

The students had their own questions.

How did you mentally prepare yourself to go to war knowing that there was a possibility that you weren't going to return back home? You never thought about that. You always went with the idea you're going to make it through.

What would you say is something you gained from the war and something you lost?

I think it made you grow up sooner. I'll tell you what, you did an awful lot of praying. At least I did. Thank you for your service. I mean, you've played your life a while. Thank you.

The applause from those students now fueling Jake on his journey back to Normandy.

It's impressive, isn't it?

Allan Kinder from Gainesville, Georgia, going back, too, after answering the call 80 years ago.

It would have been terrible not to have been in it at the time. Personally, My personal pride was important to everybody.

Irving Locker in Oxford, Florida, getting ready, too.

That's my helmet during the war.

There's a reason he's going back.

People have to know that freedom is not free. So I'm doing that now with my full heart and conscience.

And back at that towing garage in New Jersey, Tim is getting ready for the journey. You're off?

Off. Okay.

At 102 years old, to go back 80 years later.

That's something that gets to me. Eighty years. And the people of Normandy are still honoring us.

Later, they are going back. When we come back.