Box 024, folder 49: Morris Henry Magee

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Morris Henry Magee

Before they'd left England, they had thought the casualties would be 50-60%. You could just look around you and figure that about half of you would be gone. But after Eisenhower's briefing of the top men, they were more optimistic and figured it would be closer to 20%. And Magee still thinks that was about how it turned out.

When daylight came, they suddenly saw hundreds of ships of all kinds, shapes and descriptions. Battleships, LCTs, mortar landing crafts, and the sky full of planes. At daylight they were within sight of land and the whole panorama lay before them. The beach, Magee remembers, looked much like Moody beach in Maine, with hotels and houses along [inserted] sand [end inserted] dunes.

At 7:30, they started firing. They fired for 35 minutes. The infantry was going in at this time. [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out]

At 8:05, their LCT turned and went back out again to wait for the infantry and others to get in. About this time also, the German heavy guns started shelling. He remembers nothing of what anyone said or thought. Mostly they were looking around. Every once in awhile someone would call your attention to a ship that had gotten it.

At 9 o'clock, they went [underlined] in. They tossed all the unused ammunition overboard. [end underlined] [inserted] (Ammo they couldn't carry) [end inserted] They were expecting anything when they went in, since they'd heard the Germans had all sorts of beach obstacles which would explode their craft as they went over it. They were almost surprised when they didn't explode. Magee doesn't remember a fear, only a numbness and being terrifically keyed up. They landed about 25 feet from shore and bogged down on something. The water was about 5 to 6 feet deep. The tanks were waterproofed, and Magee [inserted] was in one so [crossed out] doesn't remember feeling wet. [end crossed out] he didn't get wet. [end inserted]

The worst hour for Magee started right now. For now that they were on shore, they had to wait for the infantry. There was a cement wall about 4 feet high and the infantry were behind this wall shooting at the houses. The Germans were shelling the beach. They couldn't shoot from their tanks, but they spent the hour combing everywhere for snipers. Magee doesn't think they hit any -- the snipers were too far away and you didn't often see one. Some of the infantry men behind the wall were smoking, and some were firing. Other were moaning from wounds. People were dropping like flies all over the place and there was a great deal happening. Magee thought he remembered a stench of blood. They were waiting their turn to go through one of the few holes in the wall that led up the streets of the town. (Berniere-sur-Mer) During the hour, there were more and more holes through the wall but they had to have one that led up the streets. During this time they were an open target, although by this time many of the Germans were pushed back. The LCTs during this time were loading wounded onto them as fast as they could. There was so much going on, noone was frightened. Magee's brother and cousin were in

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Morris Henry Magee

it with him, although not in the same craft, and he didn't once think of them until that night or the next day. They were too busy watching and doing to think much of anything. Once during this hour, Germans began firing on them from close by. So they just let lose with their guns, and the Germans ran up a white flag immediately. [inserted] Lots of the infantry were drowned, cause landed far out and if they couldn't swim with heavy equipment, were sunk. [end inserted]

At 10 o'clock, an English^soldier began directing them to move through the wall, and [inserted] telling them [end inserted] how to get their tank through the wall. The soldier was on foot, acting as a policeman. Many tanks had gone through before them, but somehow as their tank edged through the hole, it struck a mine that hadn't gone off yet. It couldn't hurt the tank, the tank was too thick. But the English soldier directing them was torn to bits, and became just a mass of blood. It was really their tank that had done it, and it made them all suddenly realize how quickly and easily they could get it. Up till then, they'd been getting over the seasickness and feeling more or less detached from the whole thing. From then on they realized that they might be next. [insert] Magee remembers seeing holes through the man and then blood.

When they made their first position at about 10:15 or so, about 200 yards from the beach, they began firing all day. Magee remembers during this time seeing an infantry man, his arm completely off and hanging, with a bayonet in the other hand jabbing about 20 German prisoners with the bayonet. And he really jabbed them. So, with the wounded, they were re-loading hundreds of prisoners. Sometime during the afternoon, around 4 o'clook,, someone mentioned food, and they pulled out some. Up till then noone had thought of it. [underlined] Also, sometime during the afternoon, Magee pulled out his razor and shaved.[end underlined] He says he never missed a day of shaving during the war. (He says his hand didn't shake when he did it either.)

