Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 018, folder 20: William Swain Keck

51st Engr. Spree Brigade 61st Med Bn. Omaha Easy Red 0900

KECK, William Swain Ky 7

Box 18, #20

[*O--E

Fort Knox LL KY 7

KENTUCKY good man Was he in same group as [?Eigenberg?]*]

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? William Swain Keck

What was your unit and division? 61st Medical Battalion, 5th Engineer Special Brigade (Amphibious)

Where did you arrive in Normandy, and at what time? Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach — Near Colleville sur mere. Debarked from LSI into LCPR at approx- imately 0900 hours. - Arrived on shore at approximately 1100 hours after a long rolling zig-zag course.

What was your rank on June 6, 1944? Technical Sergeant (Now called Sergeant first class)

What was your age on June 6, 1944? 21

Were you married at that time? No

What is your wife’s name? Patricia McNeil (Miller) Keck

Did you have any children at that time? No

What do you do now? Sergeant Major, US Army Medical Research Laboratory, Fort Knox, Kentucky

When did you know that you were going to be part of the invasion? 1530 hours 4 June 1944.

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? The trip was very rough, and even though we had pebbles or chewing gum in our mouths, the anticipation caused several of the men to become drousy. - including myself. There was some relief from the fright ahead by knowing you were soon going to get off of the rolling landing craft. Conversations were limited, except for discussions as to what was causing clouds of smoke over the beaches. After we had travelled approximately six or eight miles we were told to sit in the bottom of the boat, and not knowing what was going on over the wall of the landing craft, there was nothing to say to each other so we spent our remaining time watching the expression on the face of the sailor who was piloting the LCPR, and also watching the actions of the boats machine-gunner.

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). I don't recall any rumors being spread on our boat. Most of the men on the LCPR I was on were very quiet, and if the rest of them felt the same as I, they were questioning themselves as to what lay ahead. As I said in the previous paragraph - There was such a terrific look of awe on the faces of the sailors piloting the boat (they had already made at least one trip to the beach with a load of soldiers) that just watching them sitting up on the back of the boat with their do-or-die look caused most men to realize that quietness was the most comforting.

- for Cornelius Ryan 2 - Your name William Swain Keck

Did you by any chance keep a diary of what happened to you that day? No - As I recall, diaries, address books, letters, etc., were disposed of before leaving England. All future use of such was discouraged - reasons seemed obvious at the time, but there may be reason to question possibility of security leak, etc.

Were any of your friends killed or wounded either during the landing or during the day? Yes. I recall of two of them that were killed, and several who were wounded or became mentally incompetent. One of my best friends was killed by falling scrapnel from our anti-aircraft defense. He was lying in a fox-hole during a raid D-day night, and a long sliver of steel went through his neck.

Do you remember any conversations you had with them before they became No - nothing that pertained to the invasion. I don't even remember talking to either of them after leaving England, except as noted below.

( I might add that I could mention names concerning the above, but would prefer that I not be quoted.)

The friend of mine that was wounded by our own scrapnel became paralyzed, but did not die until the following day. I was permitted to see him before he died, and although I tried to convince him that he was not paralyzed and would live, he was positive to the extent that he asked me to look up his mother in Brooklyn and tell her of our close friendship, and how he was thought of as a soldier. I am rather ashamed to say that I was so moved by the discussion that I couldn't have written down the address he gave me if I had had a pencil and paper. Nome? Were you wounded? No

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

Do you remember seeing or hearing anything that seems funny now, even though it did not, of course, seem amusing at the time? I remember a Jewish boy who it was told had lost his parents by Nazi action in Germany. Prior to the invasion most of the enlisted men felt that this boy could not stand the pressure of combat, but the results turned out to the contrary. I recall one incident where he called an unwounded Lieutenant to his feet to help carry a litter - and he got responseI Seeing officers and men lying behind the gravel dune of the beach was not unnatural, because fire power was coming from our battleships over our head as well as from the German artillery. The blast from the battleships firing sounded so very similar to the German artillery that it wasn't at all unusual to find yourself hitting the beach when either one sounded. [crossed] illegible [end crossed out] One sergeant who became irritated with himself for being fooled by the firing battleships, said "to hell with it" and remained standing. Very shortly thereafter he was wounded in the arm by flying scrapnel - which was not at all scarce1

Do you recall any incident, sad or heroic, or simply memorable, which struck you more than anything else? I shall never forget the quietness when we first a arrived on beach. It seemed as though the Germans waited until the beach was loaded before opening up with everything they had. We had [crossed out] illegible [end crossed out] amphibious brigade insignia painted on the front of our helmets with a white arc above it, and red cross brassards on our arms. In addition, the officers had their ranks painted on their helmets. The backs of our helmets had horizontal lines on non-coms and verticle lines on officers. With all of this identification on his helmet, a Lt Col Medical Officer calmly walked upon the top of the dune, while hundreds of unwounded lay behind it. The response was terrific I It wasn't until this time that the troops understood that danger couldn't be feared. Infantry men moved on, leaving only the wounded or dead behind. - - It is certainly not unmentionable about how many anti-personnel mines were removed from the beach area on D-3, after troops had constantly walked through them for two days. The explanation concerned rotted wooden parts in the mines that caused them to be defective and ineffective. - - - One of the best ’’dummy” tricks I ever hope to see worked two ways - The German Army had left some see-saw type poles over barrels pointing out to sea. Our air-force must have bombed them considerably, using the bomb craters as evidence. Upon arrival upon this scene, the poles were see-sawed the other direction [crossed out]illegible[end crossed out] pointing inland. You can imagine the reversal of the bombing action.

