YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Tyler Boland, 20, does have friends his own age.

And “they don’t make fun of me, but they think it’s funny,” said Boland, a college sophomore who lives in Berks County. “They might say, ‘Hey, you know, let’s go do something.’ I’m like, ‘I can’t. I’m going to Herbert’s house to say hello.’”

No one keeps track of this, but it’s a safe bet no 20-year-old in America has as many 100-year-old friends as Boland. This started about five years ago, when his local newspaper, the Reading Eagle — on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of D-Day — ran a profile of a veteran who stormed the beaches at Normandy.

“And I was like, ‘I’ve got to meet this guy,'” Boland said. “And I met him, and it was so cool. And ever since then, I was like, ‘You know what? I want to keep doing this [as long as] they’re around. And, you know, that’s that’s how I got hooked.”

New Birth of Freedom Council votes to end summer camp program at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation

Leaving no doubt, Boland confirmed: “It’s like an addiction I have. I’ve got to meet World War II vets.”

He doesn’t just meet them. He interviews them and records the interviews on video, using a professional camera and lights.

“I try to interview as many vets as possible,” Boland said. “The end goal is that I’m going to have a YouTube channel where I make these videos for everyone to see. I’ll also give it to the library of congress.”

How many is “as many as possible?”

“My goal was 100,” Boland said. “But I passed that, and I was like, ‘Well, there’s no point in stopping.’ So I’m just going to keep going until until they’re not here.”

And yes Boland knows the clock is ticking.

But he’s at 173 World War II vets and counting.

For now, Boland has a Facebook page called “Keeping History Alive” on which he shares stories and photos — and sometimes hears from people introducing him to vets he hasn’t met.

And remember how this all started around the 75th anniversary of Normandy? Well, guess what will have happened 80 years ago this June? And guess where Boland plans to be then? (He’s raising money for his trip.)

Not only does Boland meet the WWII vets. Not only does he interview them. Not only does he stay in touch with them and take them to dinner. He also — yes, the more you learn about the story, the better it gets — takes them for rides in a World War II-era Jeep (built in 1945) he bought and restored.

It’s a conversation piece no matter what, including when he picks his cousins up at school in it. But the best part?

Close

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

WHTM Morning Weather

“I have, like, 100 different grandpas,” Boland said. “And it’s cool because I’ll get random texts from them and they’ll just be like, ‘Hey, Tyler, how are you doing? Want to go for a Jeep ride?”

He always says yes.

Ever since our story about Quentin Stambaugh earlier this year — the man who helped sink a Japanese boat and saw the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima while working as a gunner on a different plane flying that day — Stambaugh has become rather famous.

Or as his friend Tara Wenzel put it: “He’s a rock star now.”

Over 15,000 jobs added in PA as unemployment rate remains unchanged

If so, you might say Wenzel is his agent. She’s protective of her centenarian friend — wants to make sure the wrong person doesn’t gain his confidence and do the wrong thing. So when she first heard from Boland, she was skeptical. But the more she learned about him, the more she realized not only was he legitimate — but he could help teach new generations about the old veterans in a way she says schools don’t always do.

“I’m not good with names, dates, places,” Wenzel said. “I need stories. And that’s what makes history real for me: the stories. And that’s what Tyler is doing. He’s getting these veterans’ stories out there.”

Teaching others — but also learning.

“A lot of them are always saying the purpose of longevity is being kind to others,” Boland said. “A lot of people say that. But coming from them, it’s more meaningful.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.