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May 8, 1958
Reverend Charles D. Reed The First Methodist Church 120 North Pickaway Street Circleville, Ohio
Dear Reverend Reed:
Thank you very much for your letter of April 16 and for your willingness to help us with Cornelius Ryan’s forthcoming book about D-Day. As the "Second Army Sentinel” my not have explicitly stated, this will not be another strategic history of the whole Invasion operation but a story of the twenty-four hours of D-Day as men lived them and remembered them. To build such a story, we can only go to those men and if they are willing, invade their memories. You, as a chaplain on Omaha Beach, must have been and continue to be acutely aware of the human suffering and beauty in which we are most interested.
Mr. Ryan is presently in Europe trying to get the project underway there. He will return shortly, and in the late spring or early summer of this year, he will interview many of the people who offer to contribute to the book. In the meantime since we are dealing with such a tremendous operation and with literally hundreds of people, we are keeping an individual file on each person who contributes to the book. We have assemblied the enclosed questions in the hope that they will, help to recollect some long-forgotten incidents, as well as to indicate the sort of information which we are seeking; and we hope further that if you are willing to help us, you will complete this rec-ord and return it to me at your earliest convenience.
In Mr. Ryan’s absence I should be very grateful if you would let me know when and where you might be available for interview during the next two or three months, for I am sure that Mr. Ryan will want to talk with you himself. Though the question sheets which I am sending
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Reverend Charles D. -2- Reed May 8, 1958
cannot do justice to anyone’s memory, I hope that they will be of some interest to you. We shall look forward very eagerly to your reply. Thank you so very much, sir, for any assistance which you can give us.
Respectfully yours,
Frances Ward Research Department
FW:L Enclosures