I’ve always found oral histories pretty interesting; it’s nice to hear from the people who really experienced history, rather than the people who sat in a University building somewhere and studied it. (If you’re like me, and want to read some great oral histories about America over the past 100 years or so, check out the irrepressible Studs Terkel.)

The drawback, of course, has always been that someone has to go out and collect the histories. Now, though, that’s not the case — because everyone can put their particular story up on YouTube. So this week’s viral video is the story of Les Loken, a 94-year-old veteran of World War II, who talks about his experiences in post-war Japan.