Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 007, folder 34: Denver Albrecht

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) —14--

Ryan: Did you see any of them shot down as they were coming in

Albrecht: No. I didn't see them shot down

Ryan: Now...how about night-fall that night - that was about the time we had stopped at dusk to dusk

Albrecht: Well, that was about the time they took that machine gun

Ryan: Yeh, so that would be around 8 or 9 at night then because it was fairly... it was dusk more or less

Albrecht: Oh, when they asked for volunteers the operation didn't come off right then

Ryan: I see what you mean - yes

Albrecht: It would take a little time to lay it out But it was about... it was dark... it was getting dark when they started out on that jump

Ryan: Did you see Gavin that day

Albrecht: No, I didn't see Gavin that day I think I it was two days later that

Ryan: Let me ask you one thing - what was the most heroic or sad thing that you saw that day

Albrecht: Oh it was the lieutenant getting

Ryan: You mean the lieutenant going for the machine guns

Albrecht: I think it was him that got killed - he got a

Ryan: Could you tell me how that was like

Albrecht: No I seen him later thats all - I knew he was killed and I seen him later

Ryan: Yes, but I mean how did he move up - did he move up - did he run, walk or move along the side of the hedgerow or what

Albrecht: There isn't any hedgerow here - hedgerows are here

Ryan: Why would you consider that memorable or sad

Albrecht: Well you see the next day when we were getting this -about noon the next day

DENVER AEBRECHT (Continued) -15-

Albrecht: we had got a few trucks or rather bus from the French - we were loading the bodies and somebody had brought back lieutenant ’s body back

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: I happened to see it

Ryan: Yeh, he was a young kid, ha

Albrecht: It was pretty—

Ryan: Do you remember what you said to the Frenchman when you first ran into him just shortly after you landed the men. I mean was he amazed to see you - was he friendly

Albrecht: Friendly. They appear friendly but this German patrol that just went by us

Ryan: Yeh

Albrecht: And I couldn’t speak French - I don’t recall what I said - I

Ryan: What did he do - I mean did you both just stand facing each other

Albrecht: Well we both started waving and pointing to the directions

Ryan: Ya

Albrecht: And I said now - well I won’t trust his signals or instructions - we’ll just move out of here real fast very easy, no question about that so we wanted to get away from him in a hurry

Ryan: The - would you say when you passed through this area - now when you were looking for other men, did you see a lot of wounded, a lot of dead or wounded

Albrecht: No

Ryan: Because

Albrecht: Not until later

Ryan: Not until later. The reason I ask you that question is that Gen. Gavin was telling me that he lost 60%

Albrecht: We had - there were a lot wounded in the town of Chef-du-Pont

Ryan: Ya

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -16-

Albrecht: I don’t know how many wounded

Ryan: Well no, but I mean

Albrecht: There were a lot and there were a number of dead around this area

Ryan: Yeh, Where was the CP actually set up - the would be Chef-du Pont. Was there a CP there

Albrecht: There was a whole lot of CPs

Ryan: Yeh, well I know

Albrecht: There was a control point there, yes

Ryan: What was - does the code name Eagle mean anything to you or Brooklyn

Albrecht: I don’t recall either one of them

Ryan: Ya. I notice in the messages that were sent from the... to Gavin...all the times would say Eagle flying to Brooklyn... or Brooklyn reports to Eagle zone so..so... I just want to save me time digging through all this those signal records if you remembered what it was

Albrecht: I don’t remember what it was

Ryan: Were you decorated for any action up there

Albrecht: No

Ryan: As I figure you fellows deserved something. Did you get into Ste-Mere-Eglise later on

Albrecht: Oh yes about two days later - I would say - 2 days, possibly 3 days later - what it came down to - have all 82nd Division men report to the...Ste Mere-Eglise it was a reorganization. Some of the first people were still with us. They were taking care of this area and by this time the beach outfit, I think it was the May (sounds like) infantry came through here.

Ryan: Let’s go back to the time when you used a gamin grenade against the machine gun Did you...you know you busted off and I imagine there's quite a little story there... Just how close...you must get fairly close to throw that thing, didn't you

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -17-

Albrecht: Well, from here to here

Ryan: All right so...how would you go about this... would you crawl

Albrecht: Well no, I looked over... there was a junction at the hedge and I happened to be on this side and this machine gun was here. I just happened...it was on this side of the hedge and...

Ryan: In other words in the corner... in other words at the angle of the hedgerow you looked over...

Albrecht: Right and I just seen them and there was a little fire going on occasionally. That’s what attracted me to it and I seen the gun and said well, there might be a few more around here, the best thing to do is to get rid of him. I only had two grenades. I had a fragmentation grenade and a gamin grenade. I through the rest of them in the swamp...blasted. The gamin grenade was the best so I, closer on contact, so I took the cap off it, held the cape, the cape of the ball bearing on the end of it, just threw it. It wasn’t far, just threw it and dropped down behind the hedgerow and I didn’t check to see what happened.

Ryan: When it was night now. In other words, do you remember how people felt... are you isolated...there was no link up yet...what do people talk about or say Do you remember any discussions that took place.

Albrecht: Well, the only discussion was when are we going to get rations... by this time the majority of the people had either eaten them or thrown them away or lost them. and the sergeant that I linked up... I said do you think we have to go back to town and see if there is any grub... French food around and of course he went back, found a few loaves of bread, French bread, which we ate that evening. Thats about all.

Ryan: Do you know what the sergeant ’s name was

Albrecht: No, I can’t remember

Ryan: Do you remember any names of any of the people you were with that day

Albrecht: No, I can’t

Ryan: Do you remember any things which on looking back now seem amusing to you... the way

DENVER ALBRECHT (Continued) -18-

Ryan: people acted that day. I mean, of course, it wasn’t amusing, people were dying...

A in retrospect now looking...

Albrecht: Except for this Lt. Colonel with the broken leg and he even pushed around...

Ryan: In the wheel-barrow

Albrecht: Right, in the wheel-barrow, that’s about the only thing I thought was amazing or amusing

Ryan: That was Ltd. Col. Vander Vorst of the 508, I believe it was. I can check that. You’ve got to remember. I’ve been talking to Generals and everybody else. Each one gives me a little something you see and then I go back. Its like assembling a jig-saw puzzle. You see now I can say, you see, that I can definitely place Vander Vorst at a certain hour on that day because you see him that day. Do you see what I mean. I know where you were. I have this instance of the machine guns. All these buildings may not appear much to you at this point, although thats the quite a wonderful thing you did there but I can piece all these things together. But now let’s come to the night again. I asked you, first of all, if you remembered. anything amusing in retrospect. You remembered the Ltd. Colonel. But let’s come to the night. How about the normal fears that people have, first of all, darkness, secondly an alien country and thirdly you haven’t linked up. What did people talk about that night.

Albrecht: Well the first thing was besure to get all the men out of the buildings.

Ryan: In other words you expected counterattacks, did you

Albrecht: Right, get all the men out of the buildings, you can’t fight them inside of a building and I recall the instructions was - watch the left flank, which was - my flank

Ryan: Yeh, I see - that would be west of --Chef-du-Pont, west of it

Albrecht: And its a... well its the