Page 2

[*Roanoke, VA.
VA 41*]

For Cornelius Ryan
Book about D-Day

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?
James Durward Sink

What was your unit and division?
Hq. Co. 116th Infantry, 29th Division

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time?
Landed 300 yards east of les Moulins draw, Omaha Beach about 7:55 AM, D-Day.

What was your rank on June 6, 1944?
Captain, Communications Officer, 116th Infantry

What was your age on June 6, 1944?
Age 29

Were you married at that time?
Yes

What is your wife's name?
Mildred V. Giesen

Did you have any children at that time?
One - a son.

What do you do now?
Superintendent, Traffic Engineering & Communications, City of Roanoke, Va.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion?
General-Fall of '43, Specific about March 44.

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?
I crossed on the "Charles Carroll", APA-28. Trip was conventional as had been on
this ship many times before. Situation did not become serious until General
Quarters sounded sometime around 2:00 AM and preparations to start ashore
commenced. Many men looked upon the operation as just another rehearsal.

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).
The rumor I remember most was based on the fact that the 29th had been over
sea a long time and was that all men in the 29th surviving when the beach head
was taken would be returned to the States.