World News for Students of English

12-08-2025 07:00

Tom Fitzpatrick, aged 101, served as a radio navigator on a B-17 bomber in Italy during World War II. For many years, he believed he was the last living member of his squadron.

This changed when Tyler Boland, a college student passionate about speaking to veterans, discovered Stanley Eisenberg, also 101 years old. Stanley had worked as a ground crew armorer in the same unit. The two men had served in the 15th Air Force, 96 Bomb Squadron, Second Bomb Group. They lived only about 15 minutes apart but hadn’t seen each other in 81 years. Tyler arranged a meeting where they warmly shook hands and shared stories from their time in the war, including dangerous situations they experienced.

Both veterans spoke about how special the meeting was. They said it was important to keep their memories alive so that future generations could understand the sacrifices made during the war.

Difficult words: squadron (a group of military aircraft and their crews that work together as one unit), armorer (a person in the military who takes care of repairs, or provides weapons), sacrifice (something valuable that a person gives up for the good of others or an important goal).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.