At 6p.m., they went about 3 miles in to the top of a hill, Beny-sur-Mer overlooking the beaches. On the hill there were about 90 others with them. Of the 4 original tanks, they were the only one to get to that second position. And of the original 40 men on the landing craft with him, all 40 were there and no one was wounded. Here they dug foxholes. Everyone laughed at the depth of his, but when the Germans started shelling, he soon had company. There were mortars firing behind them and someone said it was the British mortars firing on the Germans, but it wasn't, [inserted] (they learned later) [end inserted] it was the Germans firing at the British. During the night it was noisy as the devil, with planes, bombs etc. [inserted]Were tired but with noise had no trouble keeping awake. [end inserted]

These things I've been calling tanks were tanks with their turrets taken off and 105 mm guns mounted on them. They were American weapons [crossed out] They were [end crossed out] called SPs.

When others took their sergeant stripes off, he didn't because he [inserted] " [end inserted] didn't believe in it. [inserted] " [end inserted]. The only time he was scared was when the man directing them died. The rest of the time there was too much going on.

It was a hot, warm, nice day. His wife was in England and she

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Morris Henry Maeee remembers running for the bus that morning. There were three friend of hers, in the Navy and Army (girls) who were usually there, but this day they weren't, so she figured this was the day. Then she met a milk [inserted] woman [end inserted] [crossed out] man [end crossed out], a nice woman, who held up the paper and said D-Day was on. And the woman [crossed out] said, [end crossed out] [inserted] added, [end inserted] "at least they've got a nice day for it."

[inserted] Interviewed by Nancy Bashant [end inserted]

Box. 55. 14. Wilson Ave., Hudson. P. Quebec. Canada.

21st July. 1958.

Miss Frances Ward, Research Dept., The Readers Digest. 230. Park Ave., New York 17, New York. U.S.A.

Dear Miss Ward,

On reading through the July issue of the "Legionary"

I came across the paragraph keaded "Attention D.Day Veterans" with the invitation to all those who had landed in France between Midnight June 5th & Midnight June 6th 1944 - to write to you.

I presume from the paragraph that at this point you are not looking for information but just the names - perhaps units etc. that landed at that time above mentioned.

I was a Gun Sgt. in the 14th Field Regt. of the Royal Canadian Artillery. of the 3rd Canadian Division. and we landed on French soil at 0925 hours. (9.25 a.m.) on the Morning of June 6th. 1944.

Yours truly,

[signature] M. H. Magee [end signature]

Morris H. Magee.

[inserted] Gun Sgt. 14th Field Regt. Royal Canadian Arty. 3rd Canadian Div. [end inserted]

July 31, 1958

Mr. Morris H. Magee Box 55 (14 Wilson Avenue) Hudson, P. Quebec, Canada

Dear Mr. Magee:

Thank you for letter of [underlined] July 21st [end underlined] and for your interest in Cornelius Ryan's book about D-day, 1944. I hope you will forgive me for not having replied more promptly. We have been especially busy here because Mr. Ryan is presently working on the book in Europe.

As I wrote to Mr. Fundevad at The Legionary, Mr. Ryan wants very much to tell the story of the Canadians who went into Normandy on D-day. We have been directed to their weighty role in the invasion often and respectfully. However, we are somewhat at a disadvantage in approaching the Canadian story simple because of short time and long distance. In order to provide our Canadian interviewers with a sound basis for interviews, I need the answers to the enclosed questions.

I hope very much that you will bear with us and return the completed question sheet to me as soon as possible. Since our research deadline is the first of September, I should be grateful too to know if and where you could be interviewed during the month of August.

This will not be a strategic history, but a story of the mental, physical and emotional impact of D-day as men truly know it. To tell [crossed out] t [end crossed out] his story we sorely need your help. We particularly look forward to your reply.

Sincerely yours,

Frances Ward Research Department