With Pasquale D’Ambrosio, Army
During the deadliest conflict in human history, people around the world found ways to feed each other.
Ep 1: Nov. 11 2019
On this first episode of Service, World War 2 veteran Pasquale D’Ambrosio of the Army’s 96th Division shares how the Great Depression and natural disasters affected his Keane, New Hampshire community even before the United States joined the war in 1941. Then, we follow as the draft, Pearl Harbor, and immediate loss at the start of the war followed him into adulthood. Also, why he loved military food, how the drop of the atomic bombs might just have spared his life, and what he saw of hunger in the South West Pacific theater.
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Behind the Episode:
Listen to FDR’s Radio Address on Selective Service Registration Day and read the transcript at DocsTeach. (Video below.)
Read Navy records about Pat’s brother, Michael D’Ambrosio, and his ship, the John Carter Rose.
Learn more about President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs and the planned Operation Downfall in this NPR report (audio, 8m), this short article at We Are the Mighty, or this lengthier chapter in a book on Army history.
Read President Truman’s Statement Announcing the A-Bombing of Hiroshima, August 6 1945
Learn more and view captivating photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Before and After the Bombs, by Madison Horne at History.com
Learn about the history of Gold Star Families from the USO.
Curious about canning and food preservation? Dig into the history, mechanics, and how-to with help from our friends at Serious Eats.
Learn more about farming in the 1940s and Victory Gardens at LivingHistoryFarm.org.
Gallery:
(click on photo to enlarge)
Pat in his National Guard uniform, with his wife Hansine D’Ambrosio 
Queen Mary 
Pat and Hansine D’Ambrosio 
Hansine pregnant with her first child, Walter, who would later serve in the Air Force in Vietnam 
Hansine’s brother Victor Whippie, who joined the Service in 1943 
Victor Whippie in the Army in 1943. 
Hansine D’Ambrosio (right) with her sister, Topsy, and brother Victor, before he went into the Service in 1943. 
“With many parents engaged in war work, children are being taught the facts of point rationing for helping out in family marketing.” Alfred Palmer, February 1943. 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Declaration of War against Japan, December 8, 1941. 
” I Want You for the U.S. Army. Enlist Now.” Color poster by James Montgomery Flagg. 
Sugar rationing begins in May of 1942 in the United States! 
“Harvesting bumper crop for Uncle Sam . Movie star Rita Hayworth sacrificed her bumpers for the duration. Besides setting an example by turning in unessential metal car parts, Miss Hayworth has been active in selling war bonds.” 1942. 208-PU-91B-5. National Archives Identifier: 535932 
USS Marine Dragon – the ship Pat D’Ambrosio took from the Pacific home in 1946 
Maria D’Ambrosio wears a Gold Star Mother’s pin after her son, Michael Joseph, dies in action on October 8 1942 
Ep 1 – Pasquale D’Ambrosio, Army 
Newspaper article on Keene High Class of 1940 
Michael Joseph D’Ambrosio’s unit, 1941 
Photo of Manila by Pat D’Ambrosio, 1946 
Michael Joseph D’Ambrosio, Navy 1941 
The USS John Carter Rose 
Two Coast Guard-manned LST’s open their great jaws in the surf that washes on Leyte Island beach, as soldiers strip down and build sandbag piers out to the ramps to speed up unloading operations.” 1944 
Marines unloading Japanese POW from a submarine returned from war patrol.” Lt. Comdr. Horace Bristol, ca. May 1945. 
Japanese POW’s at Guam, with bowed heads after hearing Emperor Hirohito make announcement of Japan’s unconditional surrender.” August 15, 1945. 
Sargent Wilson, photo Pat D’Ambrosio 1946 
Parade in Keene, NH 
Pat D’Ambrosio in his workshop 
Pat and Hansine Engagement Photo
Service 