ryan_box023-tld_f53_03

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -
Your name
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day?
Yes but not detailed, I kept a diary of my entire service life
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day?
Yes a Flight Sgt Jones an air gunner was killed. I had spent
several months with him whilst training Just prior to joining the Squadron.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became Casualties?
I did not have any conversation with the above Flight Sgt [crossd out] to [end crossed out] as he was posted to another squadron prior to D day

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?
N/A
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even
though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time?
When we had released the glider and turned for home we dived down
low and headed for the coast flying out across the huge fleet of
ships anchored off the shore. Suddenly I spotted a white puff away above
us and remarked that if that was A A fire they were lousy shots
when looking a little harder I realized it was a balloon and then
noticed others, shouted to the pilot to watch out for cables and the
rest of the crew and I spent an anxious few minutes looking out
for balloon cables which attached the balloons to the ships below.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck
you more than anything else?
Firstly I remember how all the ground staff of the squadron
gathered along the airfield prior to our takeoff and waved
to the crew of each aircraft as we climbed away into the sky
I had the feeling that their thoughts would be with us till we
returned. Secondly, I heard after the invasion that two of the glider
pilots who took off from our station changed seats in their gliders before
landing (they were 1st & 2nd pilot of the same glider). On landing in France
the[sic] collided with one of the poles in the field and the 1st pilot, who was
quite a popular fellow in the Squadron was crushed to death, the 2nd pilot
survived.