Fewer than 70,000 people who fought in World War II are still alive, and all of them in their 90s.

It was the largest and deadliest battle in history, claiming over 50 million people.

Tonight, we get a living history lesson from one of those heroes.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and producer John Branscum bring us the story.

- [Dara] At 99 years old, Herschel Brown Sr. still loves going for a good cruise.

- We're gonna go right down this way.

- [Dara] He hops in his 1951 black Chevy for an occasional trip around town.

- I just get in the car and go, and I don't think anything about it.

- [Dara] He's on the road now, but he still remembers vividly the time he spent in the air during World War II.

Herschel's old uniform immediately brings back that sense of pride.

- That was a good old days.

- I'm proud.

That's my dad.

- You'd get over being scared that night, and then tomorrow, you'd do the same thing all over again.

- [Dara] Terrifying moments, as a 19-year-old ball turret gunner, flying 51 combat missions, each one never knowing if it'd be his last.

- My original crew all got shot, two of 'em got killed, and the rest were prisoners of war.

- [Dara] In the midst of uncertainty, Herschel and those fortunate enough to survive another day with him, had to find joy in little things.

- We had times when we had parties.

We drank Cokes.

No, that wasn't Coke.

(laughs) We'd have our good time every now and then.

- [Announcer] Those back home in Sharon, South Carolina kept his spirits up too, with letters and special packages.

- My grandmother used to selling cookies, and she'd always sent enough that I could pass 'em around.

- [Dara] What was even sweeter than grandma's cookies was returning home in 1945 as a staff sergeant.

Soon after, Herschel started working at a dry cleaning business.

- I went to school and learned enough about dry cleaning to run a dry cleaning plant.

And then I bought the dry cleaning plant.

And after, it was brownies.

- [Dara] But he didn't stop there.

- Bought the joining building where the dry cleaning plant was and opened up a service station, but got into the tire business and sold a little bit of everything.

- [Dara] And although work always seemed to have his attention, a beautiful distraction still managed to catch his eye.

- She was very attractive, and she was a very intelligent person.

And I don't know, we just seemed to hit it off from the very beginning and always had a good time when we were together.

- [Dara] After 10 months of dating, Herschel married Inez, a school teacher from Lucknow, South Carolina.

They built a life together for 70 years until she passed away six years ago.

Their three children still hold onto the memories.

- We don't get to choose our parents when we come into this world, and my sisters and I are very blessed that we won the lottery when we got our parents, because they're both wonderful people.

- We had home-cooked meals.

We sat around the table all together and ate and talked about things.

- These are really interesting ones.

- [Dara] A tradition they still keep, sitting at the table together, this time, looking at an old newspaper article that captures a dream their dad always had.

- "I hope my children will someday restore it so that they can show it."

- It's happening.

- And that's happening.

Finally.

- [Dara] What they're talking about is the Old Hills Cotton Gin that Herschel bought in 1986 with all the machines still inside.

For years, the family used it as a storage place.

- The building was getting in pretty foul shape, and we're gonna put a new roof on it.

I'm actually gonna enclose this whole shed area, and we're gonna pour our concrete floor in there.

- [Dara] With the repairs breathing new life into the building, one goal- ♪ I've studied my blueprints and plans ♪ - Is to turn the space into a music venue.

- It makes me tear up to know that this is a dream he's had for a long time, and I'm finally doing it.

- [Dara] And just how time doesn't slow down.

- Come, I'll show you.

- [Dara] Neither does Herschel.

The boy who grew up on a York County farm still gets in touch with his roots, by gardening.

- We'll have a tomato pretty soon.

- [Dara] His on-the-go lifestyle at nearly 100 years old inspired a family friend to write a song about it last year.

♪ He'd rather push a rototiller than a walker ♪ ♪ He's 98 years, walking in his way ♪ - And I thought, how wealthy and how rich is that, that at 98 years old, you could choose what you wanna do today?

That just seems impossible, and he still drives and he's just a funny, witty guy.

- [Dara] Although Herschel says he doesn't have a special secret to living a long life, he does keep this in his routine.

- Try to enjoy something every day, to try to find something to laugh about.

- [Dara] Which will keep him trucking right to 100.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.