Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 019, folder 07: Robert Daniel Trathen

87 Chem. Mortar Bn TRATHEN, Robert Daniel Ala 2 BOX 19, #7

Utah Co. C [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] 87th CHEMICAL MORTAR BN. UTAH 0805 (14th wave) Bn. was in direct support or the 3rd Bn., 8th Inf.Regt., 4th ; Inf. Captain

ON DEBARKING AT THE BEACH [crossed out] I was aboard the Bn, Commander’s "free boat" (an LCM )from 0430 till we landed at 0805. The water was rought and we did quite a bit of moving around among the several waves of boats in the Bn. while they were forming up. Spray was constantly breaking over the bow and sides and I was geting wet. I put my gas-proof cape over me and it kept me dry so I left it on until it was almost time to debark. As we approached the shore I took it off, the r[crossed out]e[end crossed out]amp was lowered and I stepped off into water up to my chin.

ON STE. MERE EGLISE At 1545 I was with an airborne infantry major wateching our unsuccessful efforts to take a large open field between the crossroads of Les Forges and Ste. Mere Eglise. Our efforts were repulsed and the field was subjected to murderous German defensive fires at the slightest provacation. Units of the major’s outfit were scheduled to land by glider at 1600. He was unable to stop or divert the mission. The first flights of gliders landed, raked with fire, and the pants never occupants never even got the doors open. Subsequent flights, observing this, cut loose sooner from their tows and tried landings in the smaller fields to our rear. There were lots of crash landings due to insufficient runway distance. The utter despair and helplessness of the infantry major is something I'll never forget.

U-W ALABAMA

For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-day

ALA- 2 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 ? ROBERT DANIEL TRATHEN

What was your unit and division ? Co. C , 87 th Chemical Mortar Battalion in direct support of the 3rd Battalion, 8 th Infantry Regiment, 4 th Infantry Division .

Where did you arrive in Normandy , and at what time ? Loaded landing craft ( LCM ) at 0430, landed on Utah Beach, Uncle Red Sector at 0805 ( 14th wave ).

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Captain

What was your age on June 6 , 1944? 26

Were you married at that time ? Yes

What is your wife's name ? Charlotte E . (Trommetter) Trathen

Did you have any children at that time ? No

What do you do now ? Retired from the Army as a Lt Colonel and employed in the Civil Service as Assistant Chief, Plans and Training Division, U. S. Army Chemical Corps Training Command, Fort McClellan, Alabama.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion ? Rumored for about 6 weeks , but the rumor was very weakly supported. Certain about it when we closed in and were secured in Seaton Barracks two weeks prior to the invasion.

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? Coming out of Plymouth harbor we sailed toward the Straits of Dover, paralelling the coast of England, past the Isle of Wight, changing direction during the night toward the landing area. Our ship, the U. S. S. BAYFIELD, was a Command Ship, and, as such, appeared to rate special attention from other ships; ie, salutes, cheers, special destroyer protection. A holiday atmosphere prevailed during the afternoon of the fifth. Last-minute checks of equipment were made. Little, if any, additional planning was necessary. Conversation was coldly professional. No one seemed to have any doubt of the success of our mission. We heard the C47's with the paratroopers going overhead during the night. There was little sleeping aboard ship.

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). We had few rumors. Quite naturally we were concerned at the delay in loading. We were originally to board our landing craft at 0230, but did not do so until 0430. There was some talk of considerable E Boat activity among perimeter vessels, but nothing firm. We seemed to be thoroughly isolated from rumor - inducing information.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Robert Daniel Trathen

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No. Our company history, however, was considerably out of context with the accepted format of unit histories and presents a very brief resume of the events of the day (Copy attached).

