Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 015, folder 43: Charles Hillyer Langley

LANGLEY, Charles H. ATLANTIC USS NEVADA Ga 11 D-Day - ok - Release

UTAH USS NEVADA Yeoman, 3/c

VIEW OF THE COASTLINE

As daylight came, we were amazed to see high, steep cliffs climing straight out of the water. All the pictures of the beaches of France were long, flat and sandy. How in the name of God, I thought, can anyone have been stupid enough to think they could land an invasion force in landing barges at a place like that. We thought the whole fleet had been given the wrong orders. [crossed out] As I looked at all the ships assembled there that morning, I thought we would be able to complete the entire operation and get far enough inlcnad that we would be able to pull out in 2 or 3 hours, for I did not see how any army would be able to withstand the might of the ships and the planes overhead. [end crossed out]

CORRY HIT When the crew of the Corry tried to abandon ship, they were shelled with white phosphorous. I dared them along to sink the Nevada that way.

COASTGUARDSMEN AND THE DEAD I remember a small plywood boat coming alongside our ship and a Coast Guardsman with a boat hook had picked up a load of dead, floating GIs and had them stacked like wood, face-down, on the bow.

SAW PRILLER The most stupid thing I saw that this lone ME-109 German plane that tried to penetrate the air cover and get into our Armada of ships. [crossed out] The [end crossed out]

Release to P.G. Material Released 6/29/59 See special folder Box 15, 43

[*N - TE pp. 2-3 GA 11 LL Loganville, Georgia * Maybe this is one of our few Navy boys?-- N.B. we've got another questionnaire from "Nevada" too - & poem about the "Nevada" Good since this ship had been at Pearl Harbor.

Letter good. Horizontal characters??*]

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? Charles Hillyer Langley

What was your unit and division? U.S.S. NEVADA, (BB-36) Battleship Div, #5

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Off Utah Beach @ 10:30 pm on 5 June, 43

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Yeoman, 3rd. class, USNR

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 18 yrs.

Were you married at that time? No

What is your wife's name? Martha Annelle

Did you have any children at that time? No

What do you do now? Rural Letter Carrier

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Around May 1, 1943. We had been carrying out constant battle practice for some weeks.

[*good*] 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? Very quiet aboard ship. Crews' general attitude was to expect the worst & hope for the best. I wasn't a coffe drinker at that time & we had been issued our rations. In this "K" ration packet was a small (1 spoonfull) bag of instant coffe. This I tried to mix with "Ice-water" & drink, no sugar or cream. That was my last cup of instant coffee for 11 yrs. We exchanged letters to our parents, wives, & sweethearts. This, in case some of us didn't make it back home.

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). Our chief rumors were that we were going to try to go through a heavy concentration of underwater demolition obstacles before we anchored. We had gotten the word that these couldn't be destroyed because of currents & high tide. The obstacles were there, but were right in close to the beach to be used against landing barges. The absence of the "Luftwaffe" over England for a day or so had started rumors that it was being held back to destroy the entire fleet.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Chas. H. Langley

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? yesit is enclosed.

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?

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? Some humorous cracks were made about how the "high command" came to name the 2 main landing sectors "UTAH" & "OMAHA" Both places being so hot & dry.

[*more about this

details*] Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? Yes - Two of them. One was when the crew of the U.S.S. Corry, after being hit, tried to abandon ship & was shelled with white phosphorous. I [crossed out]draed[end crossed out] dared them, alone, to sink the "NEVADA" & do me that way. The other incident I'll always remember is the small plywood boat coming alongside our ship & a Coast Guardsman with a boat hook had picked up a load of dead, floating G.I's & had them stacked like wood, face-down, on the bow of his boat.

[*saw Priller

when? describe? what was he doing? reaction? etc..*]

- 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? The most stupid thing I saw, was this lone ME-109, German plane that tried to penetrate the air cover & get into our armada of ships. The most ingenious man in all the planning of this operation must have been the leader of the Army Rangers that scaled the cliffs that led up from the beach.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Manuevering in the harbor off the coast of France

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Anchored & firing for all we were worth.

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'm writing him*] Rex E. Tutterrow Trevlac, Indiana. (mark - "please forward" Last known address - Bank of America Burbank, California

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

HERE ARE PERTINENT SECTIONS OF DIARY FROM USS NEVADA AS KEPT BY CHARLES H. LANGLEY, Y3/c.

This seems to contain a lot of speculation by Yeoman Langley. It is not an official message log as we first thought, it is a diary.