Page 4

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 -

Your name Melvin Thompson

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?
When it came dusk and we [?wait?] to dig in, I found
I had left my [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] ammunition belt [inserted] back [end inserted] on the bull - dozer and
my buddy had left his Rifle behind but had his
cartridge belt, so between us we had one weapon

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944?
On a boat on English Channel

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944?
In a fox hole on Normany 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 ?
No one that i can think of off hand, there was a OFFICER
who came in on the same boat with us, by the name of
Major McHarg, but I dont have his address
If you do come down to interview me, please let me
know what date you will be here so i can take time
off from work, Thank You

Melvin Thompson

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 Wand
Research, The Reader's Digest