Brokaw said his life was inalterably changed as veterans told him about their experiences on the beaches of Normandy in 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day.
"That day changed my life forever," Brokaw said. "It was the most emotionally wrenching experience that I could imagine out of the death of my father."
In 1998, Brokaw wrote the bestseller The Greatest Generation, extolling the courage of those who contributed to the war effort.
"Every day of my life I am reminded of the stories that are between those two hard covers," Brokaw said.
Brokaw said that many people have told him that his book has helped to bring veterans' families together and has encouraged former soldiers to talk about their often brutal battle experiences for the first time.
One western Pennsylvania man told Brokaw how he tried to save a friend whose leg was blown off at the hip by a land mine at the Battle of the Bulge. The wounded soldier died two days later.
"For 55 years I have waited to tell the husband's wife his last words were about her," the Pennsylvania veteran told Brokaw.
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