Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 022, folder 43: William Ivan Rutter

RUTTER, William Ivan 13th Battalion Parachute Regiment Box 22, #43

THE ASSAULT LANDINGS IN NORMANDY D DAY: MIDNIGHT JUNE 5 ~ MIDNIGHT JUNE 6 What is your full name? William Ivan Rutter What is your present address? Riversdale, Steeple Morden, Royston, Herts. Telephone number: Steeple Morden 213 What was your unit, division, corps? "C" Company, 13th Battalion Parachute Regiment Where did you land and at what time? Ranville, about 1 AM What was your rank and age on June 6, 1944? Private (signaller) age - 19 Were you married at that time? no What is your wife's name? Did you have any children at that time? NO. When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Some time before; we were in the concentration area behind barbed wire for a week or two. 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 trip was very smooth in the Dakotas; seats were a bit hard. We sang a few songs and had some tea. There was not a lot of talk 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.) We knew of the poles being put up on likely dropping zones, but I don't remember anyone talking of anything else. Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? no time

2 Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? yes, several Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Were you wounded? not on D Day 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? No pain, although curiously it was just as if someone had kicked me. 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 out- of-place? yes, see separate paper Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, that struck you more than anything else? Crossing the main road in Ranville early on D-Day to get to the rear of the Chateau which was our objective. there was a single parachute hanging in the telephone wires. somehow it struck some of us, as being a bit pathetic hanging there with no occupant

3. In times cf 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? 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? Mr. A. Lawley (Ex. S. Major, C boy) 8 Linzee Road, London, N.8. Incidently, this man took part in the blowing up of the Tragino Viaduct, one of the first Parachute Operations, and was taken prisoner with Capt Deane-Drummond, author of "Return Ticket." What do you do now? I am running a poultry farm. 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 0. Isaacs The Reader's Digest

Just a brief summary of a few points. Most of us had equipment in kit-bags, some of these must have weighed as much as we did. Mine, I know I had to drag to the plane. We had a service conducted by the Padre, before setting off to the aerodrome, which we reached by trucks. A certain amount of singing on the way. The flight was very smooth. We had tea from flasks, there was rather too much condensed milk in it for me. One odd thing was, that although we kept starting songs, we kept going back to "Onward Christian Soldiers", a hymn which was in the service. For some reason it seemed to have stuck in our minds. When we hooked up before jumping the man next to me got really concerned about whether he was hooked up properly. The RAF dispatcher stood at the door with a big sheath-knife in his belt, this caused some speculation. Most of us were of the opinion that it was to cut us free if we were caught-up on the way out. When the green-light came on we staggered up to the door with our kit-bags strapped to our right legs and heaved ourselves out. On my chute opening I found I had a bit of a swing on, but what was most noticeable was the coloured tracer being fired up at us. I remember thinking it was like bonfire night. I pulled the quick-release for my kit-bag to let it down on its cord