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July 10, 1958

Mr. Ernest E. Blanchard
Stone Road, R.F,D. 1
Bristol, Connecticut

Dear Mr.Blanchard:

Thank you very much for your letter and for your willingness to help
us with Cornelius Ryan's book about D-Day. I hope you will forgive
the delay in replying to your kind offer of assistance; we are grati-
fied, but somewhat overwhelmed, by the wonderful response which we
are getting as a result of our requests for information.

During the next few months, both in this country and in Europe, Mr.
Ryan will be interviewing many of the D-Day participants who agree
to contribute to the book. Very probably, he will wish to talk with
you during that period. In the meantime, since we are dealing with
so many people, we have found it necessary to develop an individual
file on each person who agrees to help us. Therefore, we hope you
will complete the enclosed record and return it to me at your earliest
convenience. We truly believe that these questions will serve you, as
well as us, if they can help to crystallize some hazy memories and to
indicate the sort of information which we are seeking.

I should be most grateful to know as soon as possible when and if you
will be available for interview. We want very much to tell the story
of your unit, and in order to do that we need the personal accounts of
the men who were there. We particularly look forward to your reply.

Sincerely yours,

Frances Ward
Research Department

FW:LL
Enclosure