Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 007, folder 51: Anthony Joseph DeMayo

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DeMAYO, Anthony Int 8217B N.Y. Box 7, #51 505 dawn gliders Coyle + Co.

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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 ? Anthony Joseph DeMayo (Tony) Address- 216 Wilson St Massapequa Park What was your unit and division? E. Co 2nd Bn, 505 Parachute Inf. 82nd A.B. Where did yo arrive in Normandy, and at what time ? Just outside of Ste. Mere Eglise between 12:00 + 12:30 AM June 6th What was your rank on June 6, 1944? P.F.C. What was your age on June 6, 1944? 24 Were you married at that time ? No What is your wife's name? Ethel Did you have any children at that time ? No What do you do now? A foreman on electrical construction When did you know that you yrere going to he part of the invasion? sometime in April 1944

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? It wasa vry quiet and peaceful trip Smoking cigarettes and an occassional joke At one point I remember looking out of the plane and seeing the channel spotted with all sorts of sea-craft It looked as if one could walk across the channel

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 G-ermans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire when the troops came in ), The only rumours I recall were that the Krauts were prepared and that we would never see or walk on French soil This didn't bother us too much because we heard the same thing on jumps in Sicily and Italy

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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 ~ Your name Tony DeMayo 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? No Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties ? No Were you wounded ? No Do you remember what it was like—that is, do you remember whether you felt any pain or were so surprised that you felt nothing? Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed funny at the time ? Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? During the ride across the channel the boys were wondering what was in store for us being pathfinders the first men to land in France well! we just didn't know what to expect Back in England in the war room when we were briefed we were told that the D.Z. consisted of 3 fields surrounded by hedgerows (that's a laugh) these hedgerows were the highest + biggest you ever saw in your life On the edge of the center field we were told to look for a barn and a haystack (now let's go back to the plane) As we approached the coast-line we were waiting for all hell to break loose at any time but first the red light went on then the green light went on we jumped landed and the planes disappeared in the distance and believe it or not nothing not a sound As I got up to get out of my harness lo and behold off to the edge of the field was the haystack and the barn (was I surprised) Our mission was to set up a set of 7 lights to form a T and a radar to send out a code for the 2nd Bn planes to beam in on After this equipment was set up the radar man was to start sending out his code immediately the light men of which I was one of was to leave the lights off and take cover until we heard the sound of the first planes The rest of the men set up P.T.O.

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a defence of the DZ At this point the only sound was an occassional pattle of the equipment We were told that it would be about 30 mins from our drop to the drop of the main body (it felt like 30 hours) Then off in the distance we heard the sound of the first plane motors At this point the other light men and myself -- went out and turned on the lights and headed back for cover because we surely thought this would be it with the field lit up but still no sound except for the sound of the planes -- which were getting louder all the time At this point the tracers from the AA guns started to light up the sky It looked like it was raining red drop up Now the planes were over head and the men from the 2nd Bn started to bale out The sky looked like a mushroom crop suddenly ^had bloomed One of the equipment bundles came crashing to the ground and exploded with a tremendous roar This was it we said the Krauts are zeroed in on us so dig deep But that was all that had happened We could hear the men on the way down calling to each other (Is that you Joe) How so many men could know what they were doing in such a small area was beyond me but they did and i n a short time they were headed for the assembly areas Our job as pathfinders was not over yet after the planes had passed our head our lights were turned out but the radar men had to keep tapping out his code for the gliders were to come in next and we had to follow the same procedure This is something I wish would never have to happen because when the gliders started to come in it was murder There was just one crash after another as they hit the so called hedgerows It was just like crumbling wooden match-boxes in your hand We spent a lot of time helping the poor guys who could be helped getting out of the wreckage You can take it from me those glider boys really had it rough At daylight we had to move our equipment to a new drop zone area to bring in the gliders for daylight landing Instead of lights we used coloured cloth panels to form the T's

Last edit almost 2 years ago by LibrarianDiva
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Tony DeMayo

In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliance; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either?

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? In the plane somewhere over the Channel or the coast of France.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? 505th Regimental C.P. outpost duty

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours of D-Day, June 6, as infantry, glider or airborne troops, or who took part in the air and sea operations, whom we should write to?

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 Frances Ward Research, The Reader's Digest

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