Operation Desert Storm Through The Eyes Of Armor And Quartermaster Officers

John Listermann and Christina (Richter) Listermann both graduated from West Point, John in 1987 and Christina in 1989. Christina’s father was an Army officer and her mom was a nurse. John’s parents were both teachers. John played in the band at an all-boy high school and was leaning towards joining the Marine Corps after graduation. Christina went to high school in Florida, and her father suggested applying to West Point. Arriving at West Point in the summer of 1983, John remembers being confused over who he was supposed to salute. Two years later when Christina joined the Corps, she remembers the stifling heat of R-Day. John was a mechanical engineering major who served on the honor committee. Christina recalls rain on her graduation day and hugging her roommate. On other days, both Christina and John felt that they “belonged there.” John branched Armor, and Christina branched Quartermaster. They met in August 1990 and were married in May 1992, with their church wedding back home following a civil ceremony in Germany. After graduating from the basic course and airborne school, John led a platoon in C Company, 4th Battalion, 66th Armor, before being assigned as the Executive Officer of A Company. After the quartermaster course and airborne school, Christina took charge of a platoon in the Supply Company of 26th Support Battalion. She remembers arriving in Germany a week after the Berlin Wall fell. In the summer of 1990, both trained at Grafenwoehr, and John also trained at Hohenfels. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, “no one knew what it meant.” As they began preparing to deploy to the desert, Christina remembers one conscientious objector in her unit who ended up deploying. John was transitioning from Company XO to Battalion Assistant S3, and while learning a new job had to ensure that the line units were well trained. John was supposed to deploy on the Advanced Party but was scrubbed. Christina remembers deploying on a military aircraft, arriving in the desert at night and conducting a reconnaissance of their staging area in the dark. John had received word that hydrating was important and to drink a lot of water on the plane. The message that was not received was that it was a two-hour bus ride with no stops to the cantonment area, which caused the well-hydrated Soldiers some distress. A week after arriving when the mail caught up to him, John received a letter from Christina warning him not to drink too much before the long bus ride. During their deployment, some of their most vivid memories include living in tents, and the use of porta potties and crude showers. They both recall being concerned about the threat of SCUD missiles and the use of chemical weapons. In the lead-up to combat operations, they conducted ranges and other training to be combat-ready. John describes loading gear on a new tank in his preparations for battle, and Christina remembers watching the bombing from the air war at night. John remembers “very little resistance” when the war started. Christina describes being in convoys, and John remarks about “lots of starting and stopping.” As U.S. forces advanced, they encountered Iraqi families in trucks and Iraqi soldiers retreating, who were told, “Keep going until you see another American.” They recall the most challenging aspect of the war was “keeping up” and “communications.” Christina’s unit suffered no casualties, but in John’s unit, one Soldier was wounded, and SPC Clarence Cash was killed (February 27, 1991). After the cease fire, John’s unit had to recover SPC Cash and destroy Iraqi equipment. Christina kept busy supplying halal food, water, and medical supplies to the POWs. When it came time to redeploy, Christina’s unit was one of the last to arrive at the port, where she finally received her desert camouflage. They both attend all of their West Point reunions, but this interview was recorded at their first Desert Storm reunion. They like the feeling of connectedness that attending reunions gives them. Reflecting on their service in the Army, Christina feels that she contributed something important and continued the family tradition (their son graduated from West Point in ’22), while John was pleased by the country’s reaction including yellow ribbons and care packages. He felt that Desert Storm “brought back” the Army’s reputation. They are both extremely proud to be West Point graduates. Christina likens it to a family with common experiences and John highlights the shared values of academy graduates.