Oral history interview with Otto S. Rystad [sound recording], 1999.

ArchivalResource

Rydstad, Otto S., 1893-1997. Oral history interview with Otto S. Rystad [sound recording], 1999.

Oral history interview with Otto S. Rystad [sound recording], 1999.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/756494580

Otto S. Rystad, a Barnes Township, Iowa native, discusses his service in L Company, 3rd Battalion, 316th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Rystad reflects on friction in German American communities caused by the declaration of war, popular support of war bonds, and the en mass draft registration on June 5, 1917. Drafted into the Army, he talks about riding a train to training, four weeks of basic training at Camp Gordon (Georgia), and the hurried transition from farmer to soldier. Rystad details getting a pass to see a ballgame with his cousin the night he received his orders to go overseas. He discusses sleeping on the deck of the ship during the trip from New York to France and passing through a rough storm. He recalls his first impressions of France, boarding a troop train, seeing the destruction in Verdun, and marching in pitch darkness. He mentions the food they had on the march, the anxiousness of the soldiers who hadn't been in combat, and surviving a nearby bomb explosion while crossing a bridge. Rystad touches on relieving the Twenty Ninth Division, being stationed in a two-man foxhole where he could see Germans every day, and finding a dead soldier "sitting" up against a tree. He describes the combat conditions, difficulties with food supply, enjoying donuts from the Salvation Army, and catching rain water in his helmet to drink. Rystad details being positioned in front of some big guns on the day of the Armistice, combat continuing until the last minute, and the eerie silence afterwards. He addresses the uniform and shoes he was issued and singing all the time. He discusses his homecoming: Decoration Day celebrations in Philadelphia, traveling home, and the reception from his family and church.

Sound recording : 1 sound cassette (ca. 52 min.) ; analog, 1 7/8 ips.Master videorecording : 1 videocassette (ca. 52 min.) ; sd., col. ; 1/2 in.Master sound recording : 1 sound cassette (ca. 52 min.) ; analog, 1 7/8 ips.Transcript : 16 p.Military papers : 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder)

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center