for 97-year-old vern aller, this is about his life now.is experience with his wife, ruth. >> we never had one tank. n at h-hour plus one, r had an hour after the invasion began, when the beach was a killing zone. >> we were outgunned. >> reporter: you were outgunned when you hit the beach. >> we were outgunned. we were targets. they had cover. >> reporter: you were exposed on the beach. >> we were exposed. >> reporter: he was supporting the first waves of infantry. but he's never been the kind of guy to tell war stories. >> i never forgot it. you can't dwell on it. the guys that dwell on it, i suppose they're basket cases. >> reporter: but vern thought it through the once-bloody normandy country. >> we were all rookies, far as combat is concerned. >> reporter: there's a lot of n nostalgia. but vern doesn't need any visual crews. >> you don't forget it. i can tell you stuff that happened ten minutes after we landed. >> now, he's told that to ruth. why is it important to keep it passed on? >> reporter: the kids today do not know the sacrific