Box 024, folder 49: Morris Henry Magee

JUNO

Berniere-Sur-Mer 0925 but began firing at 7:30

14th Field Regt Royal Canadian Artillery 3rd Canadian Div

Tanks

Heard rumor all Sgts captured would be shot so removed [crossed out] his s [end crossed out] stripes - all but he

Guy in Royal Engineers directed his tank thru hole in German Defences - one of the tracks exploded on land mind and soldier was cut to pieces

Release Magee, Morris Henry In D-Day Book

[underlined] Finished [end underlined] with [underlined] release [end underlined]

[underlined] Inf. [end underlined] [underlined] Can. [end underlined] Juno

Release with PG

BOX 24, #49

Hudson, QUEBEC

For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-day

Possible excerpt

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

What is your full name? Morris Henry Magee.

What was your unit and division? 14th Field Regt. Royal Canadien Artillery 3rd Canadian Division.

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Berniere-Sur-Mer. France. at 0925 hours. ( 6th June. 1944)

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Sergeant.

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 25 yrs old. [inserted] 39 now [end inserted]

Were you married at that time? Yes.

What is your wife's name? Nesta Evans Magee.

Did you have any children at that time? No.

What do you do now? Cardiographer. - Technician.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? after training on combined operations we had the feeling for month s that when the invasion came we would be in it. -

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? Very rough crossing - because we [underlined] crossed in a L.C.T. whieh is like being in a rowboat on Lake Champlain [end underlined] -

my most vivid recollection of crossing channel was how seasick I was.some of the boys played cards other read while some just slept.- conversation was of a minumum.

What were 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).

rumours were flying that the Germans would pour gasoline on the sea and set it afire also that they had all kind s of obstacles on the beaches with explosives attached to them that would detonate when the Landing craft attempted to pass over them.

----------------------------- We definitely knew that the Great D.Day had arrived and we were in it when the signal was given at 1400 hours on the 5th June. to break open the Canvass bags containing maps of the French coast. -

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -

Your name [underlined] Morris Henry Magee. [end underlined]

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? Yes - but same was lost when our home was destroyed by fire in 1950.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Many of them. - names could be supplied if required.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? No. - because those that were killed were not on the craft that I was on.

Were you wounded? No.

Do you remember what it was like -- that is, do you remember whether you felt any pain or were so surprised that you felt nothing? Nil.

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed funny at the time? the funniest thing that I can think of that now seems funny but not so at that time - was the rumour that any Sgt. captured would be shot - so all of the Sgts. except myself removed their stripes. only to be ordered later to put them back on.

While we had not eaten since 5 a.m. in the morning no one thought of food till about 4 p.m. 6th June -

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? to me the saddest incident was the guy in the Royal Engineers (British) who was directing my gun through the hole in the German Defences As my Gun which was mounted on a tank came down over the wall one of the tracks exploded a land mine - in a second this soldier who was directing me was a mass of blood - and dropped right before me. He was practically cut to pieces.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 -

Your name [underlined] Morris Henry Magee. [end underlined]

In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliance; others do incredibly stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either from D-day? Not off hand -

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Some where in the English Channell because we left Southhampton at 1200 hours on June 5th.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? We were on a hill at Beny-Sur-Mer. overlooking the beaches.

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours of D-day, June 6, as infantry, glider or airborne troops, or who took part in the air and sea operations, whom we should write to? Yes - but dont know where they are now. -

PLEASE LET US HAVE THIS QUESTIONNAIRE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT WE CAN INCLUDE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE BOOK. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE YOUR STORY ON SEPARATE SHEETS IF WE HAVE NOT LEFT SUFFICIENT ROOM. FULL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WILL BE GIVEN IN A CHAPTER CALLED "WHERE THEY ARE NOW;" YOUR NAME AND VOCATION OR OCCUPATION WILL BE LISTED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

Cornelius Ryan

Frances Ward Research, The Reader's Digest

[underlined] Morris Henry Magee [end underlined] -- 14th Field Regt. Royal Canadian Artillery 3rd-Canadian Division

Trained for a year in Poole, England and the Isle of Duke near Glasgow. Knew all this time that when it came, they'd be [inserted] I [end inserted] it.

Were surrounded by barbed wire and noone could leave or go [crossed out] t [end crossed out] out.

Got married by special permission on May 10th, saw his wife for two days and then not again for 8 months.

Got paid in French francs May 29th, so knew time was near.

On June 1st at 8 p.m. went across the river from Southampton to Gosport Hampshire.

On June 3rd, had a shower, a nice dinner and a show. A sortof last liberty. Men still didn't know exactly when, and weren't sure the time had come.

D-Day was delayed a day, [crossed out] as everyone knows [end crossed out], and on June 4th they were put aboard the LCTs. Ike decided not to wait another few weeks for another moon, and in spite of terrible weather for that time of year, they went ahead with it.

With them in the LCTs they carried no personal effects except dogtags. He had no pictures of his wife. They did have boot polish, rations (cans of cigarettes, corned beef, chocolate bars, pudding like Christmas cake, dog bisquits, stew), razor, first aid kit, needle and thread, water bottle. Clothes were waterproofed. There were four tanks with them in the LCT, leaving little room for the 40 men, since LCTs were about 55ft by 25. [inserted] Carried grenades & land mines for infantry. Enough rations to last 2 weeks. [end inserted] On noon of June 5th they put out to sea.

By 2 o'clock they were past the Isle of Wight and it was then they broke out the maps of the French coast. They knew then this was it and they were tense. Noone said anything that Magee could remember. He said he accepted it, as did everyone else. After all, they'd trained for a year, and had known all along they were going. They all hoped for a "blighty" -- a minor injury that would get them back soon.

After this, [inserted] The sea [end inserted][crossed out] it [end crossed out] got rough -- really rough. Magee, although he didn't throw up, was very sick. It was worse, he said, than being in a rowboat on Lake Champlain. He said he shuddered everytime they hit the waves, which was all t he time. The waves were about 6 feet high, the sky was overcast (LCTs are open), they were in cramped quarters, and he kept thinking that if they ever did make it to shore they'd be swamped by water. He [crossed out] thought to [end crossed out] wanted nothing more than to get off the LCT, and just sat feeling the spray of the waves, [crossed out] and [end crossed out] the terrific wind and the awful roll.

Most of the guys either slept around the 4 tanks, stood up in cubicles, slept in the tanks, or played cards for money. They had money with them, and Magee remembers thinking how ironic it was that they had all that money and couldn't spend it. They also had their rations, and a small gas stove in a corner for tea.