Service: Veteran Stories of Hunger and War

Young William Walker was determined to succeed. Despite segregation in the service during World War II, William rose to Chief Petty Officer First Class in the Navy – an uncommon position of authority for African Americans particularly in that branch. First managing PT rescue teams stateside and then overseeing his ship’s food supply holds in the South West Pacific, William’s history helps us understand a layer of the complicated web of racism and opportunity that African American service members met when they joined the World War.

Find photos from this episode, an episode transcription, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on Service.

Thank you to Honor Flight Columbus for connecting us with the Walker family for this episode. Learn more about sponsoring a senior veterans’ visit to see war memorials in Washington D.C. at www.HonorFlightColumbus.org, and see more on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Lt. Colonel George Hardy wanted to be an engineer. Not a cook. But at the start of World War 2, African Americans were only given mess attendant positions in the Navy – the branch he wanted to join. And so, George joined the U.S. Army Air Corps’ prestigious Tuskegee Airmen fighter group instead. Facing segregation at home and abroad, his food stories are weighted with uncomfortable silences and tough self-love. Follow as George travels from Philly to the southern states, over to Italy and back home again, fighting a Double Victory campaign that would change the course of American history forever. 

Find archival newspaper articles, photos of George, an episode transcript, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on our Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on Service.

Thank you to Joe Faust of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. for connecting us with George for this episode. We encourage you to learn more at www.TuskegeeAirmen.org, and on Facebook and Instagram. And thank you to Stephen Satterfield of iHeartRadio’s Point of Origin podcast for lending his voice to this episode - subscribe to Point of Origin on Apple podcasts, the iHeartRadio app and

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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.

See photos from this episode, an episode transcription, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on SERVICE.

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Fresh out of high school in Brooklyn, New York, Frank Devita joined the Coast Guard in the summer of 1943. He then met adulthood in the bloody waters off of the Normandy beaches on D-Day and while criss-crossing oceans between additional battles. A finicky eater from an Italian foodie family, Frank found some sneaky ways for him and others to eat in his 33 months in Service.

A gentle warning: Frank shares engrossing details about D-Day and death in this episode. We hear these memories as we step back in time together.

Find photos from this episode, an episode transcription, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on Service.

Thank you to the Greatest Generations Foundation for connecting us with Frank for this episode. Explore how you can support a veteran’s visit to memorials and hallowed grounds at www.tggf.org, and see more on Facebook and Instagram.

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On this supporting episode of SERVICE, we take a quick dive into P-40 planes, foxholes, trenches, and hedgerows. Some major engineering advancements came about during World War II, helping our veterans in their missions around the globe. But they met agricultural challenges overseas, despite. Listen for a quick primer on military terms you’ll hear our veterans reference this season.

Find photos from this episode, an episode transcription, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on Service.

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On this first episode of SERVICE, World War II veteran Pasquale D’Ambrosio of the Army’s 96th Division shares how the Great Depression and natural disasters affected his Keene, New Hampshire community even before the United States joined the war in 1941. Then, 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 theatre.

Find photos from this episode and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you’ll hear on Service.

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SERVICE shares first-hand accounts of veteran war stories, and so episodes contain reenactments of warfare and relay scenarios of death. This message is for our veterans, active service members, and others who might be particularly affected by the sounds and stories on SERVICE, so to be best prepared before listening. Thank you.

Find more at www.ServicePodcast.org, where you can share your stories and message our team with your thoughts. 

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Find photos from this episode and more at ServicePodcast.org and on Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you’ll hear on Service. Follow on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

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