Don Milne, a former Utahn who now lives in Kentucky, wanted to make sure that the lives of all 421,000 Americans who died in World War II are documented.
Why: It started in 2016 when Milne was watching interviews of remaining Pearl Harbor survivors ahead of the 75th anniversary of the bombing. Milne's mind went to those who couldn't be interviewed because they died on Dec. 7, 1941.
How: Milne started Stories Behind the Stars and set a goal to write narratives about each of the 2,106 Utahns who died in World War II. He started a website and solicited volunteers, and within a year all of the Utahns' stories had been recorded.
What's next: Almost 16,000 stories have been written; there are 405,000 left. Stories Behind the Stars aims to write narratives for all 421,000 Americans who died in World War II by the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in September 2025.
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