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O-I (H?) LL Fort Benning Ga O-i
VA-32
For Cornelius Ryan 20 Aug -Dept
Book about D-Day Charlottesville , Va.

THOUSANDS OF MEN, ON LAND AND SEA AND IN THE AIR, PARTICIPATED IN THE RED//
INVASION OF NORMANDY BETWEEN MIDNIGHT JUNE 5, 1944 AND MIDNIGHT JUNE
6, 1944. IP YOU WERE ONE OF THEM, PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

What is your full name? Carroll B. Smith (Brice)
What was your unit and division? 116th Infantry, 29th Division
3rd Battalion, (Virginia National Guard Regiment)
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time?
I cam ashore on Dog green beach opposite Les Moulins and
St Laurent - Sur- Mer on Omaha at approximately 0700 hours 6 June 44

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Captain
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 27

Were you married at that time? No
What is your wife's name? Mary W. Smith, formerly Mary Frances Wyne of
Charlottesville, Va.
Did you have any children at that time?
No
What do you do now? Still in the Army, working in Combat Development
Office , United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning
Georgia
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion?
approximately 6 months before -d day

What was the trip like during the crossing of the Channel? Do you remember,
for example, any conversations you had or how you passed the time?
It was a fairly rough crossing . We sailed out of Weymouth England
late in the afternoon of 5 June and arrived in the
transport area about 12,000 yds off the coast of France around
midnight. ----My battalion was on the transport
"Charles Carroll" a navy APA, commanded by Commander
Beismeyer , an old salt, who had apparently been passed over on
the promotion list. A wonderful person however, who felt that

What where the rumors on board the boat, ship or plane in which you made
the crossing? (Some people remember scuttlebut to the effect that the
Germans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire when
the troops came in)
nothing was too good for us who were about to go ashore
Many of the personnel on board had a feeling that this
might be another maneuver of which we had been in about
five or six full scale ones and they were all so realistic, you
never knew which would be for keeps. The men were in good
physical condition and weren't afraid of the devil, so there was a
good deal of joking and singing probably a front to hide the inner