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Green ILL 16 LL
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? Wendell L. Hoppler
What was your unit and division? USS LST [crossed out]%1%[end crossed out] 515
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Utah Beach Our load was taken off about 4pm on June 6 but I believe we were to be unloaded much earlier.
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Quartermaster 3rd class
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 18
Were you married at that time? no What is your wife's name ? Mary Helen Did you have any children at that time ? no
What do you do now? Agency Instructor for New York Life insurance Company
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? I picked up mu LST while it was still on the ways at Seneca, Illinois shipyard. [crossed out]XX[end crossed out] To the best of my knowledge there were only three men in our community that picked up an LST in this area and rode it all the way to France on D Day. When I opened the charts in Seneca before (See over)
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? Choppy weather, very overcast.
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). My greatest fear was in the rumors of the Anti Tank, and Anti ship mines planted on the beach.
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the ship was even commissioned, I saw they were for the European Theatre and assumed at that time that we were headed for France. At that time (DEC. 31, 1943) our ship was not laucnhed and I was able to be aboard her when she was launched. I rode [crossed out]here[end crossed out] her from Seneca, Illinois, through my home town (Spring Valley) all the way down the Illinois River, Mississippi River, Up the East Coast to New York, Boston and Halifax, over to England and D DAy
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Wendell Hoppler
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? no
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? no
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? Our ship was fitted for evacuating wounded and I remember that in one case we had two stretcher cases side by side (German & American) who had shot each other. The American was taking it as a joke but the German, more seriously wounded of course was not so jovial
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else?
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Wendell Hoppler
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?
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944?
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Utah 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?
I will give some names at a later date.
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