A nonprofit organization that tells the stories of the fallen heroes of World War II needs your help.

The group, Stories Behind the Stars, is enlisting volunteers to assist in researching and writing about the 421,000 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The goal is to have the project done by September 2025 - the 80th anniversary of the end of the war.

But even as the memorials are being done, they’re being shared on the group’s website and social media outlets, and sent to newspapers like the Times News for publication.

Volunteers are in three dozen states, and several different countries.

In Pennsylvania, there are about 25 active volunteers, said Kathy Harmon, Pennsylvania state director and volunteer.

“I started this project with just an interest in genealogy. I hated history in school a long time ago. And really didn’t know much at all about World War II. But I’ve learned a lot. Every day I learn something new,” she said.

Stories Behind the Stars recently shared the memorials of several Schuylkill County residents. Earl Linder of Cressona died during the Battle of Iwo Jima; Thomas Kneib of Frackville lost his life at sea during fighting with Japanese forces, and Frank Kantner Humes of Delano perished when kamikaze planes attacked his destroyer ship.

As media director for Pennsylvania, Chris Moyer has helped get those stories published in the Times News.

“It will be two years this Memorial Day since I volunteered in Stories Behind the Stars. I have written 585 stories through today,” he said recently.

While Moyer has been busy, he said there is no minimum requirement on how often a volunteer must submit a story.

“It can be from once a year to once or more per day,” he said.

Volunteers are working on a list of projects, ranging from the Battle of the Leyte Gulf to brothers who served and sacrificed.

But Moyer said it is up to the individuals.

“For example, they can limit their subjects to a specific town or county. Some prefer to write only about a specific military unit or branch of service,” he said.

He said they might want to take a local approach, such as researching casualties from local high schools or churches.

“There often are various memorial plaques in a community that list the local World War II dead,” and can be used as a starting point, he said.

Those wanting to help don’t have to have experience or a military background.

All are given free training materials for researching and writing.

“Stories Behind the Stars also provides the tools at no cost to the volunteer to access military records, census data, newspaper archives and VPN,” he said. “I think the best resource each volunteer receives is a mentor to review the first story and to troubleshoot any problems that arise in the research or writing process.”

Since Stories Behind the Stars launched in 2020, more than 43,000 stories have been written about U.S. service personnel. More than 4,400 stories of Pennsylvania’s almost 32,000 World War II fallen are among them.

Harmon said it is a very worthwhile project.

“These men and women deserve to never be forgotten. It really hits home with me that a lot of these young men were younger than my grandson (age 21) that gave everything for this country,” Harmon added.

For more information, visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org or contact Harmon at kharmon@storiesbehindthestars.org.