Teen’s Quest for Vets Stories Draws International Interest

Kyle Nappi, Ohio Teen, One of America’s Foremost Collectors of World War II Memorabilia

Tibbets Autograph his Favorite (See Video)

by Rachel Tolliver 

He has collected more than 1,700 autographs and personal stories from military veterans ranging from World War I to the Iraq war—including 15 from the last surviving 22 WWI vets in the world.

He has an original set of strike orders from the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a Bible carried through Europe during WWII in the pocket of an American Soldier, and he keeps his collection in three office safes in his home. He is also working on obtaining personal stories from the last three people to see Hitler alive in his bunker—he has two of them.

“He” is 18-year-old Kyle Nappi, now a Senior at Buckeye Valley High School, located about 20 minutes northwest of Columbus, Ohio. His collection is the result of more than five years of work.

“When the movie “Pearl Harbor” came out, I was watching it and wondered how ordinary people could go through that—to do what they did, and how they did it,” Nappi recalled. “So I started collecting stuff. Then Mom told me about someone she worked with who went to church with a (Prisoner of War) from WWII. So I asked if it was possible for him to write a bio of his service time.”

On Sept 29, 2002, he received a biographical letter from Raymond Veley, the WWII POW Soldier who was captured by the Germans. That story is the one that Nappi says is his most prized piece—and is how he determined that talking to veterans would answer the questions he was obsessing over after watching Pearl Harbor.

His second most prized possession is an autograph from Paul Tibbets, whom he met in November 2006. Tibbets was the pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atom bomb on Japan that helped end the Allies participation in WWII.

Since this interview, the 92-year-old Tibbets died and Nappi’s work now includes only memories from one of the war’s most famous participants.  He began work on his collection by reading newspapers and magazines.

“I would read articles in newspapers and I would look up the person and ask if they would send me their stories,” he explained. “I would also go up to older people anywhere (he and his family) went and ask if they were a veteran. If they said yes I had a piece of paper and I would have questions on it and talk to them. Now it’s more by mail, but it takes a lot of postage.”

Letters containing autographs, some come with pictures, aren’t the only things that show up in the mail at the Nappi household. Among other items are the Bible he received from Harry Parley, an autographed photo of Arnold Swartzneger—not because he is a movie star, and governor of California, but because of his service to his country before he became a body builder and moved to America.

One local resident contacted him about her uncle’s WWII effects. She read a story in the Columbus Dispatch about Nappi, and sent him the flag that draped her uncle’s coffin, his uniforms, his medals and awards, discharge papers, and any paperwork relating to his service.

And Nappi recently appeared with some of the biographies and articles that people have sent him, on a one-hour PBS special filmed in Columbus for the local station. It aired just before the Ken Burns’ new documentary “The War” debuted on PBS.

Nappi’s parents, Terry and Stacy, are very supportive of their son’s hobby—partly because “there are worse things,” partly because of its historic implications and the nobleness of the pursuit, and partly because of the education the family is receiving along the way.

Nappi’s great-grandfather was in the Austrian-Hungarian army during WWI. But all Nappi’s parents know about him is that he served, he was about 16 or 17, and he was wounded twice in combat.

But his dad and mom don’t just sit by and occasionally watch what goes on. Terry and Stacy field phone calls, take messages, drive their son to interviews and research projects, and help mail his many letters—something Terry admits can get expensive.

“One vet called from Germany, but I kept telling him I didn’t speak German, and he didn’t speak much English,” Stacy recalled. “We get a lot of mail, and a lot of phone calls (pertaining) to Kyle’s project.

George Mendoza is the ‘kissing sailor’ from the Times Square photo on Life magazine at the end of WWII. He left a message for Kyle—we’ve saved it.”

Then there was the Holocaust survivor who called at 10 p.m. one night, and a vet from Germany who called to thank Kyle for his letter of inquiry. He went on to explain that he would be delayed in answering it due to some hospitalization for which he was packing even as he talked. The message was in broken English—but the Nappis saved it as well.

“Kyle started with a note pad, and he would stalk (elderly) people at the grocery store—if they looked like they might have served in the military he would go up to them and start talking,” Terry said. “He would ask to go to Wal-Mart—not to shop for stuff but because he wanted to look for people to talk to.”

