That Day

Explicit content warning

10/19/21 • 29 min

When she joined the Army, Shoshana Johnson figured that she’d “save some money, lose some weight, and come back home.” It didn’t work out as planned: in her first month in Iraq, working as a cook in a maintenance unit, her convoy took a wrong turn and she was wounded and captured, becoming the first Black American woman to be held as a POW. But her captivity was only the beginning.

For more powerful memories from veterans, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/, where you can also watch the American Veteran television series and digital short films. Learn more by using #AmericanVeteranPBS.

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Welcome to American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories

In war and in peace, the veteran experience is part of the American epic. American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories presents podcasts built around the testimony of a single veteran - from a Coast Guard gunner’s mate on D-Day, to America’s first Black woman POW, to a gay man serving during “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Riveting first-person stories, hosted by Phil Klay, Marine Corps vet and award-winning author...

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She Never Knew

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Frank DeVita wanted revenge. He enlisted in the Coast Guard, his quickest way into service. His mom figured he’d “patrol a beach on Coney Island.” Instead, on D-Day, he ended up on a landing craft transporting soldiers to the slaughterhouse that was Omaha Beach and ferrying back shocking numbers of dead and wounded. It was a story that he bottled up for seventy years.