| Page 3- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -
Your name Bernard J. Morecock Jr.
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day?
Yes. I still have it. Its a [crossed out] gg [end crossed out] good thing as ones memory slips by rather fast.
[left margin: Get list]
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day?
Yes. Five killed three wounded in a matter [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] minutes. I still have the
original loading list. A little water soaked but can be still read.
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became
casualties?
Quite a few. My machine gunner Raymond [crossed out]Seala[end crossed out] [inserted] Selah [end inserted] from Brooklyn N. Y. was saying a few
minutes before he was machine gunned and killed, quoted " Why in the hell don't
you rebels [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] go home and leave the war to him. Cpl. Lesie Baughan who
was my wire Cpl. also another rebel, asked me to signal to the navy for help.
I told him to give me his handkerchief and I will do it. In signaling for help
as we were being machine gunned and shelled he was hit by an armored [crossed out][piecing][end crossed out]
pearicing shell right through the stomach. Cpl.Altice radio operator from
Norfolk Va. was [crossed out][directeley][end crossed out] hit direct by an H. E. shell. Nothing was left but
blood and meat. Our Medical Capt. Bernard J. Sabitiano who has the same initials
as mine was killed by a shell fragement. Pfc. Gilbert Hodges from Ohio was
killed when a shell took the left side of his head off. Cpl. Kenneth Eckardt
of Richmond, Va. who my gunner Cpl. was wounded in the right. Pfc. Carpenter
from West Va. was wounded in the knee. Later on in the war I lost another man.
Were you wounded?
Yes. I was hit in the hand by shell fragiments. I did not report it as it did not
bouther me.
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?
Miss Ward, I prayed so hard that I was not afraid anymore. To me it became to be
a big hunting trip. You did not have time to worry. As far as feeling any pain,
I did not know I was hit. Everything was a surprise until later on after we got
reorganized, which was three days later.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even
though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time?
I had three men in my section that played different mucial instruments. How they
held on to them is a merical. They used to play them in the gun position when
we were [inserted] not [end inserted] firing. One evining we were having a good time singing and forgot all
about the war, when all heck broke lose. The favorate saying started then,
[left margin: On D-day? NO]
" What Happened". No one was killed, but all our camofloge was missing. We also
heard that there were negro artillery men to our rear, they were singing,
" Praise the Lord and pass the Ammunition," being closer to the front, we started
singing " Praise the Lord the Ammunition passed Me". " Who done it" was another.
There are so many it would take quite a few hours to discuss.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck
you more than anything else?
Yes. First of all the death of Col. Thornton L. Mullins. [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] 111th FA BN commander.
If Col Mullins was alive at the time, [crossed out] of [end crossed out] the 111th Field Artillery could have been
[left margin: warned]
of grave danger ahead. Col. Mullins [crossed out] landed before ahead of [end crossed out] [inserted] had [end inserted] to go forward on the beach
to make arrangements for our 105MM Howitzers to land. We all were waiting for his call,
but never received it, as he was [crossed out] killed [end crossed out] dead at the time. That is how I got too close
to the beach with our duck, and took all the germans could through at us. It was to
late then. Cpl. Eckardt, Pfc. Carpenter, [crossed out] and myself swam to [end crossed out] Pfc. Levendoski swan to
an LCT which was sinking at the time. We were [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] pulled aboard but had to abandon
to another LCT that came along side. Guess what, " British Cammando's & American
Rangers", by the way " I swan with them". That boat load of good trained fighters
had not gotten to the beach as yet. They poured coffee down us and started for the
beach, after getting information as to haw the situation on the beach was. All I could
say is, " The germans still have it". Being what they [inserted] were [end inserted] trained for, they hit [crossed out] it pluss [end crossed out]
the beach plus three weary artillery men. | Page 3- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -
Your name Bernard J. Morecock Jr.
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day?
Yes. I still have it. Its a [crossed out] gg [end crossed out] good thing as ones memory slips by rather fast.
[left margin: Get list]
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day?
Yes. Five killed three wounded in a matter [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] minutes. I still have the
original loading list. A little water soaked but can be still read.
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became
casualties?
Quite a few. My machine gunner Raymond [crossed out]Seala[end crossed out] [inserted] Selah [end inserted] from Brooklyn N. Y. was saying a few
minutes before he was machine gunned and killed, quoted " Why in the hell don't
you rebels [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] go home and leave the war to him. Cpl. Lesie Baughan who
was my wire Cpl. also another rebel, asked me to signal to the navy for help.
I told him to give me his handkerchief and I will do it. In signaling for help
as we were being machine gunned and shelled he was hit by an armored [crossed out][piecing][end crossed out]
pearicing shell right through the stomach. Cpl.Altice radio operator from
Norfolk Va. was [crossed out][directeley][end crossed out] hit direct by an H. E. shell. Nothing was left but
blood and meat.
Our Medical Capt. Bernard J. Sabitiano who has the same initials
as mine was killed by a shell fragement. Pfc. Gilbert Hodges from Ohio was
killed when a shell took the left side of his head off. Cpl. Kenneth Eckardt
of Richmond, Va. who my gunner Cpl. was wounded in the right. Pfc. Carpenter
from West Va. was wounded in the knee. Later on in the war I lost another man.
Were you wounded?
Yes. I was hit in the hand by shell fragiments. I did not report it as it did not
bouther me.
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?
Miss Ward, I prayed so hard that I was not afraid anymore. To me it became to be
a big hunting trip. You did not have time to worry. As far as feeling any pain,
I did not know I was hit. Everything was a surprise until later on after we got
reorganized, which was three days later.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even
though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time?
I had three men in my section that played different mucial instruments. How they
held on to them is a merical. They used to play them in the gun position when
we were [inserted] not [end inserted] firing. One evining we were having a good time singing and forgot all
about the war, when all heck broke lose. The favorate saying started then,
[left margin: On
D-day?
NO]
" What Happened". No one was killed, but all our camofloge was missing. We also
heard that there were negro artillery men to our rear, they were singing,
" Praise the Lord and pass the Ammunition," being closer to the front, we started
singing " Praise the Lord the Ammunition passed Me". " Who done it" was another.
There are so many it would take quite a few hours to discuss.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable,which struck
you more than anything else?
Yes. First of all the death of Col. Thornton L. Mullins. [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] 111th FA BN commander.
If Col Mullins was alive at the time, [crossed out] of [end crossed out] the 111th Field Artillery could have been
[left margin:
warned]
of grave danger ahead. Col. Mullins [crossed out] landed before ahead of [end crossed out] [inserted] had [end inserted] to go forward on the beach
to make arrangements for our 105MM Howitzers to land. We all were waiting for his call,
but never received it, as he was [crossed out] killed [end crossed out] dead at the time. That is how I got too close
to the beach with our duck, and took all the germans could through at us. It was to
late then. Cpl. Eckardt, Pfc. Carpenter, [crossed out] and myself swam to [end crossed out] Pfc. Levendoski swan to
an LCT which was sinking at the time. We were [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] pulled aboard but had to abandon
to another LCT that came along side. Guess what, " British Cammando's & American
Rangers", by the way " I swan with them". That boat load of good trained fighters
had not gotten to the beach as yet. They poured coffee down us and started for the
beach, after getting information as to haw the situation on the beach was. All I could
say is, " The germans still have it". Being what they [inserted] were [end inserted] trained for, they hit [crossed out] it pluss [end crossed out]
the beach plus three weary artillery men. |
EN
