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LL NY Poughkeepsie AB-TE NY-9 For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day
THOUSANDS OF MEN, OH 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? CARL-A-BECK-JR What was your unit and division? 82nd Airborne 505th Regiment E Co. Where did you arrive in Normandy,and at what time? Couple miles outside of Ste. Mere Eglise 1 AM June 5, 1944 What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Pvt V What was your age on June 6, 1944? 23 Were you married at that time? No What is your wife's name? Did you have any children at that time? What do you do now? When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? When we arrived at airport in England Gen Gavin told us our mission 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? Well I remember Pete Habel + I were chewing tobacco and spitting in a can. We got hell from Lt. Peterson and the other guys because we were making them airsick Tommy Burke was singing a Irish rebellion soong and we were all giveing him a chorus at imes the guys were completely quiet and you could almost 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).
hear the guys praying above the roar of the planes mortars
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For Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name CARL-A-BECK-JR Did you by any chance 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 became 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? Going out the door of the plane by buddy Pete Hoble got shot in the fanny and I got a scratch on my hand plus they shot up my chute so bad I had a stream causing me to fall fast the Do you remember seeing* or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? only thing that saved me was I landed in the trees which slowed down my fall I still tore all the leg muscles so bad that I could not walk for quite a while I layed on my back and watched the planes coming into the drop zone from 360' I though for sure they would hit head on (over) Do you recall any incident sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? While I was crawling arroung on the ground I heard a loud crashing noise mixed with men hollering in pain They were the gliders coming in -----If I live to be a hundred I will never forget the noise of the gliders swishing past my head by inches and crashing into walk hedgerous and trees the guys in those gliders never had a chance
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they gave [crossed out] up [end crossed out] us a small toy which are called crickets We were supposed to sound off with the cricket and if the on coming soldier answered with his cricket we were buddies I believed the Jerries had the [crossed out] ch [end crossed out] crickets and got more use out of them then we did. They sure sucked us in I guess we all threw them away after a couple hours
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Carl A Beck Jr
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?
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? ON MY WAY TO FRANCE
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? IN FRANCE
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? W. J. MEDDAUGH 37 GARDEN ST HYDE PARK, N.Y.
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 NOT 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 5/1/58 Frances Ward Research, The Reader ’s Digest