Stacy said they have had a few people call the house to see if their son is really on a legitimate quest, but everyone he has approached, or to whom he has mailed inquiries, has been helpful. And both parents note that their son’s big dream is to visit Pearl Harbor and its memorials, and perhaps talk to vets who might also be visiting.

Nappi has his information categorized on his computer—a long list in blue tells him to whom he has sent letters of inquiry, and another in red tells him who has responded. He has a separate list that tells him the campaign each listed veteran fought in, the country he or she is from, the branch of service, and two to four words about them that Nappi remembers like his own name and address.

Furthermore, he has categorized them as POWs, Holocaust survivors, and German soldiers.

“It’s like a business,” he said. “I have a pattern and I do it every day—responding to things I get, sending letters, contacting veterans associations and museums—it’s a job for me.”

Nappi said he wanted to continue his hobby as a way to preserve stories and history, and one day he plans to list them all in a book—perhaps after he has become a historian, he added.

“A historian or teacher can pass this information on because once the vets are gone we need a way to redirect it to future generations,” he explained.

“The older vets are dying off, and no one knows or remembers their stories, better than the people from that generation. They have a lot of experiences and stories for us all to learn from.

“They are the greatest generation—WWII changed the world and everyone was involved and familiar with it. I think we should take the time to tell those stories,”

He likens it to the Civil War and the lack of in-depth personal documentation from that great conflict.  “In a few years (the WWI and WWII vets) will all be gone,” Nappi said. “Their ages were similar to mine now and they gave up that part of their lives so we could have ours.”

MESSAGE FROM KYLE:

Hello. My name is Kyle Nappi. I am 18 years old and I live in Ostrander, Ohio ( USA ). I was wondering if you could do me a favor.

I have a big interest in history, specifically WWII. I collect military medals, patches, badges, insignia, field gear, and a very unique thing, veteran autographs. I have a collection of autographs from military veterans who served during WWI, WWII, Korea , Vietnam , Gulf War, and the present war in Iraq .

I have been interested in history for over 6 years now, and I have collected the autographs and stories from nearly 1,600 veterans in 20 countries. The oldest veteran is currently 112 years old and the youngest enlisted at age 14. I have autographs from Pearl Harbor survivors, D-Day veterans, airman, POWs, USS Indianapolis survivors, Holocaust survivors, and even German soldiers!

Back in June (of 2007), I was interview by PBS, to talk about my collection for an interview that was to be shown online (see video above).

After that, I was interviewed for "The Columbus World War II Roadshow." They mentioned that it was to come on (in Central-Ohio) before some of the episodes of Ken Burnsʼ "The War." You can find this interview on YouTube under "Kyle Nappi."

I have attached an article (see above article by Rachel Tolliver) that was published in The Turret (a Ft. Knox, KY newspaper) about my collection in November.

I was recently interviewed by the American Legion for an article that will appear in their August magazine. Here is an internet link to the online article (different than the magazine article, which will appear in August): http://www.legion.org/whatsnew/publications/newsletter/story?id=635

There have been several other people have taken the time to post my request online and in newspapers. There are too many for me to list, but if you go to Google or Yahoo and search "Kyle Nappi" you can find most of them.

Recently, I also had the privilege of going to Washington, D.C. during the early part of March. I was invited to the Pentagon for a Ceremony honoring WWI veterans. I was able to meet with the last American WWI veteran, Frank Buckles.

I have attached a questionnaire with this E-mail (see below). It includes some basic questions I have for military veterans about their service time. I was wondering if it is possible to provide any veterans (who are interested) with my questionnaire, put me in touch with them, or pass along the word about my collection. Please let me know if this is possible.

My main purpose for writing it to share with you that there are people from my generation who do remember the past and the sacrifices that were made for our great country. I would greatly appreciate it if you could pass the word around that there are people who remember, along with the information about my collection. Thank you very much for your time 

Questionnaire:

1. Signature:
2. Name Printed:
3. Today’s Date:
4. Hometown:
5. Branch Of Military:
6. Date You Enlisted/Were Drafted:
7. Date You Were Discharged:
8. Rank(s):
9. Division:
10. Your Age When You Entered The Service:
11. Duties:
12. Stationed:
13. Battles/Campaigns:
14. Awards Received (And How You Received Them):
15. Other Information/Comments:
16. Signature:

Thanks Kyle Nappi

Kyle Nappi can be reached by email at: [email protected]