- for Cornelius Ryan 3 -

Your name William Swain Keck

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?

It is not unusual to find soldiers using slang words such as hell or damn in their ordinary every-day speech. After you have been in the Army for a month, particularly in the field, you find words such as these (almost a compulsary part of your speech. Only when you are lying on the ground with a shell whistling down at you do you realize how wrong it is to swear. I have no trouble remembering how every wrong I had done in my life went through my mind at some time during D-day. I kept wondering if I had sinned enough to have my life taken, and I have never heard it said, but I’ve always wondered if other combat soldiers did any reminiscing.

— - — I don’t consider the following ”stupid”, but only a do-or-die effort on the part of an individual to do what he had been told. - A bull-dozer came off I an LCVP ( I believe it was) and the driver started up his pre-mapped course with the very common "trance look” on his face. He was pulling a trailer with matting for a portable landing strip, numerous soldiers attempted to get him to vacate his job because of the target he was making for point-blank artillery fire, but either he couldn’t hear for the noise of various types of explosions, or he was in a shock state to the extent he couldn’t hear. In any event, he, like 4 other bulldozers and 3 tanks became, the victim of a direct hit.

Where were you at midnight on June 5, 1944? I was in a crowded sleeping quarters of an LSI somewhere in the vicinity of Plymouth, England.

Where were you at midnight on June 6, 1944?

It is hard to say for sure of the correct time, but I believe we were in a position, on the steep part of the beach face, attempting to claw fox-holes into the chalk type mud to evade some strafing and bombing being done by two or three German Messerschmidts. It was approximately midnight when several hundred German prisoners were marched to the enclosure on the 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?

Major Jack H. Mericle, % The Adjutant General, Washington 25, DC LL Lt Col George G. McShatko, % The Adjutant General, Washington 25, DC LL

PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE NAME OF THE BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED, AND ALSO THE APPROXIMATE DATE OF (PUBLICATION. I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN READING IT, WHETHER ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS USED OR NOT. HOPE I HAVE HELPED YOU IN SOME WAY, AS THE RETELLING HAS IN SOME WAYS BEEN A PLEASURE

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

7 May 1958 Fort Knox, Ky Medics Omaha

Miss Francis Ward Readers Digest 230 Park Avenue New York, NY

Dear Miss Ward,

This is in reply to a request I have read concerning the need for information about D-Day in Normandy, France,

As I read the request, any knowledge I may have is not desired, as I was sitting on an Infantry Landing Ship between Plymouth and Southhampton, England, for the "first two hours starting midnight on 5 June 1944". - - Is it possible that you mean 6 June?

I was with the 61st Medical Battalion, 5th Engineer Special Brigade (Amphibious) — supporting the 1st Infantry Division, Our mission was to establish the beach-head on Easy Red beach, and set up the communications and supply lines. We started our 2-hour zig-zag course for the beach on D-Day at 0900 hours, 6 June, which I believe I recall to be known as H+3. I was titled "Medical Supply Sergeant" (SFC), and it was basically my responsibility to direct all incoming medical supplies to a point selected to become the first allied medical supply depot in France during World War II. - - As we arrived on the beach I found that my duties had been altered, and I temporarily became a medical aidman (for 2 days) among approximately 12 other enlisted men to care for scores of injured soldiers shouting "Medic!"

D-Day and D+1 (particularly D-Day) is a picture in my mind that I have never seen repainted in its full monstrous picture, - I wish you luck in your venture, and this letter is written to request one thing mainly - - Please do not omit the part that the 5th Engr Sp Brigade played, as their mission was highly significant, and as was true of many other units of the huge team, the invasion could not possible have been successful without their hard-pushed efforts. In many articles I have read in the past, the organization has been omitted when credit was due.

I would like to add a photograph of two of my most cherished possessions, 1. A small piece of paper given out as we were crossing the English Channel, and 2. A second similar paper given to the troops after defeat of the enemy, - - I hope you can imagine the feeling you would receive while reading such a well-worded letter for the first time at such a crucial time.

Once again I wish both you and Mr Ryan success, and I might add that Readers Digest certainly knows how to select subjects to attract the readers attention.

Very truly yours.

MSgt Bill Keck, Sgt Major USA Med Research Lab, Ft Knox, Ky #2 "Dear Sgt Keck"

PS- George S Harker (D-Day Vet),also of this address, desires clarification of information dates in addition to myself #1 (same address as Keck)