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Eureka 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. hat is your full name ? Maurice Charles White
What was your unit and division ? Company "C" 501 Parchute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Div.
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Near Carenton, France Shortly after midnight 5 June 1944
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Sgt
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 23
Were you married at that time ? No
What is your wife's name ? Jean
Did you have any children at that time ? No
What do you do now? Battery Missile Officer, "B" Btry 506 AAA Missile Bn.
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? About the first of June 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 plane ride was pretty smooth, but we had to stand up and hook up our static lines on our parachutes when we left England and started across the channel. We were plenty tired and scared by time we got to the French coast.
We talked about how many planes there were in the air and hoped they were all ours. Also how much flak there was when we got close to France.
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).
Not any rumors on the plane, but we did talk about the anti airborne invasion poles the Germans had erected in the fields.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Maurice C White
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No
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? 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? Yes; we talked about the flak being so thick and heavy we didn't need a parachute, that we could just walk down the flak to the germans. Many of us took midnight swims, with our clothes on, in the irregation ditches in the fields we landed in. This was not to our own choosing.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? The most memorable this is the sound of the little metal "crickets" that we used to identify ourselves with. We would challenge with one click and the answer had better be two clicks.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Maurice C White
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 ? No
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Approaching the coast of France by plane.
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Dug in near a cannal looking over the flat ground toward Carenton, France.
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 ? My company commander was Robert H. Phillips He lives in Atlanta, GA.
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 HI A CHAPTER CALLED uWHERE THEY ARE NOW; YOUR NAME AND VOCATION OR OCCUPATION WILL BE LISTED.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.
Cornelius Ryan
Frances Ward
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June 5» 1956
Deer Mr. White:
A book about D-Day, June 6, 1944, is being prepared by Cornelius Ryan for publication in The Reeder's Digest and in book form on the fifteenth anniversary of the Normandy Invasion next spring. We are working with the complete cooperation of the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense and because of their assistance we have received your name and ad- dress from Captain McDowell, at Headquarters, 24th Artillery Group, in Swarthmore. The book will not be a strategic history, but a story of twentyfour hours of D-Day as men lived them and remember them. He hope very much, therefore, that you will be willing to help us.
Mr. Ryan hopes to meet many of the people who agree to help us during the summer months of this year, and so I should be grateful to know whether or not you would be available for interview during that time. However, since the project is so huge, we must have some basic information in order to make any sort of intelligent preparation for interviews. The enclosed questions have been prepared in the hope that they will give us this informa- tion and indicate to you the kind of material which we are seeking. It would be of great help to us, therefore, if you would complete this record and return it to me at your earliest convenience.
We will look forward very eagerly to your reply. He really need your help.
Sincerely yours,
Frances Ward Research Department
CWO Maurice C. White, W 2145761 Battery B 506th AAA Missile Battalion Eureka, Pennsylvania