East Lyme — Three recent graduates of East Lyme High School have produced a documentary to preserve the stories of two local World War II veterans for the future.

They, along with officials and community members, honored the two veterans, Floyd Welch and Harry Danos, both East Lyme residents, for their service to the country and town at a screening of the film Wednesday evening at Town Hall. 

The short documentary film, "Living History: Two WWII Veterans Tell Their Stories," produced by the high school's Class of 2017 graduates Victoria Chong, Jack Mountain and Jack McDonald, features interviews with Welch and Danos. 

In the documentary, Welch, a third-class electrician with the U.S. Navy and a survivor of Pearl Harbor, tells the story of being on the USS Maryland on Dec. 7, 1941. He said he and his shipmates heard noises of things going on outside through the water against the side of the vessel, but the thought that it could be an attack or war didn't even enter their minds at first. They then heard two "pretty loud" booms. They were called to go up topside.  

"As my head came up above the deck, all I saw on the port side was the bottom of the [USS] Oklahoma," Welch said in the video.  

The film further tells the story of Danos, who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and tracked the flight of B-29s. In the film, Danos, who was stationed on Iwo Jima in 1945, recalls how on his first night there, bombs started coming down. He said he realized he was in a war and was stunned by his own reaction: He wasn't afraid that he was going to get killed, but concerned about his mother if he didn't come home.

"My mother kept me alive, and I'm still of the theory that you never know who a human is until he's faced a crisis," he said. He said the "buddy system" paid off, because one has to be as interested in the "buddy" as one's self and "fear becomes secondary." 

In the video, he paid homage to Marvin Tinker, a flamethrower who died on Iwo Jima and whom The Turner-Tinker American Legion Post 128 in Niantic is named after. Referencing Tinker, Danos said: "somebody pays a price so that we can be where we are."

After the screening, the three filmmakers read aloud a letter about Tinker from the rededication ceremony for the American Legion post.

State Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, presented the veterans with citations, introduced by her and state Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, from the General Assembly.

"We are grateful for sharing your personal stories and experiences of defending our country against tyranny and attacks to our democracy," she told the veterans, as she read the citations aloud. "Your participation in this documentary serves as a testament to the extraordinary accomplishments and challenges of the Greatest Generation and will help our community and the rest of the nation to never forget your service during a defining era in our civilization."

Cheeseman presented the three East Lyme High School graduates with a citation for their "outstanding dedication and commitment" in producing the documentary and providing an opportunity for the veterans to tell their stories.

First Selectman Mark Nickerson gave the veterans proclamations in honor of their service to the country. He also recognized their contributions to the town, highlighting Danos' service in the design and construction of Town Hall and that Welch continues "to be an upstanding member of the East Lyme community."

McDonald told attendees that they produced the video for the second semester of Teacher Rose Ann Hardy's Contemporary Issues class. They decided to interview East Lyme veterans to preserve their stories.

"We just wanted to get their stories on tape and listen to them and share them with everyone," he said.

Hardy, also a town selectwoman, said she hopes her students next year will carry on the tradition of recording veterans' stories. 

The town plans to rebroadcast the film periodically through the end of July on Channel 22.

k.drelich@theday.com