Mr. Bromberg said that he regrets not talking about the war with family. My father was the same way. He was Army engineers, in a battalion that built airfields all the way from Hawaii to Okinawa. His battalion was the first to leave San Francisco after Pearl Harbor. When he got there, ships were still burning.
Even though he never fired a shot in anger, he would say almost nothing about his experiences. He had hundreds of photos, but would not talk about them. He would not even say how he got the excellent camera he brought back.
It helps to open the door if you are familiar with the war so they don’t have to explain everything. I find if I ask ask a couple of fairly detailed questions specific to their branch of the service it can open the door. If you are a guy you can always ask about what they thought about their short arm inspection.