ryan_box024-tld_f49_03

- 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.