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April 29, 1958

Dear Colonel Slappey:

A book about D-Day, June 6, 1944, is being prepared by Cornelius
Ryan for publication in The Reader's Digest and in book form to coincide
with the 15th Anniversary of the Normandy invasion in the spring of 1959.
It is being written with the complete cooperation and assistance of the
Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. The book will not
be another history of the invasion day, but rather the story of twenty-
four hours in the lives of the people who participated. I have already
had the good fortune of meeting General Purnell of the 29th Division in
Baltimore, and enlisting his assistance for our attempts to reach other
D -Day survivors from the 29th Division.

Mr. Ryan is presently in Europe trying to get the project under way
there. He will return very shortly, and sometime in the late spring and
early summer of this year he plans to take a trip across the country in-
terviewing people who have stated their willingness to help us. Before
that, however, he and I will be in Washington again, probably during the
first full week in May. Mr. Ryan wants very much to interview you, if
you are willing to see him, sometime during May or June of this year.
However, since we are finding this project to be such a huge one, we
have adopted the procedure of keeping an individual file on each person
who is willing to help us. We honestly believe that this will provide
a means of crystallising hazy memories, as well as a very good basic
record for our purposes.

We hope very much that you will be interested in the book, and that
you will be willing to see Mr. Ryan. If you are willing to help us, we
should much appreciate your completing the enclosed form at your earliest
convenience and returning it to me. We look forward to your reply, sir,
and we thank you very much for any assistance which you can give us.

Sincerely yours,
Frances Ward (signed)
Frances Ward
Research Department
for Cornelius Ryan

Colonel Eugene N. Slappey
Route 1, Box 8l
Leesburg, Virginia

Dear Miss Ward - I have been away from home
for a long time, but should Mr. Ryan wish to see
me, I will be available at my home address by
June 15, 1958.
Sincerely yours E.N. Slappey