Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 010, folder 19: Gail Hamilton Belmont

Boston RANGERS BELMONT, Gail Hamilton Mass 3 Box 10, #19

Co A 2nd Rangers

On beach "When I was halfway across the beach I looked back & saw the Co. Commander, Captain Rafferty, who had been hit hard and was laying at the edge of the water, waving his arm & motioning to the men in the company to keep going & get off the beach."

Wounded "I had an argument after I was struck in the shoulder from a German machine gun with the medic who came up to help me. I kept insisting I had been hit in the back, he kept insisting I had been hit in the front of the shoulder. All the time this argument was going on, we were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. At the time, neither of us realized that the bullets had gone through my shoulder & [crossed out]that[end crossed out]I was bleeding from both sides of my shoulder."

[*Rangers Omaha Co A 0 - 1 FORT DEVENS, MASS.*] For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day [*MASS 3*]

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.

1. What is your full name? Gail Hamilton Belmont.

2. What was your unit and division? Company A, Second Ranger Infantry Battalion.

3. Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Omaha Beach in the vicinity of Vierville Sur Mer at approximately 0650 hours 6 June 1944.

4. What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Staff Sgt. Machine Gun Squad Leader

5. What was your age on June 6, 1944? Twenty-three (23) years.

6. Were you married at that time? Not applicable.

7. What is your wife's name? Not applicable.

8. Did you have any children at that time? Not applicable.

9. What do you do now? Presently assigned as Assistant Post Inspector General, Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

10. When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Actually, this is kind of hard to say exactly. We, in the Battalion because of the special type unit we were in, the specialized training we had received both in the states and in England with the many months of training with the British Commandos, I would (continued on Sheet A) [*? Petty*] 11. 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? My Company, "Able Company" was on board the HMS Leopold, a Belgium Cross Chanel[inserted]l[end inserted] Ship which had been pressed into service by the British Navy. This ship had taken part in several previous invasions to include N. Africa, Sicily, Salarno and Anzio; therefore, her British crew were veterans. We always felt that being assigned to this ship and crew that the higher command wanted to leave no doubt in anyone's mind that we would be landed exactly where we were suppose to be on D-Day. We had worked with this ship and crew several times in the past and we were one big happy family. ESPRIT DE CORP was high and we had confidence that if anyone could do the job, this outfit could. Most of the time aboard ship was spent cleaning our weapons, studying [crossed out]areo[end crossed out]AIR-photos of the beach we were going to land on, rehearsing in our minds how we were going to accomplish our assigned mission. There was conversation such as which Company of the Battalion would get across the beach first, who’s platoon (continued on Sheet A) 12. 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). Our outfit didn’t go into much for rumors. It was the policy of the Battalion to keep everybody informed and abreast of the situation at all times. We did feel there was the possibility of the Germans employing gas or other chemical agents. The fact that we were issued a new type of assault-gas masks plus we had to wear impregnated clothing when we hit the beach only added to our belief.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Gail Hamilton Belmont

13. Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No, but I can remember the advance of the day quite vividly.

l4. Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes, thirteen (13) killed and approximately twenty (20) wounded.

15. Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Yes. [inserted]?[end inserted]

16. Were you wounded? Yes.

17. 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? Yes. [inserted]?[end inserted]

18. Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? Yes, it was at the time I was wounded. I had an arguement after I was struck in the shoulder from a German machine gun with the medic who came up to help me. I kept insisting that I had been hit in the back, he kept insisting that I had been hit in the front of the shoulder. All the time this arguement was going on, we were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Of course, neither one of us realized at the time that the bullets had gone through my shoulder and I was bleeding from both sides of my shoulder.

19. Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? Yes, it was when I was half way across the beach when I happened to look back and recognized that the Company Commander, Captain Rafferty had been hit hard and was laying at the edge of the water waiving his arm and motioning to men in the Company to keep going and get off the beach, more or less as fast as you can.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Gail Hamilton Belmont

20. 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, I do remember. However, I would rather elaborate at the interview.

21. Where were you at midnight of June 5, 1944? Somewhere in the English Chanel headed toward Omaha Beach.

22. Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? In a perimeter-defense on a coastal road approximately 1/2 mile from the beach.

[*#1*]

23. 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? Yes, [crossed out] Lt. Col. James E.Rudder, 605 W. 13th Street, Brady, Texas [end crossed out]; Mr. Leonard G. Lomell, 8 Spruce Street, Tom's River, New Jersey; Mr. Robert T. Edlin, New Albany, Indiana; Mr. William E. Dreher Jr., 1790 W. 48th Street, Cleveland, Ohio; Mr. Robert Fitzsimmons, 625 Elmwood Avenue, Niagara Falls, New .York; [crossed out] Mr. Theodore E. Lapres, 8805 Mammouth Avenue, Margate, New Jersey. [end crossed out]

### I will be available most anytime between now and the end of July.

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

For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day

CONTINUATION SHEET A

10. venture to say that after being in the outfit for a short while you actually sensed that you would be part of the invasion. In March, 1944, after having spent some time at the Assault Training Center near Ilfreconbe, England practicing assault landings and climbing cliffs, we more or less G-2'd as we say in the Army just what our role would be on D-Day.

11. would reach their objective first, how far inland would we be at the end of D-Day, etc. We were [crossed out] bringing troops [end crossed out] highly trained and probably didn't realize what combat would be like. Most memorable incidents aboard ship were Lt. Col. James E. Rudder our Battalion CO having conversations with us as individuals; our Company Commander, Captain Joseph Rafferty was promoted to Captain the day before D-Day and who received his Captain bars aboard ship; the ship's Captain, a British Naval Officer who had us all assembled and told us that although the weather had taken a turn for the worst and that the water was getting rough and that in the event they couldn’t get the small assault-craft over the side, that he was prepared to run the ship aground and practically guarantee us a dry landing; the British sailors scrubbing and painting the assault-boats getting into their Tiffany suits (a sailor's uniform bought from commercial source and of a better grade and cut than the typical issue type).