Pennsylvania man's love of history sends him on mission that will honor veterans for generations

This is a live picture of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. We have a guy that works here. His name is Bill Rohr. He's a camera guy, Fox 29 photojournalist, and he tells some really interesting stories, including the one you're about to see. Pennsylvania man's love of history sent him on a mission that will honor veterans for many generations. Tucked away in the quiet, rolling hills of Centre County, Pennsylvania, the Kistler family home is surrounded by memories. We have three books of just Hobie over here. More masquerading as somebody. Endless photographs to match the stories shared at the kitchen table. Yep. Well, this shows him with his love for the water. Hobie was the oldest of Tom and MJ's three children. Looks like he's about nine in that picture. You see, Hobie was a kid who was always on the move. At least, that's how his mom remembers it. On the go, curious, and into something deeply. As he grew older, Hobie's natural curiosity evolved into a passion for history. Next Door Neighbor gave him the Time Life series about the Civil War. I think he memorized that. His fascination for the Civil War spilled over to Christmas. You could not go to Toys R Us and fulfill the list. One year, it was an authentic Civil War reenactor's uniform. But it was another Christmas gift years later, a world atlas, and a conversation with his grandfather Jim that would shift Hobie's interest from the Civil War to World War II. After that conversation, he wrote down the notes of what they had said. The next person to get interviewed was my father. After he interviewed family and friends, Hobie moved on to the old veterans at church. It was good for him, and it was such a life skill. I recognized that immediately. His mom says he became a good listener. He knew when to speak and exactly what to ask. Hobie's intuition proved powerful enough to break through decades of silence, starting with a man working on their family home. Hobie said to him, Mr. Butler, did you serve in World War II? Crickets. And about a week later, Mr. Butler showed up, got into his toolbox. He brought out a little box and he opened it up. And Hobie said, Is that a flying cross? And Mr. Butler started to cry because he had never brought that out of the closet before. His wife didn't even know he had it. By the time he was a senior in high school, Hobie interviewed 50 veterans, all with just pen and paper. Well, and some help with his younger brother, Peter. And he'd come back with handwritten notes. And then he would ask Peter, who was a faster, better typer and better speller, hey, would you type these up for me? I'll pay you five bucks an hour. Those typing sessions didn't stop after high school. When Hobie left for the Naval Academy, his local passion project quickly went national. And that opened the door to a lot of other veterans. And he went around the country, and he started to contact people by telephone. Over 200 veterans interviewed. The real... Goal was to get these stories preserved before they were lost. So many stories to tell, Hobie teamed up with his brother, Peter, and turned the interviews into a book. Literally every single page, you learn something you didn't know about the World War. Then in April of 2021, tragedy struck the Kistler family. Hobie was killed in an accident at 30 years old. He is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. There was a period of time where the book sat and waited for us to come back to it. But eventually, Peter knew he had to finish what Hobie started. Peter moved Hobie's vision forward, securing a publisher and launching the book named The War They Won this past July. In the very last chapter, Hobie is sending a signal to all of us of how He did this and how we should continue to do it. And this was his guide to students, to relatives, to talk to members of your family about their military service, or really about anything that would be sensitive. While Hobie rests at Arlington, his presence is felt here at home. And this is the most beautiful overlook. Hobie Kistler believed that every veteran had a story. If someone took the time to ask and truly listen. Though his life was cut short, the voices of each veteran will live on for generations to come. Bill Rohr, Fox 29 News. I want to thank Bill for sharing that story. Hobart made such a difference, now sharing stories of 150 service members in that book, his mission right there, and now Bill telling his story as well. That's cool.