TREMONT, Ill. — Trekking across the country in an RV covered in signatures, a young foreigner is recording oral histories of World War II one veteran at a time.
Florent "Flo" Plana, 24, a historical researcher from France, began his journey to record interviews with veterans in September 2014. He's recently returned to the United States after being in France for six weeks. He'll go back to his home country in a few months and will return in January if he's raised enough funds to travel back.
While some veterans have shared their memories, he said it's rarely been on camera.
"We are born with phone, TV, computers and videos," Plana said. "If we can see the face, the emotions as he is talking, I think it is the best way to get our generation to be interested."
For now, he's just collecting stories, but the interviews may later be shared with museums and become a documentary.
Plana's foreign trip stems from an appreciation for the American soldiers who liberated his grandparents' village. His grandfather was in a German labor camp and his great-grandfather was part of the French underground.
"I feel good here," Plana said.
A veteran holding a picture of his younger self is painted onto the side of the RV, fondly named Coyote. Plana's contact information is painted next to the picture, and the back of the vehicle has another painting, this one of the French flag, near a license plate holder that reads "God bless America." The veterans he's interviewed have signed the RV and included information about their service.
He'll remain in the Peoria area interviewing World War II veterans until Wednesday. In the next few months, he plans on driving to Texas and Florida. But, in his race to speak to the aging veterans, he places his itinerary in the hands of the former soldiers.
"I am very flexible, because I need to be flexible for these men," Plana said.
Sitting in an armchair in his home, a picture of his younger self over his shoulder, 89-year-old Johney Johnston recounted his wartime experiences, citing luck for keeping him alive. He was kept from the Battle of the Bulge because of where his name fell in the alphabet, and missed the Battle of Normandy because of an illness.
Plana listened and asked the occasional question, starting with asking where Johnston was born.
The veteran volunteered for the interview after hearing about the project during the Greater Peoria Honor Flight.
"I said, why, I would be glad to do it, and I didn't realize it was going to be all this and recording people and all that," Johnston said.
John Scott Johnston, Johney Johnston's son, said he was a little surprised when his father volunteered to talk to the French stranger. His said his father started telling him WWII stories when he enlisted in the service, but that it's crucial for veterans' stories to reach others.
"There is a lot of information the storybooks don't divulge and a lot of behind the scenes information," he said.
Flavie Poisson, who is traveling with Plana and takes notes during the interviews, heard about Plana and his project through mutual friends on Facebook.
After being in the U.S. for only a handful of days, she said it's important to bring the stories back to the French.
"It is a good thing because in Normandy, the new generation doesn't know what happened and it is good for them to know, to see the face," Poisson said.
