Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 008, folder 31: Lyle Britain Putnam

In D Day Book 82 AB PUTNAM, Lyle Britan [*Release*] Kan 7

BOX 8, #31

Release to PG

TIE WITH Vandevoort

505

Password story very good

[*KAN7 VITAL H? May take care of AB medics. I'd take him above any others. LL Wichita, KANSAS AB - 1 Dr. 82nd

RED -- articulate, sense of humor -- & very imp. new light on Vandervoort, whom he doctored on D-day. (pic)*]

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.

[*1*] What is your full name? Lyle Britain Putnam

[*2*] What was your unit and division? 505 Parachute Infantry 82nd Airborne Division 2nd Batallion Surgeon

[*3*] Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? 115 A.M June 6 1944 approx 1 mile southwest Ste Mere Eglise, in an orchard.

[*4*] What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Captain - Medical Corps.

[*5*] What was your age on June 6, 1944? 32 years

[*6*] Were you married at that time? Yes.

[*7*] What is your wife's name? Maurine H. Putnam

[*8*] Did you have any children at that time? One - Karl Joseph Putnam age 5 yrs

[*9*] What do you do now? Medicine and Surgery

[*10*] When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Approx middle May, 1944

[*11*] 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? Miserable! The combined weight of main and auxilliary chutes, and combat equipment, medical supplies etc. raised my actual weight from 170# to 280#. Travel in a C-47 in bucket seats in crowded circimstances for three hours-- frightened and apprehensive--cold--homesick-- several cases of air sickness with vomiting into helmets-- usual gripeing and allusions to unfortunate females who were bein deprived of our so outstanding and exceptional company. I do not recall a mention of conditions to be found in the jump area.

[*12*] 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 in afire when the troops came in).

Rumors were actually nil-- we had been briefed with aerial maps and a sand table; and I don't believe any personnel I was with (12 man stick and crew for aircraft) actually visualized the future in regard to specific possibilities. Most thoughts, conversation being very difficult in flight; consisted in review of personnel and manner of assembly with recovery of supplies in order to form some sort of efficient organization. Truly, other than the very real concern for personal welfare, I don't beliwe the average man in my division worried about general environments as long as he was in contact with other members of his unit-- the usual situation of being an independent type of troop combined with the rather hysterical type of morale developed in volunteer outfits such as the marines and airborne divisions discouraged defeatist attitudes most favorably

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Putnam, Lyle Britain

[*13*] Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No

[*14*] Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Quite a few killed; many wounded - our "aid station" had over 300 casualties by evening of D-day.

[*5*] Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? None specifically -- usual routine remarks about local situations; location of alcohol, women, & food in that order; derogatory remarks about Normandy - size fields, hedges, poor roads; nothing personal about attitudes, ambitions etc.

[*16*] Were you wounded? Yes - machine pistol bullet thru fleshy part right upper arm

[*17*] 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? I saw the man fire at me -- was scared green (I was!) -- very surprised to be hit only once -- not much pain, only sharp sting --- became quite indignant about the matter.

[*18*] Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it may not have seemed funny at the time? I suppose nearly all memories are extreme-- either regarded as funny, tragic, very nice, or very bad. [*the password*] a-- We were to have a code challenge-- the word "Flash", and the proper reply "Thunder"-- to identify personnel after landing. I landed utterly alone in an orchard; could not reach my chute buckles because of amount of equipment, so began cutting harness with a switch knife carried in the collar of my jump jacket-- it was weirdly quiet after the noise of approach and jump; and by the time I freed myself, gathered up medical equipment etc to locate friends, I was highly tensed up-- I crept through this very dark orchard to the nearest hedge row, and saw a male figure approaching cautiously the other side of the hedge-- froze and loudly whispered "Flash!"-- the other party yelled "Jesus Christ", turned and took off like a maniac-- made me so angry, I forgot to be consciously frightened. b-- Just before dawn, after partially assembling and beginning to take o ver the surrounding territory, several aid men had established a collection point for walking wounded just inside a small field approached by a narrow lane (Cont on sheet)

[*19*] Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else?

