Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 010, folder 18: Alexander William Barber

BARBER, Dr. Alex W. Pa 42 Box 10, #18

5th Rangers MEDIC

Omaha Dog White"

Debarked Into LCA's at 0430 from Prince Baudoin

Run in to Beach -Beach was protected with all sorts of underwater obstacles, many with telle mines attached. Mortar & artillery shells continually burst in the area of these obstacles & a heavy concentration of machine gun fire swept the Beach. About 75 yds. from the water's edge, a 4' sea wall ran laterally along the beaach. Our naval bombardment had set fire to the vegetation above the beach & a pall of smoke obscured that area.

On beach 1 Good action repart

2 My 1st wounded case made me frightened, for I had to run to the soldier through machine gun & artillery fire. When I arrived at the soldiers side, I felt relieved & administered medical attention & carried him to safety. From then on I felt I was leading a charmed life.

"I must have made an amazing picture pedaling across the battlefield on a bicycle to reach the wounded. As I rode soldiers would call to me to take shelter. I'm still amazed I survived."

3 I saw one soldier holding his best friend not realizing the friend was dead.

4 [illegible]

Johnstown, PA 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? Dr. Alex W. Barber or Alexander William Barber

What was your unit and division? 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Strip of beach designated as Omaha Dog White Beach time H Hour, but landed thirty minutes prior

What was your rank on June 6 Private first Class

What was your age on June 6, 1944? twenty years

Were you married at that time ? no

What is your wife's name? ---

Did you have any children at that time? ---

What do you do now? Doctor of Chiropractic —in private practice

When did you know that you were going to be part of .the invasion?. June 2, 1944 they told us we would participate in European invasion.

The unit was composed of all volunteers for any invasion, and therefore we knew we were being trained for the invasion. June 1 was the actual date we boarded the ship

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 ? I was aboard the HMS Prince Baudouin (other one for our outfit was HMS Prince Leopold). The trip across was rough, for the water was choppy and the weather was bad; the invasion was changed from June 5 to June 6, 1944.

Most of the unit was kept busy cleaning and checking equipment and the members of the unit were constantly being briefed on the operations, for each man had to know his duties without a slipup.

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). Rumors were few. Included the ff: Germans had gas ready to drop; German planes had destroyed over half of tne fleet; over 3000 soldiers had drowned; Landing strip was heavily mined; all prisoners would be shot or hanged.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Alex W. Barber

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No, but I nave a history of the 5th Ranger Battalion, telling of their exploits.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes, over 60 Rangers were killed or wounded the first day. Most of them were acquaintances of mine.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they beoame casualties? I do not recall specific conversations, but some talked of what they intended to do at war's end, like settling down with English girls, and others said they were anxious to return to their homes in America because they did not like to fight.

Were you wounded? I was not wounded on D Day, but later, during the fighting for the Saar Valley suffered leg wounds.

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? I cared for the wounded as a medic. My first wounded case made me frightened, for I had to run to the soldier through the machine gun fire and artillery fire. When I arrived at the injured soldier's side I felt relieved and administered medical attention and carried him to safety without being hit myself. From then on I felt I was lead a charmed life and defied all dangers in my efforts to save lives.

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? I now look back with amusement on the picture I must have made peddling across the battlefield on a bicycle to reach the wounded comrades. As I rode soldiers would call to me to take shelter, and it seemed that instead of me, it was those fellows who would get hit. I am still amazed to know I survived the actions of the Day.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I saw one soldier holding his best friend, not realiziing the friend was dead!

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name a;ex. W. Barber

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 ? I recall a fellow renger returning, through a barrage pf fire, to a farmhouse he had just left --- he said he had forgotten something. When he ran uut again, he was wearing a TOP HAT! How rediculous he looked running back to his unit'.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Aboard HMS Prince Baudouin.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? In a foxhole outside of VIERVILILE SUR MER.

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?

I would refer you to Les Kness, Secretary of the Ranger Battalions Associations. His address is 1807 Bowdoin Des Moines 15, Iowa

He could provide names of other Rangers.

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

D. Day Operation

"D" Day, 6 June 1944 - and will a Ranger ever forget it? 0420 hours and into the LCAs, to start the ten mile dash to the coast of France, in a sea choppy enough to turn the stomach of "Sinbad, the Sailor".

Approaching the beach, it was plain to see that the Germans did not desire our social call. The beach was protected, by numerous underwater obstacles consisting oi elements "C", hedgehogs and tetrahedra, many with teller mines attached. Mortar and Artillery shells continually burst in the area of these obstacles, and a heavy concentration of machine gun and small arm fire swept the beach. About 75 yards from the water's edge, a four foot sea wall ran laterally along the beach. Our Naval Bombardment had set fire to the vegetation above the beach, and a pall of smoke obscured that area.

The first wave to hit the beach consisted of half of the [crossed out] Batt [end crossed out] Battalion Headquarters, Companies "A" "B" AND "E", landing on a strip of the beach designated as OMAHA DOG WHITE. Actually the landing point for these Rangers was Dog Green, but Lt. Col. Max Schneider, seeing the fabulous volume of fire that covered Dog Green Beach, ordered the flotilla, commander to touch down his craft east of the intend landing point. This wave crossed the beach in good order, with few casualties, and halted temporally in the rear of the sea wll, and immediately reorganized. The second wave, consisting of half of the Headquarters, Companies "C", "D" and one platoon of F company repeated the [crossed out] [illegible] [end crossed out] performance of the first wave. The other platoon of "F" company had shipped too much water in its LCA and dropped out of formation landing near the LAURENT sur-MER Exit at 0900 hours after being transf red to an LCT.

On signal of the Battalion Commander, the leading troops scrambled over the wall, blew gaps in the protective barbed wire, and protected by the rising smoke advanced to a point near the top of the hill, were the smoke had cleared and the hill was being swept by enemy automatic fire. First Lieutentant Francis W. Dawson of Company "D" led his platoon over the top and eliminated an enemy strongpoint, enabling the entire Battalion to advance. Here, minefields became as prevalent as bees on a honeycomb, and the battalion had to change into a column formation, winding in and out of those formidable , hid defenses, Company B, the leading unit, reached the ST. LAUENT surMer - Vierville sur Mer road at a point appoximately one Kilometer East of Vierville sur Mer. In the course of this advance, many Germans well concealed in weapons pit constructed in the hedgerows were kill The Battalion advanced towar Vierville sur Mer, "B" "E" company, at attempting a pentrartion to the south, was stopped by intense machine gun fire. "C" Company fired an SIMM Mortar concentration, knocking our several of the positions, but they were replaced so quickly that "E" company was forced to abandan it southern attack. Several Direct artillery hits on the rear of the Battalion column, caused many casual casualties.