ENPages
Page 2
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? ROY WALTER NICKRENT
What was your unit and division? First battalion, 502nd. Regiment 101st. Air-Borne Division
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Our "stick" or plane load landed in vicinity of St. Mere Eglise- Men were pretty badly dispersed. If I remember correctly, I noticed the time at 1:30 or 1:40 A.M.
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Staff Sergeant
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 24yrs
Were you married at that time? No
What is your wife's name? Mary Evelyn Nickrent
Did you have any children at that time? No
What do you do now? Town marshall of Village of Saybrook, Ill Also Supt. of waterworks in Village of Saybrook, Ill
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? Almost 3 months before D-Day, I was one of several E.T.O. men who attended an intelligence school at chelsea barracks in london where we built exact scale models of the French Invasion Coast.
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 air trip in our plane across the channel was nearlyroutine, that is, a good bit of silence, not much wise cracking & lots of smoking we had been given air-sickness pill which in as much as I was concerned took a lot of edge off & perhaps have me added courage.
While passing over the islands of Gurnsey & Jersey a great amount of enemy ack ack fire was thrown at us which caused a flurry of speculation. We all marvelled that from the volume of fire that we wer'nt blasted out of the sky.
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 ). One of the rumers or I should say facts that was mentioned with some concern was that sharp pointed poles & stakes were in fields of any size as anti-airborne landing measures. Also most open areas were extensively mined with "Shu Mines"
Aerial photos taken of the proposed drop zones many weeks before D-Day definitely showed the pointed posts & stakes.
Page 3
- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -
Your name- Roy W. Nickrent
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? Not exactly a diary but I did take some personal notes from the first battalion journal & log.
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? See attached sheet Yes, many of my friends were killed during the early morning hours and during the day. At dawn I saw the burnt corpse of my best friend Nick Sherman still in his chute hanging from a fruit tree.
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? Not in any particular case, but some of the walking wounded, whom I knew, said "It's back to England & white sheets"
Were you wounded? No
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 did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? One small incident concerning myself was after digging a good deep fox hole near St. Germaine De Verriville and I was called to 1st. battalion headquarters for about an hour. Then I returned to my fox hole position when a terrific volume of German 88's began to come in. I jumped into my hole & found out I was sharing it with a brown and yellow ugly looking lizzard about 10 inches long. We got along O.K.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I shall never forget my parachute entry into Normandy, I slammed into a tree making a lot of noise and after a great effort I cut myself loose from my harness & crashed thrrough limbs for about 10 feet before reaching the ground. I lay real still for some time finally assembeled my M-1 rifle, at that time realizing that I was in a shallow ditch. I crawled up the ditch to a break in the trees only to hear footsteps creeping along, I was just sure it was a Kraut patrol rounding up the paratroopers so I lay hardly breathing then in the very poor light I saw 3 what I thought for sure was German helmets outlined against the sky. I was pretty sure I could kill two of them but figured the third one would probably get me. Some inner sense told me to challenge them with my "cricket" which I did & in a matter of a second or two came back the reply a double snap.
Page 4
- for Cornelius Ryan 3 -
Your name- Roy W. Nickrent
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 saw some of the fellows, especially in the weapons platoons who had the heavier weapons to carry plus ammunition appropriate for themselves, horses horse & cart, wheel barrows, baby buggies, bicycles, motercycles and even a treaded vehicle somewhat like a motercycle. "Any way to transport the burden without his own brawn.
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? In the marshalling area at greenham common, england
Where were you at midnight on june 6, 1944? somewhere in vicinity of Beuzeville Au Plain & Foucaruille France.
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 suggest you contact harrison D. Summers of Rivesville, West Virginia.
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
Page 5
Regarding conversation I had with other troopers before they became casualties, I was in a somewhat sheltered depression about 5 feet deep with a fellow from the 82nd. Air-Borne Division and we were speculating about a building to our front & trying to figure out some sort of covered approach to it from which some smallarms fire had been coming. My 82nd friend and I had picked a route to the right and he was all eager to start and I turned partly around toward him to see him crumple into a heap on the ground with a bullet hole in his forhead squarely between the eyes. He muttered not a sound & beyond a doubt was killed instantly.
R.N.