Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website

Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website



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211979

Pte. Nicholas Distasi

United States Army 101st Airborne (Able Company)

from:New York City

This is a story about my grandfather's WW2 experience as a sniper in the 101st Airborne. My grandfather passed away 4 years before I was born, not much was known about his service since he kept most of it to himself. What I am going to tell you is what he told his son and daughter(my mother)and what I could gather from old soldier buddies of his.

Nick, just like many other 17 year old boys of the day, convinced his father to let him join the military after Pearl Harbor. Nick and his best friend joined up in 1942 with Nick choosing Airborne because they paid more and his buddy choosing ground infantry. Nick didn't realize at the time he was joining an elite unit and at its most infantile stage. Nick was eventually assigned to Able Company of the 101st and was sent to Camp Toccoa for training. I was told that he was chosen for sniper school and spent some time away from the other troopers to train. Before the best friends left for war Nick's best friends mother tore a dollar bill in half and gave it to the best friends and told them that they would meet up again. Nick didn't think too much about it and headed off to war.

Not much is known about his jump on D-Day we do know that he gathered up with other scattered troopers that night in France. Nick said that when they jumped they were really tired and that when he landed he meet up with Lt. Muir and some other troopers. Nick explained how the Lt. was lost at night and told them to take a nap and then they would move out. Nick said he closed his eyes and the next thing he knew there were screaming Nazi's pointing their guns in his face. Being surprised and having a sense of humor he woke and screamed don't shoot I got a lot German friends back home I wanted to go fight the Japs. Nick had realized that nobody woke him and Private Archie Ponds up and that it was daylight and the spot his Lt. choose to nap at was actually right next to the road. He said the Nazi's noticed him and Archie sleeping from the road while driving.I think he was really upset that the morning of the D-Day invasion he was already captured.

The Nazis carted him off to god knows where, then he ended up in Stalag 4f where he ran into his best friend who was captured somewhere else, they supposedly connected the dollar halves as my Uncle and Mother claim. Nick was eventually freed by the Russians in 1945.

My grandfather never went to any Army reunions or talked about the war, it probably hurt him inside that he was forgotten and was captured on day one of the invasion. Maybe the dollar bill saved his life, fate had seemed to follow him to the end. Nicholas A. Distasi passed away June 6, 1974 from a heart attack at the French Hospital in NYC, 30 years to the day of D-Day in France. Don't know much more about his involvement in the War, would love to find out what happened to him during capture.



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