Box 024, folder 55: William Pardee McFeat

McFEAT, Wm. Pardee

Canadian 3rd Can. Div.

Box 24, #55

[inserted] Vancouver, B.C. [underlined] Can [end underlined] Ext. [underlined] Army [end underlined] [end inserted]

For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-day

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? WILLIAM PARDEE McFEAT

What was your unit and division? 66th BATTERY -14th FIELD REGT. 3rd. CANADIAN DIVISION.

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? BERNIERES-SUR-MER. [underlined] APPROXIMATELY 10.00 A.M. [end underlined]

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? GUNNER

What was your age on June 6, 1944 30 YEARS

Were you married at that time? NO

What is your wife's name? ROSAMUND. MARRIED 7[underlined] th [end underlined] JUNE 1947

Did you have any children at that time? NO

What do you do now? SPECIAL PLACEMENTS OFFICER NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE. (FEDERAL GOVT.)

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] PROBABLY FROM 1941 WHEN WE LANDED IN ENGLAND.

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? FOURTEEN YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE "D" DAY BUT IF MEMORY SERVES ME; THE CROSSING WAS QUITE ROUGH AND CONVERSATION MOSTLY LIMITED TO "I WONDER WHATS IN STORE".

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).

I DO NOT REMEMBER ANY RUMOURS - POSSIBLY BECAUSE WE WERE THOROUGHLY BRIEFED AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE AND FELT CONFIDENT THAT WE WERE GETTING STRONG SUPPORT FROM THE OTHER SERVICES - PARTICULARLY THE AIR FORCES- AMERICAN, BRITISH AND CANADIAN.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name [underlined] McFEAT [end underlined]

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? NO.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? YES.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? NO. BECAUSE THE ONES WHO WERE KILLED WERE NOT CLOSE FRIENDS.

Were you wounded? YES

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? TOO SUPRISED TO FEEL PAIN - POSSIBLY BEWILDERMENT EXPRESSES THE SITUATION

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed funny at the time? SMALL ARMS FIRE [crossed out] D [end crossed out] (PROBABLY SNIPER) WHISTLING AROUND THE EARS OF THE TWO BRITISH MEDICAL CORPS MEN WHO WERE CARRYING ME TO THE SURGICAL TENT

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? THE SPEED WITH WHICH A BOMBARDIER (CORPORAL) RIPPED THE BACK OF MY UNIFORM, LEATHER JERKIN ETC. AND POURED SULFA POWDER INTO THE WOUND WHICH IN ALL PROBALITY SAVED ME A SERIOUS OSTEO INFECTION.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name [underlined] McFEAT [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? AS I WAS ABOUT ONE HOUR ASHORE BEFORE I WAS HIT IN THE SPINE BY SHRAPNEL FROM AN "88" THERE WAS A MINIMUM OF OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE THE ACTIONS (AND REACTIONS) OF MY COMRADES BUT IT WAS MY IMPRESSION THAT PEOPLE WERE MOTIVATED BY INSTINCT AND TRAINING. WE (3RD. DIV.) HAD TRAINED THREE YEARS FOR THIS "SHOW".

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? EN ROUTE TO THE FRENCH COAST.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? ON THE NORMANDY BEACH [crossed out] EAD [end crossed out] HEAD BEING OPERATED ON BY A BRITISH SURGEON (SPINE)

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? PLEASE SEE ATTACHED SHEET.

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

3512 Falaise Ave., Vancouver 12, B. C. Tuesday, 12 August 1958

Miss Frances Ward, Research Department, The Reader's Digest, 230 Park Avenue, New York 17, New York

Dear Miss Ward:

Re item in "The Legionary" July 1958 issue.

I landed with the Canadian forces on the Normandy beachhead, 6 June, 1944, and was wounded at "H" hour plus two. I am a paraplegic and a special placements officer with the National Employment Service.

Yours truly, [signature] William P. McFeat [end signature] William P. McFeat