Lance Bass Highlights His Family’s WWII Military Service to Stop Politicians from “Rewriting History”

For roughly 30 years Lance Bass has been a fixture in popular culture as one of the founding members of the genre-defining boy band *NSYNC*. Yet within his own family he jokes that the top spot belongs to someone else — his grandfather.

Bass says his paternal grandfather, Jimmy, remains the family’s local legend in Laurel, Miss., celebrated for his military service during World War II. “He’s the famous one in our family, not me,” Bass told Billboard during a video call, adding that his grandfather’s pride in his service and his community left a lasting impression. (Read more about Jimmy Bass’s hometown recognition.) Leader-Call

As part of Ancestry’s “Thank You for Your Service” initiative, Bass partnered with the genealogy company to explore the military records of his family. The campaign — which commemorates the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end — offered free access to more than 200 million WWII documents from Nov. 10–12 in observance of Veterans Day in the U.S. Ancestry

Using the digitized records, Bass and relatives uncovered enlistment forms, photographs and other documentation that deepened their understanding of both grandfathers’ wartime experiences. One discovery showed that his maternal grandfather, Elza, had worked as a dance-hall manager — a detail the family had never known before his death in 2019. Seeing a photo of Elza in that context helped Bass reconcile a lifelong memory — his grandfather’s love of square dancing — with the new evidence the archives revealed.

Bass said the project felt especially important amid a broader surge of misinformation online. He voiced concern that efforts to alter or remove historical records and references — including recent reports about federal website content changes — risk distorting public memory and disrespecting the sacrifices of veterans. He referenced reporting on those changes in national outlets and urged people to preserve authentic historical sources. New York Times · New York Times (interactive) · NPR

“It’s important to tell the past truthfully,” Bass said, reflecting on how easily history can be reshaped. He expressed that discovering concrete records not only honored his ancestors’ service but also reinforced the responsibility to remember and learn from what happened before.

Beyond the historical revelations, Bass described how his grandfathers’ characters influenced his own outlook. After *NSYNC marked its 30th anniversary earlier this year, he found himself thinking about how Jimmy’s positivity and the way he treated people helped shape Bass’s temperament and approach to life and work.

Ultimately, Bass called the chance to explore his family’s military past “an honor,” saying it brought pride and perspective: an opportunity to connect personal memories with documentary proof and to pass those stories forward.