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COLONEL SIDNEY BINGHAM The Pentagon Building Washington, D.C.
Date of Interview: April 7, 1958
Ryan: Colonel . . . how old were you on . . . on D-Day? 1944 . . .
Bingham: 29.
Ryan: Were you married at that time?
Bingham: Yes.
Ryan: Did you have any children?
Bingham: No children.
Ryan: No children. How long had you been married at that time?
Bingham: Three years.
Ryan: Three years. Now, what unit did you have at that time?
Bingham: The second battalion of the 11 . . . 116th Infantry.
Ryan: And that was connected to the 29th Division?
Bingham: The 29th Division.
Ryan: Where were you fellows placed in England?
Bingham: We were in a little village named [crossed out] Britishstrove [end crossed out] [inserted] BRITISTOE [end inserted]between [crossed out] Chavesstir [end crossed out] [inserted] Tavistock [end inserted] and Oakhampton in . . . in Devonshire.
Ryan: Now, you fellows when did you become big[crossed out] ged [end crossed out][illegible] . . . about two or three weeks before?
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Binghams: Just about. I don't recall just precisely.
Ryan: You were to land on Omaha Beach?
Binghams: Omaha Beach; thats correct.
Ryan: On the left of the 29th Division ...
Bingham: The regiment was attached to the 1st Division and... just for the landing . . . and my battalion was the left of the two assault battalions of the 29th, 116th Infantry. The first battalion was on the right. Immediately to my left was the second battalion of the 16th [crossed out] Division. [end crossed out] [inserted] Infantry [end inserted]
Ryan: Now, you fellows came over in a . . . in a . . . what was it, the LCT?
Binghams: No, we came over on an APA; it was [crossed out] a [end crossed out] [inserted] to [end inserted]Thomas Jefferson; it was a lovely ship; it hadn't been ripped up by the Navy; it still had the peace time appurtenances.
Ryans: Well, what . . . was it an old cargo ship or . . .?
Binghams: No, it was a new . . . it was a new ship. It . . .as a matter of fact, I think it was on its maiden . . .cruise when the war broke out. I think it operated for the Pana-U.S. . . . Panama Lines. It was down
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in that area.
Ryan: Were all the units of the 29th on that?
Bingham: Oh, no . . . no, just . . . just . . . most . . . the bulk of my battalion. The people came over on everything under the sun - [crossed out] C [end crossed out][inserted] L [end inserted]CI's, LCT 's, LST's, and several British transports - two or three Empire ships . . .
Ryan: Now, what were your objectives; do you remember . . . for that particular day?
Bingham: Initially, we were to secure the beach exit that came down through les Moulins, which is just below St.Laurent. We had to move up, as I recall here from this map, to . . . there was a ridge as I . . . I believe it went along here . . . this long road and we were to secure the forward slope of that ridge on D-Day. Generally from Longueville to . . . la
Ryan: St.Germain?
Bingham: No, I think it was la Cambe was . . . no, no, I'm a way ahead . . . I'm too inland. We were to get to this Asnier . . . bridge.
Ryan: That would be about a mile behind.
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Bingham: That's where we were supposed to be.
Ryan: Now Longueville . . . now how many . . . on the ship . . . the former . . . [inserted] [illegible] [end inserted] You were on there.
Bingham: A beautiful ship, the Thomas Jefferson.
Ryan: Ya, did you have good food and things like that?
Bingham: First class. Everybody was quite comfortable.
Ryan: You were a Lieutenant Colonal at that time.
Bingham: No, Major.
Ryan: I called you Major. . . I didn't know you were a Major. [inserted] I called you a major in my [?piece?] on S. Lo.[end inserted]
Ryan: Now do you remember any incident amusing or . . . which occurred coming over . . . amusing or . . .sad or anything that might have some pathos in it, you know . . . for example, what were you thinking of . . . not as a soldier, but as a husband going into it. Did you expect the worse or what? It's tough on a soldier, I realize that.
Bingham: That's a rough question . . . one thing that stands out very very vividly ...
Ryan: And what is that?