John Steven Getway was born in 1921 in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania with two older brothers, Paul and Charles, and five sisters. His father was a laborer in a steel mill. Getway worked at a dairy farm delivering milk. When he heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he did not understand at first. Paul was in the Air Force before the war started, flying in B-13s [Annotator's Note: Consolidated Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainer aircraft; nicknamed Vibrator]. He was injured in a crash landing and hospitalized at Walter Reed [Annotator's Note: in Bethesda, Maryland] for two months. Charles served in the Navy before the war broke out, spending most of his time in China. Getway enlisted at age 18 and took a train to Baltimore [Annotator's Note: Baltimore, Maryland] where he was given fatigues [Annotator's Note: military uniform clothing], not knowing what the word meant. He was then shipped to Fort Bragg [Annotator's Note: Fort Bragg, North Carolina]. They would run about five miles. He was faster than everyone else. He was used to hard work from his time on the dairy farm, so training was easy for him. He was in shape and enjoyed himself.

John Steven Getway [Annotator's Note: in the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Separate)] was shipped out to Casablanca [Annotator's Note: Casablanca, Morocco] on the Queen Mary [Annotator's Note: RMS Queen Mary]. A lot of the men got sick. Casablanca was nice. He completed his first two jumps in North Africa. They encountered resistance working their way up the country, capturing those who surrendered. The men were not told anything about why they were there. Getway was a little bit nervous for his first jump, not knowing if there were obstacles below. They jumped at night, scattered and regrouped. In the evenings they stayed in the Air Forces hangars. They were given wine to drink, but Getway did not drink. He had to help and carry drunk soldiers.

John Steven Getway [Annotator's Note: a paratrooper with the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, attached to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] jumped into Sicily [Annotator's Note: Operation Husky, 9 July to 17 August 1943, Sicily, Italy]. He once got into trouble helping two drunk soldiers get up a hill to the hangar, they were staying in. The landing in Sicily was good. They encountered only a little resistance. Getway got a bit roughed up landing in Italy, as the paratroopers were too close together. They tried to capture them [Annotator's Note: the enemy]. He mostly encountered Italians. When they captured Italy, they regrouped outside of Rome and had a rough time. They were exhausted from all the walking on rough terrain. Some of the men got drunk at the vineyards along the way and got in trouble with MPs [Annotator's Note: Military Police].

John Steven Getway [Annotator's Note: a paratrooper with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was shipped out of Italy and jumped into Holland during Operation Market Garden [Annotator's Note: Operation Market Garden, Netherlands, 17 to 25 September 1944]. He landed in a tree, about 36 feet high. When they first landed, everything was quiet, but it did not last. There were many Germans along the canal. He did not know if he should call for help or not. It rained the following day, and they were all soaking wet. Some local people had their children climb up the tree with rope to help Getway. He had been hanging there for three days and was scared he was not going to make it. The Germans were bombing and strafing. Once he was cut down, he rejoined his unit who was glad to see him.

John Steven Getway [Annotator's Note: a paratrooper with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was awarded two Purple Hearts [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is an award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy]. One was for when he was wounded while in flight in Africa. The second was for a wound to his hand while defending himself. He was hospitalized for seven or eight days. His best memory from the war is from his time in France. His men went into a bar, and he was waiting for them. He did not drink so he got a soda. He was discharged as a Staff Sergeant.