Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 022, folder 24: George Stanley Pargeter

PARGETER, George Stanley British Royal Marines BOX 22, #24

Interview Decorated ack 27/5/58 Neg D

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 -- MIDNIGHT JUNE 6

What is your full name? GEORGE STANLEY PARGETER.

What is your present address? 145 WHITE RD. GUNTON BHAM

Telephone number:

What was your unit, division, corps? ROYAL MARINES (COMBINED OPERATIONS)

Where did you land and at what time? AROMANCHES 3PM JUNE 6th 1944

What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? CORPORAL AGE 18yrs (COXWAIN)

Were you married at that time? NO.

What is your wife's name? AUDREY TRESAITH

Did you nave any children at that time? NO.

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? MAY 30th

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 A COXWAIN ON LANDING CRAFT (LCVP's) AND MY BOAT WAS TAKEN ACROSS THE CHANNEL ON AN (LST) OUR MAIN CONVERSATION WAS, WHO WAS GOING TO TAKE CHARGE IF SO AND SO WAS KILLED, WE PASSED TIME MAINLY PLAYING CARDS AND TOMBOLA.

Were there any rumours aboard ship? (Some people remember hearing that the Germans had poured gasoline on the water and planned to set it afire when the troops came in.) NO RUMOURS ABOUT THE ENEMY WERE HEARD ON OUR SHIP.

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? NO.

2.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? A NUMBER OF MY FRIENDS WERE KILLED AND WOUNDED AS THEY LANDED ON THE BEACHES.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? CANNOT REMEMBER.

Were you wounded? NO

How 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 may not have seemed amusing at the time? Or anything unexpected or outof-place? OF COARSE EVERY ONE WAS TENSED UP AND PROBABLY FRIGHTENED TO A CERTAIN EXTENT BUT SEEING THE HARBOUR LIT UP [?and?] NIGHT WAS ASIGHT . I SHALL NOT FORGET THE FIRST PLANE SHOT DOWN WAS A SPITFIRE WHICH FLEW VERY LOW, AND EVERY GUN OPENED FIRE AT ANYTHING GERMAN OR OTHERWISWE.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? I WAS AWARDED THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL FOR MY ACTION ON JUNE 6th AT 12.00 PM IN THE HARBOUR [crossed out] MU [end crossed out] KNOW AS MULBERRY. I SAVED 16 SAPPERS WHO WERE WOUNDED ON A RHINO, AND TOWED THE RHINO AWAY FROM THE MERCHANT SHIP. THIS RHINO WAS LOADED WITH LORRIES AND AMMUNITION, WHICH WAS ON FIRE. COMMANDER BUCKETT PUGH DSO RECOMMENDED ME WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE LANDING OPERATION. (OVERLEAF)

MY DECK HAND WAS ALSO AWARDED THE DSM. MY STOKER JUMPED OFF THE BOAT, AND THE TWO OF US CARRIED ALL THE MEN TO SAFETY. AND ONE OFFICER DIED ON MY ENGINE COVER. HE WAS BADLY BURNED.

ONE THING ALSO THAT STANDS OUT IN MY MEMORY WAS THE WONDERFUL COVER OUR SMALL LANDING CRAFT HAD FROM THE (PHOENIX) LARGE CONCRETE SLABS WHICH WERE TOWED ACROSS THE CHANNELL BY TUGS WITHOUT THESE WE SHOULD HAVE LOST MOST OF OUR CRAFT. AS YOU KNOW IT WAS FORCE 8 GALE WHEN WE LANDED.

3.

In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self-reliance; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either? IT WAS 5 WEEKS AFTER D DAY BEFORE THE GERMAN UNDERGROUND GUN WAS LOCATED NEAR ARROMANCHE AND EVERY DAY WE HEARD THE GUN BEING FIRED AT US IN THE MULBERRY HARBOUR AND NEXT WE HEARD THE WHISTLE OF THE SHELL WONDERING WHO WAS NEXT (EVENTUALLY THEY DID HIT OUR SHIP (CAPTURANE) AND MY OFFICER Lt HAYES WAS KILLED INSTANTLY.

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours (midnight 5 June to midnight 6 June) either as infantry, glider or airborne troops, whom we should write to?

What do you do now? AT PRESENT I AM ENGAGED AT GUEST KEEN and NETTLEFOLDS AS A PRODUCTION CONTROL CLERK. PUSH ROD SECTION.

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."

Cornelius Ryan Joan O. Isaacs The Reader's Digest