S9 E10 - Joe Beyrle - The Paratrooper Who Fought for Two Flags

Paratrooper Joseph “Jumpin’ Joe” Beyrle dropped into Nazi-occupied France before D-Day, was captured, escaped German POW camps not once, but twice, joined a Soviet tank unit under a female commander, and helped storm Berlin — all before his 22nd birthday.

Theme song written and recorded by Alan Hunt

Story researched and written by Tracy Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Sound Effects from Uppbeat:  heartbeat-steady-rhythm-loop-the-foundation-1-00-17.mps / Light-aircraft-passing-overhead-gfx-sounds-1-00-09.mp3 / crowd-applause-small-gfx-sounds-1-00-09.mp3 / military-marching-snare-intro-om-fx-1-00-11.mp3

Sources:

1. U.S. Army Official History:

• U.S. Army article, “D-Day Vet’s Memory Jumps the Divide Between U.S. and Russia”
  → https://www.army.mil/article/127489

Military.com Feature:

• “The D-Day Story of Joseph Beyrle — The Only Man to Fight for Both the U.S. and Soviet Armies”
  → https://www.military.com/history/d-day-story-joseph-beryle.html

Smithsonian Magazine:

• “Jumpin’ Joe Beyrle: The American Who Fought for the Soviets”
  → https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-paratrooper-who-fought-for-the-soviets-180951452/

National WWII Museum, New Orleans:

• Oral history excerpts and archival biography
  → https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/joseph-beyrle

Wikipedia (Cross-checked historical record):

• Joseph R. Beyrle → https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Beyrle

Book Reference:

• Thomas H. Taylor, Behind Hitler’s Lines: The True Story of the Only Soldier to Fight for Both America and the Soviet Union in World War II.
  (St. Martin’s Press, 2003) — Beyrle’s authorized biography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WChTqYlDjtI&list=RDWChTqYlDjtI&start_radio=1