Page 2

[*Glisson portion read to
him on phone 2/12 at 10:30 & OK.*]

[*N-E
Macon, GEORGIA
LL
GA 26
Survivor of
the CORRY
(sunk on
D - day)
quite articulate,
& was
stationed at
the radio
note
record of
D - day
(attached)*]

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? Bennie Walter Glisson

What was your unit and division? U.S.S. Corry (DD463)

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time?
OMAHA BEACH 0300 6 June 1944

What was your rank on June 6, 1944?
R/M 3/C (Radioman 3/C

What was your age on June 6, 1944?
23

[*Benjamin P. Lace
East Boston, VA.
Va*
SHERWOOD
2 - 0261
Telephoned
Nov. 6, 1958
C.R.
WAL 2-5341
7187*]

Were you married at that tim ? No

What is your wife's name?

Did you have any children at that time?
No

What do you do now?
Teletype Operator. Robins AFB, Ga.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion?
Rumors were current to that effect even before we left
Norfolk, Va. in May 1944, however we didn’t actually
know officially until 3 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?
The trip across the channel was comparative to a funeral
procession. June 4th we were served a turkey dinner with
all the trimmings. When I got off watch and went to chow
the mess hall was as silent as a tomb and I remarked, "You
guys act like you are eating your last meal". I didn’t
know it then but for about 32 or 33 of the crew it was the
last turkey they ever ate. No one answered me when I made
that remark so I shut up and started eating.

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).
I don’t recall the rumor about the gasoline but the expression
I heard many times was, "The English Channel will flow blood".
We also heard about the obstacles on the beach and the guns
in the caves which were mounted on railroad tracks which the
Germans would run out, fire and then draw them back into the
caves, making it almost impossible to knock out the guns. We
reportedly knocked out three of these guns.