My wife and I visited her dad near Santa Barbara this weekend, and after church I approached a 97 year old vet (Bill Muncaster) who was a 29 year old Captain in the 99th Division HQ when the Battle of the Bulge started. He was skeptical of my knowledge of the battle, assuming all I knew about was Patton and Bastogne. He had no hearing so I communicated with pen and notepad.
When I told him the name of the little village he was stationed in when he couldn't remember himself, he knew I was OK and drove me (

!) to his home to show me all his memorabilia and told me many stories of his amazing life. What a fantastic experience that was. He was still a pretty good driver too...