Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 010, folder 55: Avery James Thornhill

Thornhill, Avery James Ala. in D-Day Book Rangers Release

Release with PG Box 10, #55

*** Excellent, Lucid Account

CO. B. 5thRANGERS OMAHA DOG WHITE

1st sgt. [*illegible*]

[*used*] [crossed out] ON DEBARKING The water was very rough and we had a hard time launching our little LCA. We were placed in the LCA's prior to the boats being launched and when we would be halfway to the water, a wave would pick up the LCA and almost put it back on the mother ship. Then the wave would recede, leaving us haning in the air. When the LCA returned to the length of the cables we got quite a jar. But my company didn't lose a man in the launching or in the trip to the beach. Those British cox'ns really knew their job. [end crossed out]

RUN IN TO THE BEACH Our success in reaching the beach intact was due to Col. Schneider. After we received no word from the Rangers on Pointe du Hoe, Col. Schneider gave the order to hit the beach. About this time, he realized we were too far east of our designated beach and ordered all LCAs to turn around and follow his. We did and very few of our Bn. LCAs were disabled, lhanks to his self-reliance and judgment.

When no word was recelved from the Second Bn. headed for Pointe du Hoe, Col. Schneider ordered us to hit the beach. I believe the signal was "Tally Ho", meaning 'you are on lyour own to travel to Pointe du Hoe in small groups.'

ON THE BEACH When we arrived behind the beach wall there were troops of, I believe, the 116th Inf. Gen. Cota and a few cols. were trying to get the men to move off the beach as that was the most dangerous place to be. Capt. Whittington ordered Lt. Pepper to have a Bangalore torpedo placed under the double apron barbed wire fence on the sea wall. Pvt. Fred Rogers was then ordered to blow a hold through the fence.

We were behind the sea wall, waiting for Rogers to blow the wire when two LSIs beached about 50' from dry land; the ramps on each side of the bowwere lowered and these soldiers started down the ramps when both ships were hit directly on the bow. Instead of jumping to the water, the others waited, just frozen, I guess, from what they had seen and then the second and third shells hit the bow killing many fine young soldiers who never had a chance to fight. Every inch of that beach was zeroed in by the Germans. How anyone made it, I will never know.

The wire was blown and scouts were sent through first, Capt. Whittington following. The hill was covered with smoke; someone gave the order for gas masks and it was a rough climb up that hill with a gas mask on. On arriving on top we found a well-planned trench and tunnel system. This was cleared before we proceeded on.

12 noon We were pinned down about 500 yds. south of Vierville by snipers and two men had been killed. Capt. Whittington and I were in a ditch behind a hedge row when someone bellowed out from behind to get up and start moving forward as we would [crossed out]lneverdwill[end crossed out] never win this war on our tail. Capt. Whittington and I looked around to the street and there stood Brig. Gen. Cota. Capt. Whittington hollored to the Gen. that there were snipers in the trees ahead and we were trying to clear them out and to take cover. Cota said, "There are no snipers up there," and about that time a bullet struck the ground next to him and he said, "Well, there might be one." [*See last sheet in folder for rest of the story*]

[*Ft. McLellan, Ala. LL Blue or red*]

For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day

[*Rangers Omaha Co B ALA 10*]

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? Avery James Thornhill What was your unit and division? Company " B" Fifth Ranger Infantry Battalion Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Omaha (DoG WHITE) Beach, About 0715 hours.

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? First Sergeant. What was your age on June 6, 1944? Twenty Three Were you married at that time? No What is your wife’s name? Anne Elaine Creswell (married 1947) Did you have any children at that time? No

What do you do now? Personnel Officer, US Army, HQ Chemical Corps Training Command, Fort McClellan, Alabama. Chief Warrant Officer, W-3.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? We knew we would be a part of the invasion about January 1944, however we had no idea as to when D-Day would be, until we were briefed in the marshalling area a couple of days before D-Day.

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? I took an over dose of sea sick pills and slept until about 0300 hours 6 June, on awaking the firing had begun and no one was allowed on deck of the ship due to fragments from the anti air craft [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] fire falling on deck. The water was very rough and we had a hard time launching our little LCA, as we were placed in the LCA’s prior to the boats being launched and when we would be halfway to the water a wave would pick up the LCA and almost put it back on the mother ship, then the wave would recede leaving us hanging in the air. When the LCA returned to the length of the cables we got quite a jar. My company didn’t lose a man in the launching or in the trip to the beach. Those British cox'swain’s really knew their job. We were aboard HMS Prince Charles, I believe.

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). None that I can remember.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No, don't need a [crossed out] dairy [end crossed out] diary, as I can retrace every step I made the first twenty four hours after I landed.

[*Who?*] Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes, two very close friends. Many were wounded. Remember one who was shot clear through the thigh and would'nt let the Medic's evacuate him so he remained with us until the next day.

Do you remeinber any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? None I can recall.

Were you wounded? Yes, a bullet grazed my right shoulder. I felt no pain and was unaware I had been hit until someone noticed the powder burn and tear on my sleeve and on examination I found I had a cut about 1/8 inch deep and about 1 inch long.

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? Explained above.

[*Cota**] Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? Yes, we had been pinned down about 500 yards South of Vierville by snipers and two men had been killed, one of them is mentioned above, Captain Whittington and I were in a ditch behind a hedge row when someone bellowed out from behind to get up and start moving forward as we would never win this war on our tail. Captain Whittington and I looked around to the street and there stood Brig. Gen. Cota. Captain Whittington hollowed to the Gen. that there were snipers in the trees ahead and we were trying to clear them out and that he had better take cover. He said there are no snipers up there, and about that time a bullet struck the ground next to the Gen. and he turned with a passing remark, "Well, there might be one".

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? Yes, we were behind the sea wall waiting for Rogers to blow the wire when two LSI's beached about 50 feet from dry land, the ramps on each side of the bow were lowed and these soldiers started down the ramps when both ships were hit directly on the bow. Instead of jumping to the water the others waited, just frozen, I guess, from what they had seen and then the second and third shells hit the bow killing many fine young soldiers who never had a chance to fight. Every inch of that beach was zeroed in by the Germans and how anyone made it I will never know.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name

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? I believe the part that played an important role in our success in reaching the beach intact was the seif reliance Col. Schenider displayed in the following example, “after we received no word from the Rangers on Pointe du Hoe, Col. Schenider gave the order to hit the beach, about this time the Col. realized we were too far East of our designated beach, he then ordered all [crossed out] BSAs [end crossed out] LCA's to turn about and follow his LCA. We all did and very few of our Battalion LCA's were disabled due to his self reliance and his judgment”.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? In Plymouth, England harbor aboard HMS Prince Charles waiting for word to head for Omaha beach.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? About 700 yards North of Vierville.

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 ? Only the two I previously gave you.

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 [*5/9/58*] Frances Ward Research, The Reader ’s Digest

As I remember the operation, the second Battalion minus was to hit Pointe du Hoe, if they succeeded in their mission we were to join them. If word was not received by a certain time we were to be given a signal to go ashore and make our way inland to relieve the second Battalion commanded by Col. Rutter. As no word was received Col. Schneider ordered us to hit the beach and I believe the signal was, “Tally Ho ”, meaning you are on your own to travel to Pointe du Hoe in small groups.

According to plans the beach should have been secured, however when we arrived behind the beach wall there were troops, I believe, the 116th Inf.. Gen Cota and a few Cols. were trying to get the men to move off the beach as that was the most dangerous place to be. Capt. Whittington ordered Lt. Pepper to have a Bangalore torpedo placed under the double apron barbed wire fence on the sea wall. Pvt. Fred Rogers was then ordered and did so in a few minutes, blow a hole through the fence.

Scouts were sent through first, Capt. Whittington following. The hill was covered with smoke, someone gave the order for gas masks and it was a rough climb up that hill with a gas mask on.

[*Began story here after reading folder*]

On arriving on top of the hill we found a well planned trench and tunnel system. This was cleared before we proceeded on. About noon time we arrived East of Vierville and were engaged by the enemy. The enemy was in a retreat to the East and we did not attempt to engage them further as we had orders to get to Pointe du Hoe with all speed. We then passed through Vierville with no contact with the enemy. About 300 yards South of Vierville we were engaged by machine guns and sniper fire. As we had made a fast move throught town it was deceided to send a couple of squads of men back to check the area to our immediate rear, sure enough, they found about a dozen Germans hiding in the hedge rows.

Here, we lost our first two men killed in action. One, a very fine boy, who never smoked, drank and never missed going to Mass when he could help it. The other, a happy go lucky soldier, and if I may say so, a very good one. This is one of those incredibly stupid things a soldier will do for his fellow soldier without thinking. This soldier was one of a group of six of us who ran together from the start at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. One of the group had been pinned down in front of a hedge row and it was believed he was hit as we could hear someone moaning, this boy jumped up, said “they can't do that to ** -- and he leaped to the top of the hedge row and was immediately hit in the heart. Needless to say he died immediately. After giving his life for his friend, it was life given up for nothing as we were able to relieve the men on the other side without causality and his friend was not hurt. A German that had been hit by a hand grenade was doing the moaning.

We were ordered to dig in for the night and except for sniper fire and artillery fire we were not bothered again that night. We moved out the next morning early for Pointe du Hoe.