Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 017, folder 10: Robin Olds

Dear Mr. Ryan, 21 April 58 #2 A recent issue if 17th Air Force Newpaper "Pegasus" carried an account of your current work on a history of D-Day and suggested that any who had participated might possibly have information useful to you. Should you need any info from a fighter pilot's viewpoint I would be happy to oblige. My group, the 479th, flew many sorties on that day, as well as on the evening of the 5th and days following. We were equipped with P-38s at that time and by nature of the missions assigned us were afforded a ring side seat of the whole operation. Robin Olds Colonel USAF

May 28, 1958

Col. Robin Olds 7272nd Acft. Gun. Grp. APO 231, New York

Dear Col. Olds:

Thank you very much for your letter and for your willingness to help us with Cornelius Ryan's book about D-Day. I hope you will forgive the delay in replying to your kind offer of assistance; we are gratified, but somewhat overwhelmed, by the wonderful response which we are getting as a result of our requests for information.

During the next few months, both in this country and in Europe, Mr. Ryan will be interviewing many of the D-Day participants who agree to contribute to the book. Very probably, he will wish to talk with you during that period. In the meantime, since we are dealing with so many people, we have found it necessary to develop an individual file on each person who agrees to help us. Therefore, we hope you will complete the enclosed record and return it to me at your earliest convenience. We truly believe that these questions will serve you, as well as us, if they can help to crystallize some hazy memories and to indicate the sort of information which we are seeking.

I should be most grateful to know as soon as possible when and if you will be available for interview. We want very much to tell the story of your unit, and in order to do that we need the personal accounts of the men who were there. We particularly look forward to your reply.

Sincerely yours,

Frances Ward Research Department

FW:LL Enclosure

7272D AIRCRAFT GUNNERY GROUP (USAFE WPN CEN) 7272d Air Base Wing APO 231, New York, N.Y.

23 July 1953

Miss Frances Ward Reader's Digest Research Department 230 Park Avenue New York 17, New York

Dear Miss Ward:

I am enclosing the form questionnaire forwarded by your depart- ment to me in connection with research being done for Mr. Ryan's book about D-Day.

Judging from the wording of the questions on your form, I would gather that Mr. Ryan is more concerned with individuals who actually landed in Normandy on D-Day rather than those of us who flew missions out of England in support of the effort. However, for whatever value they may have, I have provided answers to your questions.

I am also enclosing an extract of a diary I kept during that period. I have changed none of the wording contained in the original diary. It might be well for your department to recognize that the words were written by a very impressionable, very enthusiastic and very young fighter pilot.

I am being transferred from this station to Washington in the very near future. I shall be assigned somewhere within the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. At this time I have no forwarding address nor even a contact point that I could furnish you for further reference. I hope the information I am forwarding will be useful.

Very truly yours, Robin Olds ROBIN OLDS Colonel, USAF

June 6 - Big day yesterday. We have not been flying for two days. Our ships have been painted a horrible black and white striped color and our radios retuned. Then a mission yesterday afternoon. This then, was the long awaited D day. Our job consisted of close-in escort of the boats and a tremendous sight it was. As far as the eye could reach the Straits of Dover were covered by every conceivable type of vessel. From small landing boats to huge battleships the Invasion Force lay stretched out under us. I never hope to be priviledged to get a better seat for such a show! The air support was marvelously worked out, and though from our patrol sector little was to be seen of it , our ships (airplanes that is) covered thousands of square miles. To my knowledge, not a single boat out of that vast armada was lost through German air action. Already we have set up landing strips in the Cheroburge Peninsula and the boys in the Ninth Air Force are using them as of noon today. I understand that we have landed 953 air transports of para- troopers, losing only 15 in the action, those probably or certainly due to flak. Today our squadron has been doing shuttle runs on the patroling and we have had a constant force of ships over our assigned area. I must go on another in an hour and a half. The most opposition will be the weather I suppose. It looks rather black at the moment. suppose. I ’ll be glad when we can leave this job and get back to our penetrations for interesting though this is, the other offers the best hunting. Just back from another patrol. The thing is really moving now. From our position we could see the mother ships discharge troops into the landing barges, watch the barges crawl in an orderly formation for the smoke laden shore and then finally disappear in the murk of dust , smoke and explosions. All the while the battleships were pouring in their heavy stuff. We could easily follow the progress of our troops by watching where the big shells from our snips hit. God, I would hate to be a German soldier down there! Not one of his beloved Luftwaffe came up to bother us. It must be terrible for them to look up into the sky and see thousands and thousands of our planes lazily patroling back and forth, to see thousands more come over to lay their eggs, and to feel the blast of the units ground strafing. But the devils have asked for it and they are certainly getting what they asked for. June 7, 1944 - Another patrol this morning. Again the same story, tremendous action on the coast but nothing from the sky. S-2 informs us that the Luftwaffe is gathering though, but that is to be expected. They can ’t gather too soon for me. All of us feel that way. The most exciting things about these patrols is getting out and back again. The weather is really terrible around our base and the stuff hangs continuously at about 500 feet. So far we have had no bad luck. One more patrol at 1800. The controller called in 50 plus bogies approaching us from the Cherbourg Peninsula, though we had them at last but no, they were a damned group of P-47 ’s. All the air combat (what little there is) takes place about 50 miles inland , far we haven ’t been ordered there - again damn. About 11:30 tonight a couple of jerry night fighters came over and knocked down three B-24 ’s over our field.

Good for jerry, but where in hell were our Mosquitos? One of the Libs hit about a quarter of a mile away and plumped smack onto a Nisen Hut. Then the fire wagon ran headon to a truck full of GI's. Another fatality there. That Hun would probably get the Iron Cross First Order if he knew all of the damage he did.