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Fort Ord Monterey Calif. LL CAL16
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? Tegtmeyer, Charles E - Lt Col M C 063706
What was your unit and division? 16th Infantry Regiment 1st Inf. Div
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Omaha Beach 0800 hrs
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Major
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 35. yrs
Were you married at that time? yes
What is your wife's name? Euselia M. Tegtmeyer
Did you have any children at that time? yes - 2, a son 3 a daughter 1
What do you do now? Liaison officer, surgeon generals office to the Combat development Experimentation Center, Ft Ord, Calif Chief of the Logistical Experimentation Branch
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? In March or 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? Rough - weather -- Briefings
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). We knew where we were going. We knew about the beach obstacles and the pill boxes. We were confident
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Tegtmeyer
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? Wrote a manuscript in the next two weeks after the landing
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? yes - several
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? - No - unimportant matters - & official matters
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 hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? -yes seasickness Lt. Col Skaggs - belabouring his men with a life preserver to get them back in their tank
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? several - in manuscript.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Tegtmeyer
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? Col George Taylor - getting us off the beach
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? on Board the USS Chase
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? on Omaha - Red - Beach
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. Col now B C George A Taylor retired -- Palo Alto Calif. Fr Lawrence Deesey - Providence R.I.
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
Francis Ward 4/23/58 Frances Ward Research, The Reader's Digest
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DECORATIONS AND AWARDS BRANCH, MILITARY PERSONNEL DIVISION, AGO.
Initials fjm Date9-13-44
RECORD OF AWARD OF DECORATION BY AGENCY OTHER THAN WAR DEPARTMENT
Last Name TEGTMEYER Organization 16th INF Headquarters 1st U S A Type of Award D S C Oak-Leaf Clusters By Command of [crossed out][illegible][end crossed out] LT. GEN. HODGES
First Name CHARLES
Middle Initial E Station or APO 230 Number
Serial No 0335197 Foreign C O No Section 31 III Posthumous NO Posthumous Amended Revoked
Grade Maj. Others Date 1 July 1944 DO NOT WRITE IN COLUMN BELOW CITATION
For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy on 6 June 1944, in France. When Major Tegtmeyer landed with his Medical Section, the assaulting troops were still pinned down on a narrow beachhead. Due to the devastating fire of of the enemy, numerous casualties had been sustained. With complete disregard for his own safety Major Tegtmeyer covered the length of the beach, administering aid to the wounded lying all along the shore. Time and again, he went into mine-strewn waters and pulled the wounded in to comparative safety behind a shale barrier. Major Tegtmeyer, heedless of the heavy fire, worked unceasingly in rendering aid to the wounded under the most hazardous conditions. The fortitude and unhesitating devotion to duty of Major Tegtmeyer reflects great credit on himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.
Entered military service from New York
WD AGO Form No. 079 1 October 1943
File in Enlisted Branch File in Officer's Branch