John J. Cupina was born in 1926 in Binghamton, New York. His parents worked for the Endicott Johnson Shoe Factory in Endicott, New York. He remembered the Great Depression being rough on his family, however, he was still able to go to school. He worked several jobs throughout high school and after he graduated. He remembers his neighborhood friend comming over while Cupina was sitting on the porch and telling him that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He knew several guys that joined the service soon after the invasion including his uncle, brother, and many friends. One of his sisters joined the WACs [Annotator's Note: Women Army Corps], while the other served as a nurse in the Army. On 1 August 1943, Cupina's older brother was killed in action in North Africa while on a raid on an oil field. Cupina wanted to go and fight with his friends, however, his parents were not happy when he was drafted since they already lost one son. He wanted to join the Air Force because he liked planes, but he was drafted into the Army instead. He was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Thinking he was going to be placed in the Air Force, to his surprise his surprise he was sent to Camp Wheeler, Georgia as part of the infantry. He recalled the summer weather to be the hottest he has ever experienced in his life. He trained for 17 weeks and then was sent to Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: Camp Shelby, Mississippi] to join the 69th Infantry Division. He soon sailed overseas on the SS John Ericsson. He was seasick during the whole passage. His voyage across the Atlantic ended in South Hampton, England.

John J. Cupina enjoyed being in England. He traveled to London a couple of times and remembered the buzz bombs [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug] and V2 rockets [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile] that Germans dropped on the city. Cupina stayed in England from November until after Christmas 1944 and then was picked to be shipped out to Belgium. He then took an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] across the channel [Annotator's Note: English CHannel] into Le Harve [Annotator's Note: Le Havre, France]. They took trains to get to Belgium and his first taste of combat was when one of the boxcars got strafed by a fighter plane. When they reached a small depot, his group was put up in a small hotel. Not long after, German planes came through and strafed the depot. At this time he was assigned to Company G of the 83rd Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry] somewhere in Luxembourg.

John J. Cupina recalled the horrible cold weather and muddy terrain when all of a sudden a machine gun opened fired on his unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division]. They took over British foxholes while in the Ardennes Forest. During his time in the forest his unit received plethora of artillery fire. His officer decided that he wanted to attack a village where German soldiers were sleeping. Cupina can recall that only a few of his fellow troops were wounded in the process. He remembered when he went on a patrol, they came across a small train depot and that was holding wounded Germans. His patrol left them and told his officer what they found. Cupina feared the Germans. He did not like to interact with them. Cupina wounded a tooth in the process of going out on the patrol. His face swelled up so he was sent to the aid station.

John J. Cupina got an infected tooth and a dentist had to pull it without medication. He also had frozen feet and rested in the hospital for a few days. Cupina eventually returned to his unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division] to wait for their next assignment. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interviewee to change tapes at 0:52:14.000.] They were able to take a shower and were given new clothes. The Red Cross also came by and gave the troops coffee and donuts. His unit headed into Holland [Annotator's Notes: the Netherlands] and later crossed the Rhine River. Cupina and his unit had a close call when the Germans tried to bomb them as they neared the Rhine to cross. His Division was the first to reach the Rhine River and crossed the river on pontoon bridge.

John J. Cupina recalled receiving a lot of enemy fire in a small village in Germany soon after they crossed the Rhine River. He had a close call when a shell landed between him and another. His unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division] was able to get the German troops in the town to surrender. There was another instance near the Elbe River at the end of the war where a German plane was following them while they were driving a truck. A fellow soldier used a bazooka to try to shoot the plane down. They then received enemy mortar fire. They finally got across a road and saw some of the troops were injured. Cupina recalled that his unit was really pinned down by the enemy fire.

When John J. Cupina's unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division] was about to reach the Elbe river they received heavy enemy resistance, and several troops in his unit were injured or killed. He could not find any cover, so he used his shovel for protection. The Germans would hide in holes and pop out and fire at the Allies. They made it to a village and slept in a house. The Germans bombed the house that night. Cupina can remember waking up to the bomb noise and being covered in plaster. [Annotator's Notes: The interviewer pauses the interviewee at 1:25:48.000.] The following day, they were told to cross the Elbe River. As his unit neared the boats, the Germans open fired on them. They took cover under a barge. They eventually made it across the river without any injuries and stayed in Walternienburg [Annotator's Note: Walternienburg, Germany]. They took the town of Zerbst [Annotator's Note: Zerbst, Gemany] with the help of the Air Force. His unit was supposed to meet the Russians, but never met up with them.

John J. Cupina was assigned to occupation duty after the war ended in Europe because he did not have enough points to return to the United States. While on occupation duty they played a lot of baseball and boxed, and did what they wanted. He was not assigned to do many duties. Cupina got along with many of the locals. He stayed in Germany until September 1945 and then was sent to Obernburg, Austria. He was assigned to assist with a PX [Annotator's Note: post exchange; a military store]. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interviewee to change tapes at 1:43:07.000.] In January 1946, he was sent to Salzburg, Austria to guard prisoners of war. When Cupina returned to Germany years after the war, he met a German soldier at a bar, and they exchanged war experiences. He returned to the United States in May 1946 and was discharged in June.

John J. Cupina could not wait to drink a milk shake when he returned home. He was discharged in June [Annotator's Note: June 1946] but signed up for the Reserves. Cupina took some time to figure out what he wanted to do. He worked with his uncle for a little while until found a job working as an engineer for the city [Annotator's Note: Binghamton, New York]. He then transferred to the fire department and spent 43 years as a fireman. He did not talk too much about his war experience with others. Cupina suffered from nightmares of World War 2 while working at the Fire Department. Cupina's most memorable experience was when his unit [Annotator's Note: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division] was in heavy combat near the Elbe River. He decided to fight because he wanted to do his part and be with everyone else. Cupina felt the war helped him become less shy, and that he is proud of his service. He believes that its important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana].