WILMINGTON — A Wilmington local is documenting the stories of veterans, hoping to share and preserve their stories before they are lost to time.
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Luke Basso, 20-year-old citizen journalist, veteran advocate, and Wilmington resident has interviewed veterans since he was 17 for his YouTube channel, Filmperia. Since launching the channel in 2022, Basso has garnered over 500,000 views on over 100 videos, including interviews and documentaries on veterans and military history.
Always a fan of history, specifically political and military history, Basso started the channel out of a genuine interest in talking with veterans and enjoyment from making videos. Speaking with Port City Daily, Basso said an interview with a 100-year-old World War II veteran sparked his passion for continuing to document veteran’s stories.
“Why don’t I do this? I know a lot of veterans, and I like making videos, and there’s not many of these World War II veterans left,” Basso said. “Then one thing led to the next, and I started blowing up because I started preserving, not just World War II, but a lot of veteran stories.”
Beyond his initial focus on World War II veterans, Basso has since documented the experiences of individuals from a wide array of conflicts — including the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and various backgrounds, such as Holocaust survivors and former CIA agents.
Although Basso said all of his interviews are impactful, his most recent interview with an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran stood out.
Veteran Ryan Nastick detailed to Basso his experience as an infantryman and explosive ordinance disposal specialist while serving in Iraq. Over the course of his military career, Nastick completed three tours in Iraq, four in Afghanistan, and one in Djibouti.
During his final deployment to Iraq, Nastick and his squad were traveling in a truck when an explosive was detonated, resulting in the loss of eight soldiers. Since he was honorably discharged in 2016, Nastick has continued to lose friends from his time in service due to suicide as a result of PTSD.
“I try to get information about these veterans before I meet with them,” Basso said. “Just knowing what to talk about, what not to talk about, or what to be respectful and sensitive about.”
Basso said when he was younger, he started the channel as more of a passion project. However, upon growing older, he realized the importance and impact of his work, especially given veteran populations are aging and their firsthand accounts are increasingly at risk of fading away to time.
“With World War II veterans, the average age of them is about 100 years old, Korean War veterans are in their late 90s, Vietnam vets are in their mid 70s, and some are little older or less,” Basso said. “They’re old and they’re dying every single day.”
Basso said he often receives news of an interviewed veteran’s passing from their families, typically due to complications from old age. In the last few weeks, he said at least three veterans he interviewed on his channel have passed away.
According to 2024 projections from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 66,000 World War II veterans still living in the United States with about 1,600 living in North Carolina. That’s less than 1% of the over 16 million Americans who served in the war. It’s estimated about 131 World War II vets are lost each day.
“We really have to make sure we preserve the stories for everyone to see what these people went through,” Basso stated. “A lot of people don’t realize what veterans went through for our country. A lot of them just say thank you for your service, but they don’t really acknowledge what they went through for some of the worst experiences of their life.”
While some of the veterans Basso interviews are eager to share their stories, some are reluctant to talk about these life-altering moments. Basso explained one World War II veteran he spoke with detailed the multiple battles in Europe he participated in, but could not talk of his experience liberating a concentration camp. Another soldier who served in the Pacific theater was in Japan shortly after the atomic bombings, but he chose not to share the details, finding the experience too traumatic or personal to recount.
Unlocking these stories is no simple task. Basso shared it can be difficult for some veterans to open up and share their experiences from service. He said many veterans he speaks with are hesitant, especially given his younger age, but after they see his channel and the respect he carries for their service, they tend to be more apt to talk.
The experience is not only rewarding for Basso, but can be for veterans as well.
“I’m happy that I’m able to give some of these people a voice,” he shared. “Sometimes, this is the first time ever talking about it in their entire lives.”
In particular, Basso recalled an interview he recently held with a Vietnam War veteran. The veteran’s wife had discovered Basso’s channel and reached out, hoping he could speak with her husband, who suffered from PTSD since returning home nearly 50 years ago.
After establishing a connection, Basso was able to sit down with the veteran, his wife by his side. Though friendly, the veteran was clearly still affected by his time in Vietnam.
“We did the interview and we talked for four hours,” Basso shared. “Afterwards, you could tell he felt way happier. He felt really relieved and more energized.”
The veteran’s wife was in tears, telling Basso, “I’ve never heard any of my husband’s stories before, thank you so much.”
Basso said moments like this remind him of the value of his work, even though it can be emotionally challenging to relive the experiences alongside the veterans.
“It’s just sad to think about and pretty emotional,” Basso said. “It’s a lot for me to think about what these guys went through, and they don’t really have anyone to talk about this stuff with. It kind of hits me hard, because I’m friends with a lot of these people. Seeing what they’re like day to day, mentally and physically, because of what happened to them years ago when they were my age … it’s hard to take in.”
Through his persistent work conducting interviews, Basso has been approached by U.S. Congresswoman for New York, Elise Stefanik, to add his interviews to the Library of Congress. While he is still in the process of doing so, he said he hopes his interviews can serve as historical first-hand accounts for current and future generations to learn from.
As families gather this Memorial Day, Basso urges people to remember the fallen and show appreciation for the veterans in their lives, even with a simple “thank you for your service.”
“Tell them that you appreciate what they did for our country, even if they don’t want to talk about it, show them that you appreciate them and you acknowledge what they went through for us.”
If you are or know a veteran who would like to share their story, Luke Basso can be reached via email, LukeB.Filmperia@gmail.com
Have tips or suggestions for Charlie Fossen? Email charlie@localdailymedia.com
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