Beth Duckett

The Arizona Republic

Frank Robert Nystrom was 20 years old when his submarine sunk off the coast of Japan in World War II.

His sister, Marilyn Munkachy, remembers the night well.

"My mother knew that night that something was wrong," Munkachy said. "All the crew was lost."

Stifling back tears, Munkachy, 82, shared Nystrom's war story during an interview Tuesday at VFW Post 3513 in Scottsdale.

The interview, conducted for the Veterans Heritage Project, coincided with Memorial Day on Monday. The federal holiday honors Americans who have died in military service.

"He was my friend," said Munkachy, a Tempe resident. "We went tobogganing together. He was always telling me I worked too hard."

Nystrom trained at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois and Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut before joining the crew of the USS Albacore.

The submarine reportedly struck a naval mine off Hokkaido, Japan, on Nov. 7, 1944. All 86 crew members died.

U.S. Rep Harry Mitchell, Munkachy's acquaintance, helped procure the Purple Heart and other military medals for Nystrom posthumously.

Following Tuesday's interview, Mitchell praised the Veterans Heritage Project for preserving the accounts of war veterans.

"I have had the great honor to hear their stories of their military service to this great nation of ours," Mitchell said. "Unfortunately, these stories are disappearing, especially those of our World War II veterans as they sadly pass away."

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that World War II veterans are dying at a rate of more than 1,000 a day.

The Veterans Heritage Project of the American Folklife Center, enacted by Congress in 2000, preserves their stories in tapes and writing for future generations, said Christine Anderson, a project volunteer.

Interviews in Scottsdale are conducted on the second Tuesday of each month at VFW Post 3513.

Paul Shull, a former flight engineer during World War II,shared his story in May.

On Nov. 30, 1944, Shull's plane was shot down and he was captured and taken to Stalag Luft 1 prisoner-of-war camp in Barth, Germany.

Upon his release in 1945, Shull was diagnosed with acute malnutrition and post traumatic stress disorder. He had lost 46 pounds in five months.

"My folks didn't know for about five months whether I was missing in action or dead," Shull said. "We had very little food. No heat. We survived by will."

Anderson said she spends about 3 hours a day recording, researching and transcribing accounts from veterans from the VFW and Society of St. Vincent de Paul homeless shelter in Phoenix.

The stories have a "healing power," she said.