Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 021, folder 46: Peter Ferdinand Masters

SWORD Br. - No Release MASTERS, Peter Ferdinand (EXT) [crossed out] Wash DC 16 [end crossed out] Box 21, #46 SWORD ? Must for Bridges & AB link up

[*BR-E Further to the second question: Having been born in Vienna, Austria, I came to England, as a refugee from Nazi persecution. I was interned for 2 months in England (at one time guarded by the Regiment whose badge I wore on D-Day!) I volunteered for service as soon as I was old enough. At first I was in the Pioneer Corps (a labor unit) and volunteered for whatever came along, finally being accepted by the commandos; there was a newly formed, highly secret troop of Germans & Austrians.

WASH., DC WASH DC16

Brit. Commando-- Mr. Ryan will have to decide this on basis of Brit. material he has. RED I'd said - note woonderful story p. 2 & back p. 2*]

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? PETER FERDINAND MASTERS (changed from Peter Ferdinand ARANY , by British War Office Order on joining the Commandos)

What was your unit and division? No. 3 Troop, 10 COMMANDO, (British) specialist individually attached to 1 Troop, No. 6 COMMANDO, (a bicycle-equipped troop) 1 COMMANDO BRIGADE, att. 6 Airborne Division

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? On 'Queen Red' Beach, near Ouistreham at the estuary of the Orne River & canal, in the department of Eure. The time H+75 minutes, which was 7.15 AM

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Lance - Corporal

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 22 yrs.

Were you married at that time? no

What is your wife's name? ---

Did you have any children at that time ? no

[*CR - Unless you've covered this stuff - it's a natural for Br. Com. He can be interviewed*]

What do you do now? I am the Art Director of WTOP - Television, in Washington, D. C. I design settings and graphic Arts (Titles, etc.) for local and CBSNetwork Television shows, Public Affairs & news shows (including several Presidential Broadcasts to date, and a weekly one-hour network musical) I also teach Art at the Corcoran School of Art, & am a Consultant for graphics for the U. S. Public Health Service

[*about 2 months before*] When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Some time in the fall or winter of 1943/44 speculation began in that direction; definite knowledge came with our troops reorganization* into detachments of 5-6 men, to one of each of the 8 Commando units and two Brigade HQs in Nos 1 & 4 Bde. I was 2nd in command of the small detachment to No 6 Commando, and joined them only 2 weeks prior to D-Day.

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 trip was rough - the sea choppy. After the 24 hr. postponement it still seemed pretty rough going to us. We embarked into our Landing craft, Infantry, Light, at 8 p.m. on June the 5th, [inserted] in Southampton [end inserted], waving at neighboring craft, singing and cheering, with music playing over the P.A. system. The assembly and crossing took a very long time, it seemed. the captain of the craft would not have us on deck when we were getting close, except once to go to the forward hold for a meal (some nondescript stew). I read a pocket size book "Cold Comfort Farm" I think, with no interest or recollection. I had a headache, and many people were seasick in the "head" of the craft, and with questionable aim. Had the channel been wider, I would have been also. I rested in a sailor's hammock, & someone said "Get out - that man is coming off watch, and he's the Navy's boxing champion, he'll knock you out !" I said, "So?" and stayed.

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 no communications with anyone outsidehardly with the people in the forward hold - so there weren't any real rumours. There was some speculation about the alleged concept that we were to land, get inland, and stay for 7 days or so. We had some veterans of the African campaign with us, who said we would be lucky to be out of it in 7 weeks, in spite of the fact that we were primarily equipped for short, sharp engagements.

-for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Peter F. Masters

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No - but I wrote down a few things on return. We were under strict orders not to keep diaries, so as not to facilitate the intelligence task of possible captors.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes, on other craft, and after landing, and of course several people in the troop I had only just joined. I didn't hear of the former until later.

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? I saw my troop Commander (before I was detached for D-Day) who had selected me for the Commandos & trained me, on the beach, just after landing. He was landing with Brigade HQ, from another craft. I couldn't think of anything better to do, so I saluted him on the beach! (It seemed amusing at the time!) --One of my friends told me he had to swim ashore, carrying a heavy wheel, belonging to a carrying contraption for mortar bombs which consists of 2 such wheels and a piece of webbing. He nearly drowned, but filled with a sense of duty, dragged his [?part ?] ashore, and breathlessly handed it to his sergeant major. "Thanks" said the Sgt. Major, and tossed the wheel back into the water. "This is the only one we have got." I interviewd a wounded german officer. He had a peculiar propelling pencil in his pocket. I took it apart. "Afraid it's loaded?" he jeered. "No" I quoted in German, "but caution is the Mother of Wisdom. Ever heard that proverb?"

