We couldn’t find a more appropriate day than July 4 to debut “Profiles of the Greatest Generation,” the newest column that will appear on a regular basis in the Whidbey News-Times.

It has been the experience of writer Sharon Nicholson as she talks with World War II veterans, including her own father, that most of them remain reluctant to share their experiences.

“As my father put it, ‘It was my job,’” Nicholson said. “Not all of our veterans participated in combat and feel that their experiences were neither adventurous nor heroic.”

But the fact remains, Nicholson said, that only about 5 percent of our World War II veterans are still here to give one last gift — their memories and first hand information about leaving their families on Whidbey Island and other communities to serve our country.

That is why Nicholson has begun compiling “Profiles of the Greatest Generation,” a series of stories that will appear monthly in the Whidbey News-Times.

Nicholson has been delving into military history since she researched the memoir history of her uncle, Staff Sgt. Doane Ervin five years ago. Ervin was a prisoner of war during World War II. He was a tail gunner who became captured after he was shot down during a mission Dec. 29, 1944. Patton’s Third Army liberated his POW camp April 29, 1945.

“I’ve always been very interested in history,” Nicholson said.

While working on her uncle’s memoirs she became hooked. It is the stories of her uncle and the other men and women who served during World War II that Nicholson wants to insure get told before they fade away.

Nicholson has been a Whidbey resident since 1970. She and her husband, Bruce Nicholson, have three grown children, two grandchildren and a foster grandchild. When she’s not writing or researching, she spends her free time working with Harbor Pride, and she’s been a member of Beta Sigma Phi for 35 years. Her oldest son, Ben, served the Army as a turret mechanic during the Korean War and Operation Endeavor in Bosnia.

Nicholson was a teacher for the Oak Harbor School District for 30 years, closing her career at Oak Harbor Elementary. While a teacher she would often bring people such as veterans into her classroom to teach her students the importance of primary sources of research.

“All too often people just go straight to the Internet,” Nicholson said.

The history enthusiast enjoyed showing her students how to go beyond the superficial with their research.

“These people lived this history,” Nicholson said. “There’s no better source than them. They’ve been there, done that.”

Already, Nicholson has quite a few interviews and completed columns under her belt for the series. She can’t wait to introduce readers to their friends and neighbors.

“I’ve known some of these families for years, but I never knew what they did during the war,” she said. “I’m sure there’s many people out in the community who will feel the same way.”

To reach “Profiles of the Greatest Generation” writer Sharon Nicholson, email sharob1966@comcast.net.