LEFT: Johnnie Pustejovsky holds his father's World War I uniform jacket, helmet, dog tags and the diary he kept during the war. RIGHT: John Pustejovsky in uniform in a family photo. 

Veterans’ Voices: John Pustejovsky

By Mary Drennon
via the Waco Tribune-Herald (TX) newspaper web site

It’s small enough to fit into the palm of a hand or slip into a pocket, yet its contents are invaluable. They contain a tiny record of life in the trenches during World War I for one John Pustejovsky, an Abbott resident born on June 25, 1893, near West.

Pustejovsky grew up working on the family farm. In October 1917, at age 24, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. As a sergeant during WWI, he was a member of Company A, 111th Engineers, caring for the Army mules and bringing supplies and ammunition to troops in the field. He fought in France in the battle of St. Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the latter of which cost 26,277 American lives, making it the largest and bloodiest operation of World War I. With the end of WWI and the signing of the armistice, Pustejovsky received an honorable discharge on June 18, 1919.

Returning home, he married Annie Bezdek on Nov. 26, 1919. They moved to Abbott, farming and raising cattle for a living. Pustejovsky was a prominent member and leader of the Abbott community, serving on the school board and helping organize the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church and Fatima Cemetery.

Read the entire article on the Waco Tribune-Herald web site.

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