Episode 3: “I Came Off in Waist-Deep Water.”

With John Bistrica, Army

Rifles and rations beyond the beach.

Ep 3: Nov. 18 2019

Army Private 1st Class John Bistrica was in the 1st Infantry Division –nicknamed “Big Red One” – on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. His story balances watchful anticipation and fierce action as he moves from Youngstown, Ohio to stateside base camps, then to the D-Day beaches and into Normandy, finding both feast and famine along the way.

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Read the transcript

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Juuni Ramocan was our excellent on-site engineer with John for this episode. Deanna McGovern did our vocals for Mae West. Thank you to John’s son, Joe, for all of his help.

Behind The Episode:

Read the transcript from John’s interview with the World War 2 museum in New Orleans.

Hear a story short story clip of John’s run-in with the Andrews Sisters at a USO show

Hear the song – Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh! – that John so loves.

Read about the history of the Ration D Bar on Hersey and Business Insider.

Curious about Yorkshire Pudding? Try your hand at John’s favorite overseas discovery in this recipe by our friend J. Kenji López-Alt over at Serious Eats.

Read about the 1st Infantry Division, weaponry, and landing crafts that went in on D-Day, from History On The Net.

Watch a video from 2014 of John sharing his story (including details about the medals and citations, below) at the First Division Museum at Cantigny

Watch the most glorious video of the Andrews Sisters

Hear John remember meeting the Andrews Sisters, and how a recent meeting with a tribute trio brought him back in time to a sentimental place.

Gallery:

click on images to enlarge

A letter John wrote to his sweetheart, Anne Marie, before he deployed overseas

Anne in her nurse uniform during the war

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One response to “Episode 3: “I Came Off in Waist-Deep Water.””

Episode 11: All's Fair in War and Lasting Love – Service

February 14, 2020

[…] so in this episode, Frank Devita, John Bistrica, Ray Stanley Boutwell, Norman Rubin, and Pat D’Ambrosio return to tell a little about the women […]