Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 013, folder 54: Kenneth E. Lay

4th Inf LAY, Colonel Kenneth Ger 12

Box 13, #54

12th Inf

10:30

Dead

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.

1. What is your full name? Kenneth E. Lay

2. What was your unit and division? 12th Inf Regt of the 4th Inf Division

3. Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Utah Beach, at approximately 10:30 hours, 6 June

4. What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Major

5. What was your age on June 6, 1944? 30 years

6. Were you married at that time? No

7. What is your wife's name? Theodeanne Ann Lay

8. Did you have any children at that time? No

9. What do you do now? Chief of the Historical Division, Headquarters USAREUR Direct and supervise the preparation of Current History of USAREUR activities and the writing of military history studies concerning German Army operations during World War II.

10. When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? About mid-January 1944. One evening the regimental commander called the key regional staff officers to his room at the officer billets, Higher Barracks, Exeter, England, and informed us that the 4th Division would be an assault division in the invasion of Europe. Shortly afterward, I received a complete TOP SECRET "Bigot" briefing on (See cont. sheet)

11. 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 crossed the channel on a Landing Craft Infantry (LCI). there were about 150 enlisted men and officers aboard the craft, of which I was the senior officer. As I recall, we boarded the landing craft at or near Portsmouth, and lay in the harbor for one or two days. We had engaged in previous boarding operations, which had culminated in landing exercises at Slapton Sands, England. For security reasons the loading activities for landing exercises closely resembled those for the actual invasion. However, a trained eye could have detected the greater degree of preparation for this operation. We left England in the late afternoon or early evening of 5 June, steaming across the channel in a choppy sea. It was no longer raining, but was very windy and rough. There was little conversation, complete blackout was ob- served, and the men were very sober. The skipper of the LCI, a Lt in the U.S. Coast Guard, had made two previous landings in Africa. Being an old hand at the (See cont. sheet)

12. 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). No particular rumors were noted. The 4th Inf Division was a highly trained organization. The men had been schooled to pay no heed to rumors.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Col Kenneth E. Lay

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

14. Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? No close friends on that day, although one officer and two or three enlisted men, whom I knew, were killed on the first day.

15. Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? No

16. Were you wounded? Not until the sixth day after the landing.

17. 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? N/A

18. Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? The hottest place on the beach area at the time I came ashore was the only building in sight, a stone house, which had been selected as the division command post (the 8th Inf Regt, the assault regiment, had cleared the beach area apparently with very little effort and light casualties). In the meantime, the German defense was reacting with moderate artillery fire, and this house was a particular target. The first Germans I recall seeing were a group of prisoners who came stumbling down over the sea wall from somewhere inland, presumably picked up by the 8th Inf assault troops and sent back to the rear. As beach control officer for my regiment, my initial responsibility was to establish a beach control point at which incoming troops and motor vehicles would be checked and inland movement be coordinated. All vehicles were to be taken to an assembly area where water proofing equipment was to be removed, and the vehicles processed for inland movement, after passing over two narrow roadways crossing a swampy inundated area.

19. Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? The first problem I was faced with was the selection of a proper beach control point. Upon checking the landing area against the pre-designated area on my map, I soon realized that we had been brought ashore approximately one mile south of the pre-determined landing point. My immediate reaction was to assemble my small staff and move northward to pre-selected point. However, I soon realized that the entire operation was being launched at the more southward location, and that it would be impossible to set up my beach control point at the pre-planned location, because this territory was still in enemy hands and strongly held; and from a practical point of view, the location of the landing could not be changed once beach had been cleared and the operation had been launched. Therefore, I set up the beach control point along the edge of a trail where troops were moving inland. The very limited area between the beach and the inundated area promised to become rapidly congested as vehicles began coming steadily ashore. It was, therefore, important that I quickly select assembly areas for the vehicles, to facilitate the mechanical processing of the vehicles for inland movement. This included removal of overhead exhaust tubes, overhead air breathers, of water proofing material, covering the electrical circuits, etc. The area where we found ourselves was a farm land grazing area with fields bordered by wire fencing profusely marked with signs reading ACHTUNG MINEN. While sweeping (See cont. sheet)

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Col Kennth E. Lay

20. 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?

Same as Number 19.

21. Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Crossing the English Channel aboard an LCI 22, trying to get a little sleep, and freezing in the process in a stone walled stable at the 12th Inf CP, approximately three or four miles inland from 22. Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? Utah Beach.

23. 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? Colonel John W. Gorn, 8th Inf Division, APO______

[*have*] Lt Col (Ret) Gerder F. Johnson, Syracuse, New York. Author of an unofficial history of the 12th Infantry. Can be reached through the 4th Division Association.

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 4/23/58*] Frances Ward Research, The Reader’s Digest

[*Heidelberg*]

HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES ARMY, EUROPE INFORMATION DIVISION

APO 403, U.S.Forces 2 April 1958

Dear Miss Ward:

I have been informed by Department of the Army that you are interested in contacting U.S.Army personnel who parti- cipated in D-Day operations in Normandy in June 1944. I partici- pated as S-4 of the 12th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, and landed on Utah Beach at approximately 1030 hours 6 June, where I served as beach control officer for in-coming vehicles and personnel of the 12th Infantry Regiment. My Regiment was not the assault regiment but we engaged in combat in the drive towards Cherbourg shortly after landing. I have a good knowledge of the preparations of vehicles and men for the landing operation and subsequent crossing of an innundated area, flooded by sea water. I recall quite well the course of events during the day of the landing, and would be willing to assist in any way in the preparation of your story.

Sincerely, [*Kenneth E. Lay 8062*] KENNETH E. LAY Colonel, GS Deputy Chief, Information Division.

Miss Francis Ward Readers Digest 230 Park Avenue New York, N.Y.