World War II D-Day Accounts from the Cornelius Ryan Collection

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Your name

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day?

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day?

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties?

Were you wounded?

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?

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else-?

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Your name Sands, William H.

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?

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? In the English Channel on LCIL

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944?

Near the crossroads at Verville-Sur-Mere

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?

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 Readers's Digest

July 24, 1958

General William H. Sands 500 Boteturret Street Norfolk, Virginia

Dear General Sands:

A history of D-Day, June 6,1944, to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the Normandy invasion next year is being prepared by Cornelius Ryan for publication in the Reader's Digest and in book form. It is being written with the complete cooperation and assistance of the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. This will not be another strategic history of invasion day, but a story of the twentyfour hours of D-Day as people lived them and remembered them. For this, we can only go to the men who were there and, if they are willing, invade their memories. Having learned of the part which you played in the invasion, we hope very much that you will be interested in the project and agree to help us.

During the next few months, both in this country and in Europe, Mr. Ryan will be interviewing many of the D-Day participants who agree to contribute to the book. Very probably, he will wish to talk with you during that period. In the meantime, since we are dealing with literally hundreds of people, we have found it necessary to develop an individual file on each person who agrees to help us. Therefore, we hope that if you are interested in the project, you will complete the en- closed record and return it to me at your earliest convenience. We truly believe that these questions will serve you, as well as us, if they can help to crystallize some hazy memories and to indicate the sort of information which we are seeking.

I should be most grateful to know as soon as possible when and if you will be available for interview during the next few months. We want very much to tell the story of your unit, and in order to do that we need your personal account. We look forward eagerly to your reply.

Sincerely yours,

Frances Ward Research Department

FW:LL Enclosure

ADAMS, Jonathan Edwards, Jr. Ga 2 Box 7, #33 [Indecipherable] 82 17B C. A 50$

Rather silly story of days where he travels light, takes off some of his clothes + then also finds he left his ammo behind, too

[?LL?] GA ? AB-E [?Lt. Benning?] GA-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 ? Jonathan Edwards Adams Jr.

What was your unit and division? CO A 508 Parachute [inserted]82[end inserted] Inf. Regiment

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? [crossed out]approximately one[end crossed out] 1:20 oclock in the morning D-Day 6 June 1944

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Captain

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 26

Were you married at that time? No

What is your wife's name?

Did you have any children at that time? No.

What do you do now? Army Officer

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? We knew that we would be a part of the invasion about Feb 1944. I was briefed on our specific mission in Early May.

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 very uneventful. Most of the men slept. In fact it seemed pretty much like a training jump. At various times I had jumped with all the different plane loadings in my company. Each one reacted differently before a jump, and was usually a reflection of the personality of the jumpmaster. Some planes sang, others talked: mine just said nothing therefore the reactions on the trip to Normandy were not unusual. At various points along the route every one would wake up and take notice of what was going on. For example: when we left the coast of England, we passed over part of the invasion fleet. I think that we could see the tremendous number of boats spread out before us. Another point was when we hit the light ship in the channel right on schedule and headed towards Normandy. the anti Aircraft fire from Jersey & Guernsey occurred (out of range) just as we had been briefed. Likewise when we hit the coast of Normandy a searchlight way to the north went on. And just as the Air Corps had told us [illegible] dropped from some where and the light went out. About the only remarks made were to the effect that it looked like for once the Air Corps wasn't going to screw up and we would get a [inserted]drop.[end inserted]

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.) And the Germans know when we were landing and where? After all many of the men had been able to figure out where we were going to jump from the nature of our training problems and the time from the full moon, tides etc. It did not help when about a week before the jump our mission was changed because of the build up of anti-parachute obstacles on our intended DZ. We were also scheduled to jump on the fifth so when the newspapers on the fifth carried the story about the [?teleprompter?] operation [?pretending?] and giving a false [illegible] of the invasion we had our doubts. Further no on the 5th of June we received some [illegible] photos taken that day of our new drop zone. There seemed to be an unusual amount of traffic on the roads around it As near as I could determine no one in the company really expected that we would be dropping with any great element of surprised. At the same time, looking back on it, it was [?remarkable?] that none of my men or officers seemed at all perturbed about it.

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Your name Adams, Jonathan E

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? A note book - but not a diary

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? Not on D-Day

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? The first time it was like a bee sting. the second time it hurt like hell. I was not surprised either time.

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time?

