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for Cornelius Ryan 2-
Your name Edwin E. Gardner

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day?
No. I didn't have time just tried to keep
alive.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day ? Yes. 2/3 of them

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became
casualties? Things were disorganized but we
knew we had to get shelter in the
hills beyond the beach. The 88's were
raising havoc with the troops and
machine gun fire at times were intense.
Our Colonel Canigham told us to get
up and die inland not on the beach
that got us all up and moving forward.

Were you wounded? Yes, twice

Do you remember what it was like--that is, do you remember whether you
felt any pain or were you so surprised that you felt nothing ? It is more
like a shock doesn't hurt at the time but
when everything settles down then the pain
begins. Something similar to a horse kicking you.

Do you remember seeing- or hearing anything that seems funny now, even
though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? Yes.
We had trained in the English Moors
for a year and were sick of them but
a few minutes on the Beach and everyone was
wishing he were in England again. Some
of the boys said "England never was like
this

Dc you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck
you more than anything else? Yes, the next morning we
[crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out]
regrouped at the beach again and it was
covered with personnel and equiptment. Was
a sad sight because the missing ranks
were laying on beach never to be with us
again. Very heart-breaking to one who saw it.

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