Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 015, folder 22: James Anthony Fanto

6 Beach BN FANTO, James Anthony Omaha Md 15

Box 15, #22

6:30 6th BEACH BATTALION, USN OMAHA

ENSIGN AND LIFEBELTS Remembers an ensign who hooked lifebelts together and floated them to the men who were trying to get in.

PURPLE HEART LEG I remember one guy who was wounded in a foxhole with his leg sticking out waving it at me, hollering "Purple Heart, [illegible symbol] "Short war, Jim".

Annapolis Md. LL *Interview MD 15

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? JAMES ANTHONY FANTO

What was your unit and division? 6th Beach Battalion U.S. Navy [inserted] (beach traffic control?)- ask here, Mayhew [end inserted]

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time ? at Omaha Beach 6:30 to 7:00 P.M. June 6th

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Radioman 1st class

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 23 yrs

Were you married at that time? no

What is your wife's name? --

Did you have any children at that time? --

What do you do now? I am Radioman Chief in the U.S. Navy

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? When we marshalled in Dorcester in Southern England which was jumping off place for the invasion

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? The trip was memorable in that it was very bad We, meaning myself and drivers of vehicles belonging to my outfit made the trip across the channel in an LCT and it rained most of the time, we sailed around for quite awhile as we found it the invasion would be delayed due to inclement weather. The LCT was cramped and we ate "C" rations all the way and slept under the vehicles and talked about various things such as The's leaflets and the reception we would get mostly we talked of the discomfort we were in as fighting men

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 ). Being on an LCT small in crew and carrying only drivers with our communications jeeps, medical jeeps, and 1/2 ton carrying marker buoys. We had heard mostly of snipers, and underwater charges to set off as we landed, and that the beaches were zeroed in on all sections by German guns, the one that amazes me and was true, that the Germans had large guns mounted on railroad stations and zeroed on the beaches. We were mostly worried about being put in close enough to the beach to get on with our vehicles, as it was I had to swim we get dropped in too much water too far out.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name James A. Fanto

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? Yes, quite a few, one, my best friend John Norbet Murphy. Inclosed you will find a poem written in commemoration by Murphy's friend, Murphy's mother sent it to me.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Yes. Murphy and I talked about if one of us died the other would write to his family and visit them if possible. I've always wondered why it was Murphy and not myself. With the rest of us it was mostly joking about opening the road to Berlin and living that was our topic, nothing was going to stop us from coming back.

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. We did have one guy who was wounded and I remember him in the foxhole with his by sticking out waving it at me hollering "purple heart" "short war Jim" his leg had been pretty well damaged. We had a signalman get blown up the air by a land mine, not hurt but deaf at the time and me talking to him and him not being able to hear.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more then anything else? The thing that made me the saddest was the 2 weeks after the invasion, we had rough weather, a few prisoners escaped from the stockade, we were on the [?abest?] on the beach. We had a young seaman standing watch at our CP. The sea was loud and rough you couldn't hear yourself. We seaman saw someone on the beach and hollered halt and give password, he didn't hear him evidently and after doing it 3 or four times shot him, we found he was a Engineer on an LCM who had gone done to his beached boat to get cigarettes from his watertight compartment. Hal was the saddest went of the whole war.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name James A. Fanto

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? Yes. We had an Ensign who hooked lifebelts [inserted] Who? [end inserted] together and floated them out to our men who were trying to get in. We had a corpsman who could do anything and use anything, he was awake and administered to the wounded for two days.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? at sea on the LCT heading for Normandy.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? on the beach at Normandy standing by with arms in case we were needed. For the first days and night it didn't look as if we would make it.

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? 1st Div. 5th Special Brigade, Ranger divisions.

Note: There are so many other facets, such as cadaver detail, which consisted of rounding up bodies in the cliffs and rocks that were hit on the initial landing, those who drowned on the way in, due to rough water. and etc.

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

N-E BALTIMORE MD 15 LL

U. S. NAVAL RADIO STATION (T) Annapolis, Maryland IN REPLY REFER TO:

Sending this along to see if you can possibly use it.

A tribute to Jack Murphy RM 2/c USNR A 1939 Graduate of Ward High School.

[inserted] "Who Died In France..." [end inserted]

To John Norbert Murphy a small tribute I'll pay He lay down his life on a cruel war torn day. Willingly he shed his body's rich blood On the torn soil of France, on a battlefield of mud. He gave his life so others might live To use the rights that God did give Each man, each woman, each new born babe That they may live in a world unafraid Of a tyrant's grip or a dictator's rule A world that is kind, a world not cruel. He wanted to return, as all of us do, To the life he left, to people like you. I know his thoughts on you did dwell And many stories he did tell Of his Mom and Dad, of his girl back there, Of her loving smile, the wind in her hair. A screaming shell from a murderous gun Has ended these thoughts, his dreams of fun. Your head in sorrow, I know, is bowed But deep in you heart you are very proud Of that boy of yours who died in France That the world might live in peace again Though you live in sorrow and your heart does pain You know deep inside he died not in vain He played his part in this game of life He lived in peace and times of strife. He now rests quietly and I know he's glad For he made the world safe for his Mom and Dad. John Norbert Murphy lies now neath the sod; He gave his life for his home and his God. May his soul rest in peace and I'll say once again He and boys like him have died not in vain.

Pfc. James B. Bell, a 1940 Graduate of Ward High School and a Former Basket Ball Team Mate.

This may fit some section of Mr. Ryan's Book. It was written by Mr. Bell and sent to John's Mother. J. Fanto