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O - TE MD 13 Balto., MARYLAND
For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day
Badly wounded - sounds reluctant on ques., but maybe good. [illegible]
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? EDWIN J. WOLF
What was your unit and division? 6th ENGINEER SPECIAL BRIGADE, 280 QM. BN. ATTACHED TO 1st INFANTRY DIVISION.
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? OMAHA BEACH, EAST END (NEAR D-3 EXIT) ABOUT ONE MILES EAST OF WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO LAND.
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Lt. COLONEL
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 37
Were you married at that time? YES
What is your wife's name? JANE HUTZLER WOLF
Did you have any children at that time? YES - TWO
What do you do now? ATTORNEY - AT - LAW
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? FEBRUARY 1944
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? THE PASSAGE WAS SMOOTH. I WAS WITH MY UNIT AND OTHERS ON AN LST. THE ROUGH PART OF THE TRIP OCCURRED WHEN THE LST ANCHORED TWELVE MILES OFF SHORE AND I WENT ASHORE IN AN OVERLOADED DUKW. I MADE IT, OTHERS DIDNT. I SLEPT MOST OF THE TIME, BECAUSE DURING THE PRECEDING FORTY-EIGHT HOURS PRIOR TO EMBARCATION AT WEYMOUTH I HAD ABOUT FOUR HOURS SLEEP. DONT OVERLOOK WE HAD THE FALSE START OF JUNE 2 AND 3rd.
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 ). GAS WAS THE PRINCIPAL RUMOR I NOW REMEMBER.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name WOLF, EDWIN J.
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? NO, LOST EVERYTHING, EXCEPT MY OPERATIONS MAP AND THE CLEARED CHANNEL MIMEOGRAPH WE USED TO GET TO SHORE.
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? YES.
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? NO.
Were you wounded? YES
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? UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE A DAILY REMINDER. THE PAIN WAS TERRIFIC. THE IMPACT KNOCKED ME DOWN. WHEN I CAME TO AND COULDN'T SEE I WAS UPSET. MY SPIRITS REVIVED WHEN I RECOVERED MY VISION, EVEN THOUGH I COULDNT FIND PART OF MY NOSE, FACE and GLASSES.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? YES, MAJOR PALMER MET ME ON THE BEACH, HE HAD BEEN ON AN LSI WHICH HAD BEEN HIT AND DESTROYED. HE LOST EVERYTHING, BUT WAS PROUD OF A KNIFE HE HAD SAVED.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? YES, I SAW AN LCT HIT BY A GERMAN SHELL. IT WAS PUT OUT OF ACTION AND WENT FLOATING OUT IN THE CHANNEL JUST LIKE A BATHTUB!
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name WOLF, EDWIN J.
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 ASSISTANT DIVISION COMMANDER OF THE FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION INSPIRED ME WITH HIS COURAGEOUS ATTITUDE, I FELT IF HE COULD WALK UP AND DOWN THE BEACH, SO COULD I.
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? ON BOARD AN LST IN THE CHANNEL PREPARING TO DEBARK
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? ON THE BEACH, IN A HOLE, WAITING TO BE EVACUATED AS A CASUALTY TO ENGLAND.
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? [illegible] BRIG. GEN'L PAUL W. THOMPSON, C/O THE READER'S DIGEST COL. LUCIUS P. CHASE, KOHLER, WISCONSIN [illegible] LT. COL. MAC A. PALMER, 114 BENNETT AVE. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA
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
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LAW OFFICES WOLF AND WOLF 110 EAST LEXINGTON STREET SUITE 101 BALTIMORE 2, MD. PLAZA 2- 7475 EDWIN J. WOLF W. WALTER FARNANDIS HARRY B. WOLF, JR.
June 3, 1958
Miss Frances Ward Reader’s Digest 230 Park Avenue New York, New York
Dear Miss Ward:
In the ’’American Legion” magazine, issue of June, 1958 at page 28, I read of the inquiry made regarding June 6, 1944 in Normandy. I was at Omaha Beach on that fateful day with the Sixth Engineer Special Brigade. I will be glad to be of assistance.
Very truly yours, WOLF AND WOLF EDWIN WOLF Edwin J. Wolf
#2 EJW:cl