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O-N IA 11
Monmouth, Iowa
For Cornelius Ryan Book about D-Day
THOUSANDS OF MEN, OH LAND AMD 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? Walter Keith Allen, Monmouth, Iowa What was your unit and division? 467th AAA ( AW ) Bn. ( meaning Anti -Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons ) Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time ? Omaha Beach located near Vierville-Sur-Mier on June 6 around noon. What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Tec. 5 What was your age on June 6, 1944? 21 Were you married at that time? No What is your wife ’s name? Darleen Allen Did you have any children at that time ? No What do you do now? Farm. When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? We thought for some time we were but didn't know definitely until a few days before. 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? June 1 to June 5 was spent aboard the LCT’s. Departed from Portland Harbor at 0430 on June 5, 1944. Living aboard LCT’s was very difficult. There were no sleeping facilities. Men slept on vehicles for 5 days. Naval personnel was very cooperative with the limited facilities that were available. The trip across the channel was uneventful. 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 olanned to set it afire when the troops came in). Do not remember any.
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- for Cornelius Ryan c - Your name Walter Keith Allen Did you by any chanoe keep a diary of what happened to you that day? Yes, hut I lost it the first day on the beach. Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes. Two killed, two wounded. (I have their names if you want them.) Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became casualties? No. Were you wounded? No. Dc you remember what it was like--that is, do you remember whether you felt any pain or wore you so surprised that you felt nothing? Do you remember seeing- or bearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? No. Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? The fact that one of my buddies accidentally shot another buddy and killed him. Several days later he was killed. In civilian life, they were neighbors in Missouri.
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- for Cornelius Ryan 3 - Your name Walter Keith Allen
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? No. Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? On the boat in Portland Harbor. Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944? In an apple orchard on the bluff behind Omaha Beach.
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? No. I have a copy of our Battery History from the day it was activated ( October 1942) to July 10, 1945. I will be available for interview. However, with fall coming up we will be vacationing so should get together on our dates so I will be sure and be here.
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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Monmouth , Iowa June 5 , 1958
Miss Frences Ward Reader’s Digest 230 Park Avenue New York , New York
Dear Miss Ward: This is in answer to your request in the June issue of the AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE for veterans who took part in the invasion June 6, 1944. I was in the 467th AAA ( AW) Bn. , which landed on the beach D-Day.
Very truly, Walter K. Allen Monmouth , Iowa
P.S. I lost all of my personal belongings in the landing.