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes. The first man killed in our company was Pfc Frederick Smith, who sustained a direct hit by an artillery round while still on the beach. Later in the evening, our Liaison Officer, Lt Harold Shouse, and First Sergeant, John Czerwinski, were killed. [inserted] What did they say? [end inserted]

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? No conversation with Smith. However, I did speak with Shouse and Czerwinski at various times during the day. They had landed six hours after the company and were supposed to consolidate all the loose ends and operate the Company rear command post. This was accomplished. While coming forward to my position at about 2300, they walked into a German road block and were killed.

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? I was aboard the Battalion Commander's "free boat" (an LCM) from 0430 till we landed at 0805. The water was rough and we did quite a bit of moving around among the several waves of boats in the Battalion while they were forming up. Spray was constantly breaking over the bow and sides, and I was getting wet. To prevent this, I put my gas-proof cape over me. This kept me dry, so I left it on until it was almost time to debark. We approached the shore as close as possible until we were stopped by underwater obstacles, lowered the ramp and stepped off into water up to my chin.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I was with an airborne Infantry Major at about 1545 watching our unsuccessful efforts to take a large, open field between the crossroads Les Forges and the town of Ste Mere Eglise. Our efforts were vigorously and successfully repulsed, and the field was subjected to murderous German defensive fires at the slightest provocation. Units of the Major's outfit were scheduled to land by glider, in this field, at 1600. He was unable to stop or divert the mission. The first flights of gliders landed, were raked with fire, and the occupants never even got the doors open. Subsequent flights observing this, cut loose sooner from the tow planes, and attempted landings in the smaller fields to our rear. This resulted in crash landings of most of the gliders due to insufficient runway distance, but at least the casualties were reduced below the initial 100% figure. This situation and the utter despair and helplessness of the Infantry Major is a never-to-be-forgotten incident for me. [inserted] What did he say [end inserted]

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Robert Daniel Trathen

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? Our actual landing zone was removed a considerable distance from the originally selected site. This negated that part of our company's preplanning which dealt with assembly of the units in the vicinity of certain expected land marks. In spite of this, my command group assembled based on the general position within the landing zone. Both platoon leaders used the same logic and the company was consolidated. One squad, however, was lost when their LCVP was detached from their wave. We assumed them to be casualties. Imagine our complete amazement and happiness when we saw the squad leader alertly leading his squad and their mortar along the beach, directly to the general position within the landing zone where we should have been and actually were. This was a fine example of leadership and ingenuity on the part of that squad leader.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Aboard the U.S.S. Bayfield somewhere in the English Channel.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Pinned down by German fire in a field just north of the cross roads Les Forges and south of Ste. Mere Eglise.

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?

Howard O. Collins 109 Clen-Moone Boulevard New Castle, Pennsylvania

Rico Lanaro 87 Avon Street Stratford, Connecticut

Francis W. James 1036 Dakin Street Chicago, Illinois

Sfc Charlie McManus Headquarters 100th Chemical Group (ComZ) Fort McClellan, Alabama

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.

If I can help you farther, please let me know. Robert Daniel Trathen

Cornelius Ryan Frances Ward, 4/23/58 Frances Ward Research, The Reader’s Digest

June 6, 1944

D-Day. Today was really the day and at last the invasion has started. We were supposed to board the landing crafts , L.C.M. at 0230, delayed to 0430, on Utah beach, Uncle Red Sector, at 0805. Set up on the beach, prepared to cover infantry 3rd Bn., 8th Rgmt, Lt Col Strickland commanding. On crossing inundated area, were shelled rather heavily by German .88s and mortars , Pfc. Smith received a direct hit and was killed instantly, our first casualty. Mudhen received hit by tracer bullets and burned. Proceeded from beach S.W. to Ste Mere De Monde, then West to Les Forges. 8th Inf. was pinned down by strong point South of Ste. Mere Eglise, could advance no farther. Mortars set up in vicinity of Les Forges ready to support attack or repel counter attack. Lt Shouse and 1st Sgt Czerwinski last seen at approximately 2300. We have proved our worth already by firing several missions successfully. Morale excellent, considering everything.