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable , that struck you more than anything else? For me the first impressive thing was to see the Normandy villagers come out of the rubble of their houses, dazedly posting proclamations of liberation, as soon as we landed. My most memorable time was about noon, as we were nearing our 1st main objective, the Benouville Bridges; (over the river Orne & the parallel canal). We were going down a road towards the last village before the bridges. Some fellow, I remember a redhaired man, had just been killed as we were pushing ahead on our bicycles. (We were supposed to meet the Airborne people at the bridges) We of No. 3 Troop, 10 Cdo., (a german speaking troop mostly of German & Austrian Refugees) had been trained in the organization and weapons of the German Army- and we had been told to see first we were used properly, by the troops we were attached to, and that the officer in charge would frequently be too busy to do so, unless reminded. So whenever anything was going, I asked the Troop Captain "Can I go?" When we approached that village and firing started moderately below- we dismounted & put our bicycles by the road. Then the Captain said- "Now is your chance to do something- go into that village and see what is going on!" I said: "How many people shall I take?" He said: "No-just you, alone." "O.K.- I think I will get into the village along that [over]

CONTINUED field over there and come back along one of those hedges. 'No' said the Captain, "I don't think you have got the idea- I want you to go down the road into the village to see what is going on." This seemed a little like being told to go ahead so that he could watch from which side I would be hit. However there seemed to be no choice. I walked down the road, finger on the trigger of my tommy gun, and since I was rather visible, I thought I might as well shout in German: "come out! give yourselves up! You are completely surrounded!" and similar sound advice. I was approaching a road junction when a German suddenly popped up from behind a low wall, firing some automatice weapon. As he came up, I went down on one knee, and we both fired. My gun fired one round and jammed! Luckily he didn't know that - so he was taking cover again. He came up a few more times, but missed each time. In the meantime, I tried to get my gun going - by re-cocking, shaking - but it was no use. Finally, with great difficulties, I took my eyes off the low wall where he kept bobbing up and down, and looked at my gun; there were several rounds crumpled up in the breach! I ripped them out, cocked my gun, flicked up the sights and set them, and aimed from the shoulder, carefully. I figured he could not keep on missing me - there was no cover, no ditch, the grass verge I was on had pretty short grass. Next time I was going to hit my target, no matter what: But it never came to that; My captain apparently had seen what he wanted to see- and ordered the troop to fix bayonets and charge! First I saw a tall corporal from the Grenadier Guards (commandos are volunteers from all units) firing a brengun from the shoulder, which isn't in the book. In an assault the bren may be fired from the hip, the book says. But from the shoulder - you would have to have quite a reach, and quite a grip. He sprayed the wall - suddenly wheeled to his left and fired a whole magazine practically at his feet. When I followed (I took a little while to pick myself up!) I saw that there were two machine guns just around a corner in the hedge along the road, a man lying behind each. Both were wounded, one unfit for interrogation. The other one was a young kid of maybe 17 from Styria in Austria. He claimed they had never fired (they hadn't, at me, as far as I could see) They were too far back from the road anyway. "The others" he said, when I showed him their half-empty M.G. belt "they ran! The Feldwebel said stay here and we did and he ran away. My bread-bag is hurting me - it rubs against my wound. When are you going to evacuate us?" Someone was standing behind me. "How do you say 'I am sorry' in German?" It was my rescuer, the big Guards Corporal. "Es tut mir leid," I said, or "Verzeihung." "Verzeihung" he tried to say to the two Germans - "es tut mir leid". I think it was the following day that they got him, in a charge. He was doing the 'from the shoulder' stunt again, the one that isn't in the book.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name PETER F. MASTERS

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 ? During the night, in the village of Varaville, which I believe to have been just about the leftmost location reached by Allied troops on D-day - troops that weren't lost and made it back, I mean - our scanty troop was counter attacked vigorously. A man we luckily had along was a volunteer from the Royal Artillery - a Lance Bombardier. He somehow managed to figure out how a cap[t]ured 3.7 Antitank gun worked, with the help of my translations of the inscriptions. He also managed to train his buddy as his Number 2, passing ammunition. And he managed to get permission to fire the thing in case of emergency. When that time came, he fired the gun, knocking a hole in a building by mistake at first, but eventually most effectively. Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944 ? somewhere in the middle of the channel Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? In the village of Varaville - on the road to Cabourg from Troarn. We did pull out the next morning - when we happened to pick up a message to do so on our almost defunct radio, having been posted missing. 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 , who took part in the air and sea operations , whom we should write to ? I know a lot of people in my unit and in neighboring units who were there at that time, of course. As far as 'offbeat' cases are concerned, you might be interested in the French Commandos (there were two troops attached to No 4 Commando) for whom this was sort of a homecoming. I remember particularly their commanding officer Capitain Kieffler, who was wounded on the beach; Capitain Lofi; Corporal Bogadore, and a man I used to go on patrol with, Ducas. I think I could find out their addresses, if necessary.

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