December 7th is the day that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States in to World War II. Millions of lives would be changed as American men and women pulled together to fight against the Axis powers. The war would last for four years for the United States, ending in 1945.
This day also has special meaning for my family as my great-uncle Johnnie Bistline was killed on this day in 1944. I had never heard of him until I came to Utah State as a freshman. I was walking around Logan when I saw a monument near the courthouse. I went to check it out as I'm always curious about monuments!
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a monument to all the war veterans from Cache Valley. As I was reading through the list of soldiers, I saw the name John Anthony Bistline Jr. I was blown away! I had never heard of Bistlines living in Logan before. Long story short, my dad told me that Johnnie was my grandpa's older brother!
Since then, I've spent a lot of time trying to find out more about this great-uncle of mine! I don't want him to be forgotten. Not after the sacrifice he made for our country.
Johnnie was only 18 years old when he enlisted in the United States Marines. He went to California for 6 months where he was trained. He was then stationed in Hawaii for another 6 months. Johnnie was to be on the amphibian tank crew when he made it to the island of Saipan in December of 1944. His first day on the island, there was a brief aerial attack by Japanese planes. Johnnie was walking with three of his fellow soldiers when he was struck by a bullet from one of the airplanes.
He was killed at the age of 19.
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