Human Interest Photographer Captures Moving Portraits of Last WWII Veterans and Learns Their Survival Stories Photographer Jeff Rease has spent the last three years taking portraits of World War II veterans around the world. The project, called Portraits of Honor, is part of Rease's goal of preserving and sharing stories from the war, —which is especially meaningful since the number of WWII survivors is declining every year. Since 2018, Rease has taken nearly 300 pictures of WWII veterans. He has traveled as far as France to meet with them. Rease recently created a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the costs associated with the portraits, which he provides for free to the veterans. "I couldn't keep doing things on my own if I wanted to reach as many people as I could," Rease said on the donation website. "So I went the GoFundMe route, and pretty easily started a campaign. I couldn't have done this without GoFundMe." Here are a few of the portraits Rease has taken for Portraits of Honor: By Jason Hahn Jason Hahn Jason Hahn is a former Human Interest and Sports Reporter for PEOPLE. He started at PEOPLE's Los Angeles Bureau as a writer and reporter in 2017 and interviewed the likes of Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Brady. He has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He previously worked for Complex Magazine in New York City. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 9, 2022 03:39PM EDT Close 01 of 12 Lt. William Massey Jeff Rease Massey flew a B-17 bomber with the 401st bomb group in England. While flying over France during the war, Massey told Rease he was blown out of his aircraft after it was hit by flak and was only able to deploy his parachute while 3,000 ft. above ground. Seven of his crewman died, and Massey went on to aid French Resistance until he was picked up by troops months later, Rease — whose GoFundMe has raised nearly $19,000 — says. 02 of 12 Sgt. Tom Rice Jeff Rease Rice fought on D-Day in Normany, France, with the the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, Rease says. "He was also in Operation Market Garden in Holland and Belgium and in the Battle of the Bulge, where a German sniper shot him twice," he adds of Rice. Rice also celebrated his 100th birthday in California by doing a tandem skydiving jump. "He is a legend!" Rease says. 03 of 12 PFC Rothacker Smith Jeff Rease "Smith served with a medical unit of 2nd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, an all African American unit known as Buffalo Soldiers," says Rease. "He served in north Africa and then Italy. He was captured by Germans after the machine gun squad he was with was hit by mortar fire. He was a POW for approximately four months until Germany surrendered. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him tell his story." 04 of 12 Sgt. Roberta Tidmore Jeff Rease "Tidmore was working as a 'Rosie the Riveter' at an aircraft parts assembly plant when she decided to join the Marine Corps women's reserve," Rease says. "She had various duties including as a driver for over two and a half years in service, mostly in California." 05 of 12 Sgt. Ray Lambert Jeff Rease Lambert led a team of medics in north Africa, Sicily and Normandy, Rease says. "On D-Day he sustained wounds while getting soldiers to safety on Omaha Beach, yet he kept on going," he recalls of Lambert. "What finally stopped him was a Higgins landing craft slamming him down into the water while he was rescuing a soldier, fracturing his back. Today, there is still a large rock on the beach there that is called 'Ray's Rock' in his honor and those of all of his medics who served so bravely, saving as many lives as they could." 06 of 12 Paul Kerchum Jeff Rease "Kerchum enlisted in the Army at age 16 and served in the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines," says Rease. "He was captured by the Japanese and was a POW for almost 3 years and survived the Bataan Death March. In 1944, he was brought aboard a Japanese prison ship, also known as a 'hell ship.' It was attacked by an American submarine not aware that American prisoners were on board. He was one of 82 survivors." He adds: "It is amazing that men like him could endure the torture and conditions he experienced in the war." 07 of 12 Seaman 1C Huey Bracknell Jeff Rease "Huey Bracknell was my mother's (Edna Bracknell Rease) older brother and served in the U.S. Coast Guard on the USS Leopold destroyer escort," Rease explains. "He was lost at sea after a German U-boat sank his ship as it was escorting a convoy of ships across the north Atlantic. Only 29 survivors were rescued." "My mother and the rest of the family became a Gold Star Family at that time, signifying they lost a family member in battle," he continues. "It is a huge honor that I could photograph my mother with the portrait of her brother that was passed down to her years ago." 08 of 12 Sgt. James Schmidt Jeff Rease Schmidt lied about his age when he was 14 and enlisted in the Army as a paratrooper, Rease says. He also forced his mother's signature. "He made a combat jump into Sicily before his superiors were made aware of his actual age of 15 at the time and they discharged him from the Army," he explains. "[Schmidt] returned home and promptly joined the Navy and went to the Pacific. Eventually, he was discovered again to be underage and released from the Navy. "He then joined the U.S. Merchant Marines since they had no age restriction," Rease adds. "When he turned 18, he joined the Army again and served in Korea and Vietnam. An amazing young man who just wanted to serve his country." 09 of 12 PFC Hershel Woody Williams Jeff Rease "Williams was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima with his Marine Corps unit after they were pinned down by the enemy," Rease explains. "He took out multiple Japanese pillboxes with a flame thrower over a four-hour period. I spent a half day with Woody and I am still in awe that I had that opportunity with the last living Medal of Honor recipient from WWII." 10 of 12 Lt. Earl Miller Jeff Rease Rease says: "Miller was a P-51 fighter pilot in the 364th fighter group in England. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross as he was flight leader for his group of P-51s. He and three other pilots saw about 35 German fighters come along and the four of them took them all on!" "Hearing him tell about how it bothered him so much after getting his first kill against a German fighter pilot was sad," he continues. "He did say he got over that and enjoyed the rest of his time in service." 11 of 12 Col. Carl Cooper Jeff Rease "Carl Cooper was my first WWII veteran to photograph and was always one of my biggest supporters of what I do," Rease says of Cooper. "He served in the Marine Corps for 38 years, including also Korea and Vietnam. He fought in Guadalcanal and other Pacific battles." He continues: "I knew after meeting him and hearing his story that I would continue to meet as many WWII veterans as I could because I want everyone to be able to learn from these veterans while they are still around, and even after they are gone." 12 of 12 Air Crewman Roy Stevens Jeff Rease Rease says: "Stevens was a Navy TBF Avenger torpedo bomber radioman/gunner who participated in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and other battles supporting ground troops and ships in the Navy fleet, flying from the light aircraft carriers USS Makassar Strait and the USS Shipley Bay. He survived numerous dangerous missions bombing targets and one accident trying to land on the aircraft carrier where his plane ditched nose first into the sea."