FOSTORIA, Ohio — According to the National World War II Museum, approximately 120,000 veterans of WWII are still alive.
One of them is a Pemberville native, Harry Swartz.
Swartz has spent his life in Pemberville, where as a kid he worked on a farm.
But in December of 1943, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army and join the fight.
"You have to do it, so you might as well do it," Swartz said.
Swartz was part of the Second Infantry Division, where his role was a scout. He would find enemy locations and then relay that information back to officers.
"I knew some guys that it was in their minds," he said. "You got to make up your mind and you had to sign a paper that you were going to help the United States in the army."
With the rank of private first-class, Swartz became one of the thousands who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and was also one of the few to survive.
According to the National D-Day Memorial Necrology Project, more than 4,400 Americans died on June 6, 1944.
Just weeks after storming the beach, Swartz was wounded in the back and shoulder by gunfire in late July.
He received a Purple Heart for his service.
"I got six bullets in my left shoulder and one of them was a half-inch going in my heart," Swartz said.
Following surgery for his injuries in England, Swartz decided to rejoin his division in October of 1944 back in France.
He kept one of the bullets as well, saying duty kept calling him to help his fellow soldiers in the fight for freedom.
"You got to remember that, and you should help as well as anybody," Swartz said.
In the years that have followed, Swartz and his family have been collecting and saving the relics and stories that he has shared from his time in the war.
For his children, these moments are special, as they remind them of the importance of appreciating the soldiers who sacrificed all for the world.
"After our mom (Margaret Swartz) passed away 20 years ago, we started spending more time with him and we got to hear his stories," said Ginny Shinew, Harry's daughter. "In school, you learn only so much, but we've learned so much more by listening to him and what he went through."
Swartz and his late wife Margaret have had eight children, 23 grandchildren and 65 great-grandchildren.
The 99-year-old will turn 100 on October 3. He currently lives at Independence House in Fostoria.