Combat Story (Ep 50): Vincent Speranza | WWII Veteran | Battle of the Bulge | Airborne Beer | Author
About This Episode
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Today we have a special Combat Story on Veterans Day for our 50th Episode from Vincent Speranza, a paratrooper in the storied 101st Airborne Division in World War II. Vince was a machine gunner at the Battle of the Bulge where he and his fellow paratroopers held Bastogne after being encircled by the Germans.
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While fighting, Vince earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, but he’s gone down in history for being the GI who miraculously found and transported draft beer in his helmet from the last standing bar in Bastogne during the attack.
This story later became the basis for Airborne beer, which can be purchased throughout Belgium and is designed to be enjoyed from a small ceramic cup shaped like a WWII helmet.
Vince, in the last 10 years, has written a book, aptly titled “Nuts!: A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne,” has jumped out of airplanes again, and speaks to soldiers and organizations about his experiences.
His story is nothing short of legendary and reminds us all why we refer to his as the “Greatest Generation.” I hope you enjoy this amazing combat story as much as I did.
- Facebook Vincent J. Speranza https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000973032170 - Book ‘Nuts!: A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne’ https://tinyurl.com/2pdht9nw
- Follow on Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory - Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial - Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial - Email ryan@combatstory.com - Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus - Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
Author
Chapters
- 0:00Intro
- 0:48A word from our Sponsor (Loansteady)
- 2:15Guest intro
- 3:22Interview begins
- 4:18Growing up an Italian immigrant
- 16:00Did you miss out on a “fun” or easy childhood?
- 18:20AWESOME Pearl Harbor story from Dec 7th,1941
- 22:21The Draft letter
- 23:43Shipping off to WWII (wait for his dad’s comment)
- 38:04Training to go to WWII
- 41:01Volunteering for Airborne
- 50:40Taking the Queen Mary over to the war
- 52:34The feeling on the boat on the way to WWII
- 54:28You’re going in!
- 59:29Battle of the Bulge - Basic numbers and the environment
- 1:01:41The importance of artillery at Bastogne
- 1:04:44Asking for our surrender
- 1:06:15Like the Colonel already said
- 1:07:10“Freedom in your heart” (you can’t help but smile when you hear this)
- 1:07:50How was I feeling at the Battle of the Bulge?
- 1:10:15The sobering moment comes after the shooting…
- 1:11:45German strategy going in
- 1:14:50Airborne Beer (INCREDIBLE story)
- 1:18:30Made myself a promise
- 1:33:45Combat Story (WWII Edition) Begins with description of digging into frozen ground and fighting from those positions
- 1:36:00“The whole world exploded”
- 1:38:48A machine gunner’s delight
- 1:47:16A once in a lifetime R&R
- 1:58:59Did you carry anything with you into combat?
- 1:59:57Would you do it all again?
- 2:00:09At the Eagle’s Nest!
- 2:03:26Not a hero…
- 2:05:23Listener comments
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