My battalion commanding officer, then Major Benjamin Vandervoort; was an unusual man. A very proud individual, with the ambition to do a good job, he was regarded in Sicily and Italy as over anxious, indecisive, and with too much desire to gain personally with no regard to cost of trouble to others. The man knew this-- he was determined to rectify the general opinoin but not to lose efficiency of his unit in so doing. We jumped from different ships, and it was at least an hour before I located him near a small farm house. He was seated with a rain cape over him reading a map by flashlight-- he recognized me and calling me close, quietly asked that I take a look at his ankle with as little demonstration as possible. His ankle was obviously broken; luckily a simple rather than compound fracture. He insisted on replacing his jump-boot, laced it tightly, formed a very makeshift crutch from a stick, and moved with the outfit as an equal and a leader without complaint. We were able to reduce the fracture and apply a walking cast some four days after D-day in a field hospital advance unit. The man did not lose two hours active duty in our forty some days in Normandy, covered rough ground and was personally very active in combat. (cont on sheet)

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Putnam, Lyle B.

20 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 from D-day? Casualties were fairly heavy amongst aid men on D-day, and the remaining personnel were obliged to cover a large area in service to a battalion front that was in motion and making constant contact with enemy forces. Occasionally, there would be brief periods of halt; and everyone would take cover in the handiest manner. During one of these stops, while moving to another sector I ran across an example of behavior which gave me a feeling of delight and amazement at the American way of thinking. In the middle of so many circumstances which can be termed at least unusual if not abnormal, here I walked up on a shell crater occupied by a Browning Automatic rifleman -- his weapon was placed at hand and ready for use, but this Yankee was lying head down cushioned on a folded up equipment parachute of brilliant red color -- his feet were elevated on the side of the crater, and encased in some positively frilly bedroom slippers -- he was smoking a cigar; and listening to a small portable commercial type radio of the "folding door" type with all the attitude of a carefree business man relaxing at the end of a busy day in familiar surroundings.

21 Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? In transit - flying into base cherbourg penisula from south and west

22 Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Aid station - Ste Mere Eglise, Normandy.

23 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? I cannot think of anyone, after only fourteen years; Whose life to day I am near enough, to presume he might be used as reference. Sorry.

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

L. B. PUTNAM, M. D. 715 BEACON BUILDING WICHITA 2, KANSAS

18 cont. and entered through a gateway about the width of an average door. I was bringing a wounded man in to join the others; had him across my shoulders; was busy, in a hurry, and not too happy over losing part of our supplies on the drop zone. Reached the gateway in the semi-dark to find it obstructed by a figure dressed in our manner -- growled out the words "get your ass out of the way, soldier", and received quite a surprise when the figure turned and presented a helmet with the two stars of a Major-General -- it was General Matthew Bunker Ridgway; and he nicely stepped aside and said "Okay, soldier" --- I didn't stop to reply.

c-- I became very irritable just after dawn when we began to enter and mop up Ste Mere Eglise. We had established several separated collection points for wounded and injured; varied from two or three men to as many as thirty to forty in each -- we left them when we moved out with hope to gather them up later when our situation became more static. Got word down the line of march to hurry back to the last collection point about a quarter of a mile back; went mumbling back expecting some form of major disaster, to be greeted by some lad of not more than eighteen years of age and painfully but not dangerously hurt; he was sincerely and terribly worried at the possibility of combining cheese from a breakfast K-ration unit and the sulfa tablets in his first aid packet resulting in "hives" insofar as he had a "bad history of allergies" --- made me homesick for housecalls.

d-- About mid morning D-day two battalions of our regiment cleared out and secured Ste Mere Eglise except for isolated sniping and scattered small "strong points". We established an aid station in a large two-story brick edifice on the west edge of the town on the main road leading to Cherbourg; began to collect our own casualties and some German; got all the supplies we could find, beg, or steal; and by evening of D-day some aid men began to "organize" food otherthan K-rations. Several hares, huge in size and domesticated, were secured and assembled; and by late darkness had been dressed out and were lying on a bench together with other tasty items of food and drink gleaned from a semi-grateful and throughly confused civilian populace. Things were looking-up, then everything seemed to happen at once: the Germans began to push into town frm the west and south sides; an attempt to bring in a glider group was begun; a glider crashed into the roof of our building and fell with its contents (jeep, ammo load, and men) onto the room containing our prospective repast.In the midst of all this, I saw my sergeant (a huge specimen of muscle and generally impassive efficiency) throw his helmet down, sit in the middle of ruined food and drink, and combine profuse tears with abundant profanity and a dissertation of Fate.