Eighty years have passed since North Tonawanda native Bill Gosch served in combat with Carlson’s Raiders, a special operations force within the Marine Corps in World War II.
But the 98-year-old’s memories — from killing nine Japanese soldiers on a single mission in Okinawa to heeding a voice in his head to dodge bullets intended for him during a kamikaze attack in Guam — have been honored and amplified by a cluster of devoted storytellers, from a colorful-and-homeless YouTube combat historian to a production company known for veteran-focused docuseries picked up by large networks.
“Eighty-odd years ago, I never thought this would come to pass,” Gosch said, referring his two years of duty in the Pacific. “My world has changed, to say the least, for the better.”
The multimedia spotlight on Gosch’s fascinating military stories has been followed by even more attention.
On the weekend after Veterans Day, Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight — with an assist from the Buffalo Bills — has invited Gosch to a private suite with his wife, son and daughter for his first Bills game, a surprising landmark for a lifelong North Tonawanda native — once a scholarship football player at Niagara University — who said Saturday he believes Josh Allen has the potential to become the next Jim Kelly.
About three weeks ago, Gosch was escorted to Washington, D.C., on an honor flight to visit war monuments and was presented with the Bills tickets the night of the flight.
“He was blown away that he got the personal invitation to the game,” said Tom Petrie, president of Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight. Petrie indicated there are further surprises lined up for Gosch at Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Saturday morning, Honor Flight Heroes TV duo Eric Roberts and Andrea Reeves and YouTube creator Rishi Sharma visited Gosch at his North Tonawanda home to record a pilot episode of what they hope will become a TV series dedicated to living “hidden heroes” of World War II. The pilot will not only spotlight Gosch’s exploits in World War II combat, but also introduce a razor-sharp 98-year-old who made headlines in 2020 by serving as a temporary Second Ward alderman for the North Tonawanda Common Council.
Both Sharma and Roberts were instrumental in connecting Gosch to Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight, which spearheaded the Bills ticket gesture. The TV series, produced by Roberts’ company, will highlight Sharma’s most compelling interviews with veterans across the country, if it receives funding.
Gosch’s World War II memories have already impacted veterans, military buffs and civilians around the world, thanks to Sharma’s 21-minute YouTube production from a visit to North Tonawanda in December. The clip has garnered more than 1 million views on YouTube and has had fans requesting autographs and sending piles of letters to Gosch’s home.
In the clip last year, Gosch lamented the roughly 12 to 20 soldiers he killed in war. He’s now brought to tears when he thinks about how those men were unable to start their own families.
“At the time, it was just something that had to be done,” Gosch remembered Saturday. “It had to be done.”
But Gosch said his worldview evolved after leaving the service, spending several winters in Hawaii and learning about different Asian cultures.
Sharma’s Remember WW2 nonprofit — with the mantra “no story left behind” — has shared interviews with more than 1,700 veterans and attracted more than 110,000 subscribers on YouTube. The 25-year-old first-generation American, whose parents hail from India, fell in love with World War II history in high school — riding his bike to a northern Los Angeles retirement home and chatting with residents — sparking a devotion so intense he’s committed his life to uncovering combat stories.
His quest attracted national attention during his visit to Pearl Harbor for the 75th anniversary of the attack, and while he was there, CBS ran a television spot explaining Sharma’s mission. His GoFundMe netted about $115,000 overnight, and he was able to fly from veteran to veteran to spotlight their stories for the next two years.
“There’s something so pure — and I can’t emphasize that word enough — about that generation: clean-cut, grew up wanting just to have a nice life, thrust into the worst war in the history of the world, literally saw hand-to-hand combat, 70 million dead, and they come home and build our society,” Sharma said Saturday. “That idea of putting others before self is such an attractive idea.”
But Sharma added he’s without a home, living the last few years mostly out of a car in which he lugs a tripod, cinema-quality video camera and two microphones. He lives off modest advertising sums from YouTube, which he says have suffered due to the platform’s algorithm changes, and donations to his GoFundMe cover his travel costs.
Gosch is grateful for Sharma’s efforts, however. It has sparked a bit of a mental renaissance for the North Tonawanda native.
“Rishi has made it pleasurable,” Gosch said. “I enjoyed his interview with me and it brought back my memories of all these things that were long forgotten. The more I sit around and think about it, the more things ring a bell. The mind is a great thing.”
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