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Fargo, N.D.
For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day
N DAK 5 Landed DH OUT
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? MELVIN C. LUND
What was your unit and division? 175INF COE 2nd BN 29th DIV.
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? OMAHA BEACH, ST MERE EGLISE, MORNING of 7th 5 O'CLOCK
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? PFC
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 36
Were you married at that time? NO
What is your wife's name? DORIS MAY LUND, ENGLISH NURSE MARRIED AT EXETER, ENGLAND CHURH WEDDING
Did you have any children at that time? NO
What do you do now? WORK IN SHIPPING ROOM, HELPER, AT SMITH, FOLLETT AND CROWL
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion ? LATER PART OF MAY
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? GOOD, KEPT COMPANY WITH ONE OF THE BOYS OF THE 4th PLATOON, SGT. LLOYD NELSON OF MAYVILLE, N.D. KILLED JUNE 9th, WHEN I WAS WOUNDED GERMAN 88s
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) NONE
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name MELVIN C LUND
Did you by any chanoe 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 beoame casualties? NO
Were you wounded? YES
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? PASSED OUT, REMEMBER OUR CHAPLIN WHO PRAYED FOR ME.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? NO
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? DEAD BOYS FROM OUTFIT.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name MELVIN C. LUND
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? NONE
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? FALMOUTH
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? SAME
Do you know of anybody else who landed within those 24 hours (midnight June 5 to midnight June 6) as infantry, glider or airborne troops, or who took part in the air and sea operations, whom we should write to? ELMER PEDERSON, BENSON, MINN LLOYD OSTBY, BROOKINGE, S.D Wm LYBECK, KINDRED, N.D ARNOLD NORGARD, BROOKINGS, S.D
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 HOT 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
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Fargo, N. Dak. June 6, 1958
Miss Frances Ward New York City, N. Y. (sev no - 37276780 C. M - 6, 589, 971)
Dear Miss Ward: In the June issue of the VFW Magazine, you want to hear from all who were in the D-Day invasion.
I was in the 175th Regt. Co E, 2nd Bn. 29th Div. I was a messenger, [?radio?]. I was wounded at 10 o clock the 9th of June 1944, six months in the hospital, Oxford, England. Shrapnel wounds, head, nose right lung, left arm, right leg.
Yours Truly Melvin C. Lund 435 15th Ave. s. Fargo, N. D. #2