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COLONEL RED REEDER

Quarters #1003,
West Point, N. Y.,
17 April 1958.

Mr. Cornelius Ryan,
Readers' Digest,
New York City.

Dear Mr. Ryan:

I was a member of the 4th Infantry Division landing
at Utah beach at about 12:30 p.m. on 6 June 1944. The
regiment to which I was assigned as commanding officer,
the famous 12th Infantry, was the third regiment of our
division ashore that day. I feel that this regiment has
not had its story told. On arrival at the beach under
light artillery fire it plunged across the lowlands,
which the Germans had flooded, met the enemy, and, by
nightfall it was the furtherest regiment inland, accord-
ing to General Bradley's maps.

I was particularly proud of our American foot
soldiers when they went through the flooded areas. In
preparation for D-day my regiment hiked with "full pack"
until the medicos asked me to stop it because the heavy
loads we were carrying were breaking down the arches of
our foot soldiers. The Germans had dug trenches with
bulldozers before flooding the lowlands, and it was a
great tribute to American courage to see extremely
heavily laden men struggling through chest-high water
and depths over their heads — at the same time hanging
onto their equipment. Use of life preservers was hardly
enough to reassure men who could not swim.

Just before we departed from England the division
commander said to me, "Spies have informed us that the
Germans have a way to put inflammible material on the
flooded areas. Tell the men what to do if this happens."
(I'm still searching for answer.)

I was wounded on the sixth day of the fighting, at
Montebourg , and lost my leg.

I do hope your history of D- day will be most success-
ful, and I am looking forward to reading it. If you are
interested in stories and anecdotes about this project
I will be glad to talk to you.

Sincerelyyours,
Red Reeder
( Colonel R. P. Reeder, Jr., USA ret )