Page 3

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 -

Your name Harry L. Brown

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

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or
during the day?

Yes, several, John Gwiadosky, Anthony Stioa(spelling?) and
others whose names I cannot remember.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became
casualties?
Yes, one. In the marshalling area John Gwiadosky repaid a
small loan to me, saying, "I don’t want you chasing me all
over hell trying to collect.”

Were your wounded? Yes, I was wounded on June 10th and June 24th.

Do you remember what it was like—that is, do you remember whether you
felt any pain or were so surprised that you felt nothing?
Were you wounded?
It hurt like the dickens!

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even
though it may not have seemed funny at the time?
In the marshalling area, I received my mail which included
an advertisement from ADLER Elevator Shoes - the one thing
I did not need at that time.

Immediately after disembarking from the landing craft, I
turned to signal my squad to form in V-formation and a huge
wave knocked me flat on my back.

My squad, including me, was pretty sad. I, towering 5 ft. 5 1/2in.
tall and 26 years old , was the biggest and the youngest in
the squad. They called us "Brown’s Midgets” or "Brown’s Circus."
In addition to all our equipment, we were carrying extra cans
of Copenhagen snuff for the assistant gunner. All in all, my
squad may have had the smallest bodies, but they had the biggest
hearts on the beach.

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic or simply memorable, which struck
you more than anything else?
In the midst of all the supporting fire and enemy counter-fire,
I saw Gen. Roosevelt walking around with a cane as if he were
buying real estate.