It’s called “the deadliest conflict in human history” for a reason. World War II engulfed the lives of soldiers and civilians in a way those in the United States have not experienced in a near capacity since.
In the final episode of our season exploring the experience of service during World War II…
Service: Veteran Stories of Hunger and War
by iHeartPodcasts
How do our food stories change during wartime? Each episode follows a veteran or wartime volunteer from their home in the United States through their overseas deployment and back again. We hear firsthand where they fought, who they fed, how they ate, and what tastes they missed most while away at war. From World War II through today, soldiers and civilians come together at the table to remember, reflect, and show respect. Hosted by Jacqueline Raposo.
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World War II transformed women’s service both in the U.S. Armed Forces and in their stateside communities -- millions would serve at home and abroad as nurses, clerics, drivers, front-line food peddlers, and even pilots. The work wasn’t easy. To survive the shifting job market, they had to work twic…
100-year-old World War II Marine veteran Norman Rubin remembers the Great Depression. He remembers eating as much as could be put on a plate in front of him as a hungry kid. He remembers his father leaving at 10 years old and his brothers working to help his mother. He remembers reading about how th…
Every veteran we’ve sat with this season has gushed about the “love of their life” -- the woman who worked hard at the hospital or factory or office or homestead and dutifully penned letters while they were away in the Service. They’ve wowed us with not only their love’s origin story, but the lifeti…
Wait, but how did the food get made in World War II?
In this episode of Service, Navy veteran Ray Boutwell shares how he cooked at a training camp in New Jersey toward the latter part of the war: what equipment they had in the kitchen, what dishes they made regularly, and the difference between ingr…
The majority of the veterans we’ve heard from this season recall growing up in Great Depression poverty. Such is not the case with Robert Hanson, a Navy Lieutenant whose father found himself in an intriguing position of economic strength that helped Robert settle into Ivy League academia by the star…
Think success in farming has nothing to do with sacrifice on the front line?
At the start of World War II, Japanese American farmers controlled 40% of California farm production, dominating crops like tomatoes, celery, and snap beans made newly available nationwide with the success of refrigerated …
Why do some of our veterans not speak about their service experience, and how can civilians help? On the second half of this two-part episode, we explore the some racial healing 70-years post war, and how food brings veterans out of their shells. We first explore how one community event brought two …
Many of the World War II combat veterans we’re hearing from this season didn’t talk about their service experiences for most of their lives. On the first of this two-part episode, we explore the history behind why they might not have opened up, how things have changed with time, and what’s helped th…
6 million men left farm life between 1940 and 1945. Some, like Air Corp Staff Sergeant Harold Bud Long, left to join the Service.
Setting out and maintaining 47 air strips across Europe, Bud took part in legendary campaigns like Omaha Beach on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and Patton’s drive thro…
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…
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. Fac…
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 …
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 …
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…
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 dro…
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 prepare…
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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