Brothers Marvin and Roy Knecht sat at a table in Marysville’s Beckwourth Riverfront Park on Saturday flipping through the pages of the Chico Record newspaper.

The paper is dated Dec. 7, 1941, and although the sheets are faded yellow, the black type and the bold red headline reading “War is Declared” still resonate with the two World War II Army veterans.

“It sure does bring back memories,” Marvin Knecht, 80, said. “I was 14 years old on this day when the paper boy rode around on his bicycle yelling we were at war. It really shook me up.”

On Saturday, the Knecht brothers traveled from Sacramento for the first Torch of Freedom event held by the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 9 to recognize and celebrate the soldiers of World War II.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Roy Knecht, 83, said about attending the celebration. “This is great.”

Roy said he “wouldn’t be alive” today if the atomic bombs were not dropped on Japan. His company was waiting in Saipan to invade Japan before the bombs were dropped.

“It would have been a really big invasion,” he said.

Both Marvin and Roy were drafted into the Army as medics. Two of their brothers were drafted as well, although all survived the war.

Marvin said he’ll always remember the trauma that having four sons at war brought his mother.

“I remember waking up at night hearing her crying,” he said.

“My older brother Ruben went first. He went through hell. He was a foot soldier in Italy, France and Belgium. I listened to my mom pray when she got notice that he’d been captured. We didn’t know whether he was dead or alive. But he came home.”

Roy’s twin brother, Ray, was the fourth brother drafted.

Stories like those of the Knechts’ were shared publicly over a sound system or privately in small groups to those who wanted to listen.

Although many veterans traveled from far away locations to sit amongst their comrades, many said it was hard to share stories of battle they saw and took part in so long ago.

“It’s very inward,” said Orland Tuttle, 80, a Navy veteran. “This is a great event. It’s good to see some of my comrades.”

Tuttle said he didn’t even begin to speak publicly until five years ago when a young boy from Wheatland handed him a thank-you card for serving in World War II during a Veterans’ Day Parade.

“I was so touched,” he said. “I’ve been speaking ever since.”

Organizers said the event was an opportunity for veterans to share their stories as well as pass on their experiences to younger generations.

“If it wasn’t for World War II soldiers, we’d be speaking German and French,” said John Hubble, 82, of Citrus Heights.

Hubble served in the Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

“There are thousands of soldiers buried at sea and thousands who never had a funeral,” Hubble said. “Freedom isn’t free.”