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I had the men in my plane stand up, as I remember it, 8 minutes from drop time which was about 2 minutes after we crossed the west coast of the Contentin Peninsula. I was the jump master and as such was standing in the door. Immediately behind me was my runner a young kid about 19 yrs old named Gainer. I had picked him for my runner because he was so clean cut, well bred, and just a darned nice kid. As we were standing in the door he remarked how beautiful the scenery was. I admit I hadn't noticed it until then. It really was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, but which I would not want to ever see again. It was a moon lit night and the small hedge rowed fields contained more different shades of purple and green than I knew existed. Gainer then said, "it just doesn't seem right going to war in a country as peaceful as this." As far as I know these were the last words he spoke because about 3/4 of an hour later he was the first American I came across. He was dead in his chute and had apparently been shot while still in the air and before he hit the ground.

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Your name Adams, Jonathan E.

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 ? Yes. with myself as an example. I landed in a small field all by myself. There was a German in one corner of the field armed with some kind of an automatic weapon. There may have been others around the field and at the time I thought there was. However, they or he did not know I had landed or were as scared as I was. Any way they stayed in their foxholes and just fired blindly. I had strapped a trench knife to my leg so I could cut myself out of my parachute harness. However when I took the first swipe at my leg harness I used the dull side of the knife and it went flying out of my hand into the darkness. As a result it took me exactly 10 minutes to get out of my chute. I know that this was the amount of time because in spite of every thing else I did, I looked at my watch before I jumped and after I got out of the chute. one more stupid thing I did! After crawling a hundred yards or so I was completely exhausted. I remember being surprised at this because the medics had always told us that fear was good because it would pump adrenaline in the blood and give a surge of energy. I realized that I would have to doff my extra clothing and equipment, I stripped to the waist and took off and undershirt, extra shirt and hid my [illegible] patch case, binoculurs etc. and started out again. I must have gone another hundred yards when I realized that I had left all my ammunition behind. After crawling back to get the ammunition I decided that it was then time to settle down.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Enroute

Where were you at midnight on June 6 , 1944? with a group of about 60 men at a point near the confluence of the Douve & the Merderet rivers.

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 ? Major John P Foley Major Henry E. Le [?Febrre?] Major George [?Lumn?] Mr William Clark (1st Sgt) - c/o Cliff M Averitt Inc. Columbus Ga Mr Anthony Cianfrani (opus Sgt) - address is listed in Phila Phone directory

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

Adams Jonathan E., Jr. Lt Col 023833 Headquarters, United States Army Infantry Center, Fort Benning, Georgia

May 9, 1958

[crossed out]book[end crossed out] UB 82nd Capt 508th [illegible] Inf Reg

Dear Colonel Adams:

A book about D-Day, June 6, 1944, is being prepared by Cornelius Ryan for pubication in The Reader's Digest in book form on the 15th anniversary of the Normandy invasion in the spring of 1959. It is being written with the complete cooperation and assistance of the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. This will not be another strategic history of invasion day, but a story of the twenty-four hours of D-Day as people lived them and remembered them. For this, we can only go to the men who were there and, if they are willing, invade their memories. Having learned from the Department of the Army, of the part which you played in the invasion, we hope very much that you'll be interested in the project and will be willing to help us.

Mr. Ryan is presently in Europe trying to get the project under way there. He will be back in this country very shortly, and during the late spring and early summer of this year, both in this country and in Europe, he will be interviewing many of the people who agree to contribute to the book. Very probably, he will wish to talk with you during that period, if you are willing and able to see him. In the meantime, since we are literally dealing with hundreds of people, we are finding it necessary to keep an individual file on each person who agrees to help us. Therefore we hope that if you are willing to help with the book, you will complete the enclosed record and return it to me at your earliest convenience. We truly believe that these questions will serve you as well as us, if they can help to crystallize some hazy memories and do indicate the sort of information which we are seeking.

In Mr. Ryan's absence, I should be most grateful to know as soon as possible when and if you will be available for interview during the next two or three months. We will look forward very eagerly to your reply. We want very much to tell your story and the story of your unit, and in order to do that we need you. Thank you so very much for any help which you can give us.

Sincerely yours,

Frances Ward Research Department

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan E. Adams, Jr., 023833 Headquarters, United States Army Infantry Center Fort Benning, Georgia

SLAPPEY, Eugene Nelson 29th Div Va 7 Box 7, #9 LEESBURG NEAR ?? Dead File