b'bottomofthememoLutz is also an author. In 2010, he published The Last Leaf: Voices of EisenhowerscrawledHistorys Last-Known Survivors, an oral history of people who witnessed or instructionsonhowtoparticipated in famous historical events. Like the many thousands of docu-execute this idea. Whenments Lutz has collected, the book helps to preserve the voices and events of it went up for auction athe past, but in a very personal way. Lutz interviewed and recorded the recol-decade ago, Lutz was thelections of 39 people, including:only bidder, and now heThe final three surviving Civil War widowscallsitoneofthetenThe final pitcher to surrender a home run to Babe Ruth in his historic most important pieces I1927 seasonhave. The last suffragist from the womens suffrage movement of the 1910sHe has thousands ofThe last living person to fly with Amelia Earhartdocuments and artifactsThe last surviving employees of Thomas Edison and Harry HoudiniinhisVietnamcollec- The final living American World War I soldiertion. They include origi- Lutz interviewed Paul Hopkins circa 1999 for his book,A Holocaust survivor who was interned in a camp where the other prison-"The Last Leaf." Hopkins was the last pitcher to surren-nalphotographs,sol- der a home run to Babe Ruth who, in his historic 1927ers attacked the Nazisdierslettersanddiariesseason, hit 60 home runs. A wish discovery he would still like to make is a piece for his Vietnamsome written under fire in the junglesmilitary medals, pro- and anti-warcollection. In 1919, a young Vietnamese man named Nyugen Ai Quac went posters, bumper stickers, pins, books, leaflets, maps, even a license plate thatto the Treaty of Versailles and passed out this leaflet in French asking the reads Back Our Boys In Viet Nam, and letters and documents from govern- Americans to encourage the French to get out of Vietnam, which was then ment officials. He created a website for his collection: VietnamWarArchive.com. known as French Indochina. Nyugen Ai Quac is better known as Ho Chi Lutz regards the Vietnam War as a turning point. I would argue thatMinh [the leader of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War]. I have no idea from 1950 to 2000 the most important event in American history was theif there are any [copies] that exist still. That one [was owned by] the State De-Vietnam War. Its never been settled. It still churns. Anytime we have foreignpartment. That would be the dream Vietnam piece to find. Thats the origin interventions, whether its Afghanistan or Iraq, the ghosts of Vietnam comeof the Vietnam War.back. Its a national wound thats never been healed, especially between theLutz maintains that hell never retire from the profession of dealing in his-baby boomers, and it never will. For Lutz collecting memorabilia about thistorical documents. Its eternally interesting. Ive been doing this for 35 years, giant national wound has become a lifetime undertaking. Veterans or theirand still I get up and look forward to going to work every day. families give him material. He has a little subproject of taking photos withHarriet Sigerman is also a history nerd who loves touring historical homes and sites.Vietnam vets he knows.feature story /17'