Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 019, folder 06: Vernon Augustine Thompson

Vernon Augustin Thompson -5-

Thompson: No, I don't

Ryan: Was he a nice Joe

Thompson: Yes, very nice - nice fellah

Ryan: Did he talk to you guys [inserted] at all [end inserted]on the way over

Thompson: No more in conversation -[inserted] that [end inserted] he thought this [crossed out] was [end crossed out] [inserted] is [end inserted] it and - general run of what they usually tell us

Ryan: Did you think [inserted] about [end inserted][crossed out] of [end crossed out] your home and your people at all on the way over

Thompson: Oh - there's an awful lot of [inserted] other [end inserted]things [crossed out] on your mind [end crossed out] that goes through your mind - you wonder if this is really it -if you're going to make it - and you're going to be able to get away with it and get back

Ryan: Yah - was there any particular thing that you remember - about your home or anything else when you were on the way over

Thompson: The main thing I remember was my mother - I [inserted] guess I [end inserted]thought of that more than anything else

Ryan: Had she ever talked to you about what to do or...

Thompson: No - she was - I was pretty young then at the time anyway and of course she signed for me to get in - she didn't have a particular thrill to that and then she was thinking I was ... I think I was worried more about her at that time - I thought more about her than any...

Ryan: Do you remember anything - any conversations you had with her [crossed out] in the past [end crossed out] [inserted] that passed [end inserted] through your mind - you know - about that time

Thompson: Well, I remember her telling me to do my best - always be your (can't make out)

Vernon Augustin Thompson -6-

Ryan: So, you were the cook you mentioned earlier -weren't you

Thompson: That's right

Ryan: Did you do any cooking on the way over

Thompson: No - we had sandwiches made before we left

Ryan: What sort of sandwiches were they

Thompson: Spam

Ryan: Spam sandwiches - coffee of course - uh

Thompson: And coffee

Ryan: And besides being the cook, would you man a gun or anything like that

Thompson: My job was to act on - and in the case of action was to run to a [crossed out] bow on [end crossed out]- power on - and stand by later

Ryan: Oh - you were the power man - uh

Thompson: that was [crossed out] why [end crossed out] what my post was

Ryan: Did you do any reading on the way over

Thompson: No

Ryan: Because it was dark - what, was there any running gag at any time on that PT boat - you know, gags, jokes or anything

Thompson: Well, [inserted] you [end inserted] usually had all kind of jokes but I can't remember exactly what they were but I know...

Ryan: Yeh

Thompson: But I know there was quite a few jokes setting off

Ryan: Yeh - so you get over there - now I'd like if possible to try and picture here - but first - what effect - how you were [crossed out] affected [end crossed out] [inserted] shaken [end inserted] by it - you know - that [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] enormous - kid that age -

Thompson: I think - first, the first I dropped saw was - something that exploded and hit me[crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] one of the small landings there and that was the first [crossed out] thing I saw [end crossed out] bunch of

Vernon AUGUSTIN Thompson -7-

Thompson: survivors we picked up which was just a short ways off of our bow - and it tore that one off to pieces in which we picked up [inserted] I guess [end inserted] four or five and...

Ryan: Were they in the water yelling

Thompson: Oh yes, they were in yelling - were yelling and then I had a...we picked those up - the thing is its always [crossed out] difficult [end crossed out] been on mind that most were - I don't know what It was - A limey LST that was cutting through - and cutting right through the water and grinding the boys up - some of them boys were still [crossed out] lving [end crossed out] living yet in the water were fighting for survival and the limey boat going through and and chewing up all the people and that's the big thing that's always the big thing that's always beeon on my mind.

Ryan: Well, tell me what they were yelling in the water - didn't they - the words they were yelling

Thompson: God have mercy - Lord help me -please - somebody help me or things of that sort

Ryan: And then there was the other guys yelling "Joe over here” "Joe” - I mean is it stuff like that

Thompson: No, it would be "I'm over here - pick me up - help me or stufflike that

Ryan: Was it screams

Thompson: Oh yes - terrific screams

Ryan: This must have almost paralyzed you when you - you were so young at the time - gosh - age seventeen

Thompson: Well I was young but - I got a couple of years (can't make out [crossed out] Ryan: [end crossed out]and I don't know - you get - we had so much to do at that time that of course the first - the first one that really hit us all - it put us all in much - very much shock - but after that it bears in [inserted] you know [end inserted] the things that you got so your fears suddenly leaves you

Ryan: Tell me now, describe when this whole incident of landing craft came across -

Vernon Augustine Thompson -8-

Ryan: how far off the beach were you and was the squadron all in one -

Thompson: Oh no - the squadron was scattered out - we couldn't [inserted] even [end inserted] see where other sqadrons were

Ryan: You’d gone in in line and stand - had you

Thompson: We - after we left - each one of us got behind the waves - in other wards - the waves approaches - we towed behind them and I guess we must have been at least half a mile apart

Ryan: You were patrolling behind the third wave as you went in -storm this way right behind - like that - now this limey LST - now tell me how this all happened - which one - you saw one blown up - you saw an LST - was it LST

Thompson: No, it was L[crossed out] T [end crossed out][inserted] C [end inserted]I - a small landing craft

Ryan: That blew up

Thompson: It blew up - and after that...

Ryan: About what time would that be

Thompson: Gee I don’t know - it must have been - somewhere around 7 - something in that area but a...

Ryan: Was it terrific explosion

Thompson: Then we picke up - it was first explosion - and we picked those while It was once looked like they were possible anything could happen because we left several the of them at least but [inserted] the [end inserted] skipper said it was only (can't make out)

and then immediately following that thing - the army boats were still aghast calling out "Look at this damn limey LST chewing upall the people

Ryan: Would Bushill have been the guy

Thompson: No, I doubt that he would have been -

Ryan: Well...

Thompson: To tell you the truth I wouldn’t know who It was at that time - but I remember us all looking and screaming these blazen bastards and...

Vernon Augustine Thompson -9-

Ryan: Well what was it doing

Thompson: Well they were going in and I think they were landing but they were just so many boats in the water I don't guess they could maneuver to have missed them - you see

Ryan: It could have been one of our own - you know - because when you - aircraft do

Thompson: Oh yes - its possible it could have been

Ryan: Well,[inserted] I mean [end inserted] now, I'm not defending this thing - I'm just trying to put it in reasonable - well what happens - they were - you [crossed out] were [end crossed out] [inserted] had [end inserted] picked up your [crossed out] Thompson: [end crossed out] fellows - from the explosives -

Thompson: On the first one - yea

Ryan: Was this another one that has exploded to throw these men in the water or what

Thompson: Well I think - you see - of course we didn't realize until we got back - we sent out about 100 and some - 100some [inserted] small [end inserted] landing craft on the first wave from our base and only 80 of those boats coming first came back. 80 of them were completely destroyed and I think most of them was from the first and second waves because the third wave didn't have very much loss at all. But I think pretty near it was on the first and second wave

Ryan: You mean these are the 100 that were launched from the mother ship

Thompson: Yeah

Ryan: Now - there were an awful lot of men in the water

Thompson: That was launched from the mother ships but now we carried in all these little small crafts from our base which only carried 20 men - that we went all the way across