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Westly, Wisconsin
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? Paul Richard Mockrud 200 W. State Street Westby, Wisconsin
What was your unit and division? Hq Co 3rd Bn 8th Inf Reg't 4th Infantry Division
Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time ? 0630 June 6, 1944 ( Utah Beach)
What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Corporal ( promoted 6-30-44 from Cpl to 1st Sergeant )
What was your age on June 6, 1944? 24 years Were you married at that time? No What is your wife’s name? Mary Peterson Mockrud Did you have any children at that time? No
What do you do now? Vernon County (Wis.) Verterans' Service Officer
When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? In 1943 we took amphibious training (4th Inf Div ) at Fort Gordon Johnston, Florida and from February through April, 1944 we made amphibious landings in England. In May, 1944 we knew we were assigned for the D-Day landings.
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? We boarded the US Coast Guard Ship Bayfield at Plymouth, England on June 4th and transferred to a LCVP for the landing. Everyone checked their rifles. We made radio contact with General Theodore Roosevelt and Colonel James A. Van Fleet, the latter who was in command of the 8th Infantry Regiment.
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). There was a rumor that the Germans had mined the beach heavily and that they would blow up the minefields when we reached the beach.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name Paul R. Mockrud
Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No. We were ordered not to keep one.
Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes
Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? No
Were you wounded? Yes, but not until December 31, 1944 at Wecker, Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge
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? Shrapnel wounds, both legs. Not much pain. It happened so suddenly that I wasn't too alarmed.
Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? After getting on the beach there were many explosions in the water. At the time we thought that our own engineers were blowing up German mines, however, we soon realized that German artillery was shelling the area. We captured some prisoners about 300 feet inside the sea-wall. They were not regular 1st class German troops but labor conscripts who had been placed in the line. They were were very anxious to give up.
Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I think the gliders that landed in the small fields and cracked up were memorable. There were so many of them and we didn't know which way to go to avoid being hit. A C-47 airplane crashed near us and we saw the occupants burn up and we couldn't get near the plane as the fire was too hot. We just watched them burn up.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Paul R. Mockrud
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 three members of my company examine a German command car that was booby-trapped. They were all killed when the mines went off. They were hardly recognizable and I remember having to make out affidavits to identify them.
Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? Aboard the USS Bayfield
Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? about four miles inland from the Utah Beach near Ste. Mere Eglise.
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? Captain Hezekia J. Ross Summerton, S. C.
Lt. Roy W. Kelly Gastonia, N. C.
S/Sgt James A. Hudson 2111 N. Moody Avenue Chicago, Illinois
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
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PAUL R. MOCKRUD KENNETH A. CURTIS VETERANS' SERVICE OFFICER ASSISTANT SERVICE OFFICER
VERNON COUNTY V E T E R A N S' S E R V I C E O F F I C E COURT HOUSE OFFICE PHONE 3687 VIROQUA, WISCONSIN
June 3, 1953
Miss Frances Ward Reader's Digest 230 Park Avenue New York, N. Y.
I read in the American Legion Magazine that Cornelius Ryan would like to contact veterans who participated in the invasion, June 6, 1944.
I was a member of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, and participated in the D-Day landings on Utah Beach.
If he will inform me what type of information he desires, I will be most happy to relate the same.
Very truly yours,
Paul R. Mockrud
Paul R. Mockrud, Veterans' Service Officer. PRM:st