Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 008, folder 16: Henry Emile LeFebvre

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LeFEBVRE, Henry Emile Md 16 Box 8, #16 508 N6

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For Cornelius Ryan Aberdeen, (654 Andrews Rd) Maryland (only until end of JulyBook about D-Day then what?) AB-TE MO 16 *note excellent letter Was pinned down by June for 3 day beg 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 HERE ONE OF THEM, PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

What is your full name? LeFebvre, Henry Emile

What was your unit and division? Co A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regt Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? near St Mere Eglise, about 0230 6 June 1944

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? 1st Lt. What was your age on June 6, 1944? 22 years Were you married at that time? No Vihat is your wife!s name? Mary Alice Did you have any children at that time? No What do you do now? Regular Army Officer When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? about two weeks prior to 6 June

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? Pretty much as planned and explained to us. Most of the time I stood in the door of the plane. 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). Every one hoped the anti parachute obstacles were not englaced on the drop zone. We had seen pictures of these obstacles. which would do quite a bit of damage to a fully loaded trooper

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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name LeFebvre Henry E

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? I was separted from my platoon all of 6 June Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties?

Were you wounded? No 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?

Do you remember seeing* or bearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? when I landed in the field I cut my way out of the parachute harness to get away because of the German voices on the edge of the field as I crawled away a cow with a bell around her neck stood looking down at me . I was afraid she would give away my position and I wanted that cow to move in the worst way- It finally did-

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable,which struck you more than anything else?

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* - for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Le Febvre 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? enroute to Normandy by plane

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? In a hedgerow hiding from the Germans

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? Yes Lt Col John Marr, Abn Dept, The Infantry School, Ft Benning Ga Capt Homer H. Jones , MAAG, Portugal, c/o American Embassy Lisbon, Portugal ------------------------------------ I will be available as asked in your letter between now and the end of July at 654 Andrews Road Aberdeen Maryland Telephone 2457

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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April 21, 1958 Miss Frances Ward Readers Digest 230 Park Avenue New York, N. Y.

Dear Miss Ward: I am writing this in response to a notice in the Daily Bulletin here at Aberdeen Proving Ground in which personnel are asked to contact you with reference to A History of "D" Day.

At that time I was a 1st Lt in command of the third platoon of Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division. I had been with the 508th and A Company since November of 1942, shortly after activation of the regiment.

Our mission for the "D" Day invasion was the destruction of a bridge for which we had an engineer platoon attached. We had trained extensively for this operation at night while stationed in Ireland and England.

At our briefing we were told the flight plan, that we could expect some flak from the Channel Islands, but that it would not reach the plane, that shortly after reaching the West Coast of Normandy we would get the red light, and the green jump light over the target.

We took off around midnight 5th June and were scheduled for a 2:22 A.M., 6th June drop time.

Everything went as planned till shortly after we hit the Coast. I was standing in the door watching the AAA fire from the Islands and it was falling short. As we hit the Coast, however, the cloud cover caused the planes to spread out enlarging the formation, then the fire from the ground began to increase in intensity. The bullets that struck the plane made a loud bang and went through with a greenish light. As we approached the drop zone we were all praying for the green light - the sky looked like a blanket of red tracer bullets. I went out on the green light at about 450 feet elevation. As the ground came up I could see I was landing in the middle of a small typpcal ( I found out later ) orchard. When I hit the ground the first thing I could hear 'was a German voice shouting, followed by shooting. I immediately took the knife out of my boot and cut my way out of ray harness. Although the Germans were not more than 20 yards away, they apparently weren’t coming into the field.

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