I don't think I've ever met an old GI that I couldn't see the young man he used to be peering out from his eyes. There's often a glint of pride and mischief in WWII warriors who helped free the world, something that seems eternally young inside of them, even as they grow very old. 

Maybe it's because they were raised in the era of John Wayne and Frank Sinatra, but many of the veterans I've met have a boyish swagger even though they are great grandfathers now and their knees are failing. The other day I arranged to meet up with three of them, each in their 90s, each with their own story which I decided I would tell in my column today — the day we celebrate America's independence.