Men of D-Day


    
 Troop Carrier
Michael N. Ingrisano
Robert E. Callahan
Benjamin F. Kendig
John R. Devitt
Arthur W. Hooper
Ward Smith
Julian A. Rice
Charles E. Skidmore
Sherfey T. Randolph
Louis R. Emerson Jr.
Leonard L. Baer
Robert D. Dopita
Harvey Cohen
Zane H. Graves
John J. Prince
Henry C. Hobbs
John C. Hanscom
Charles S. Cartwright
 
 82nd Airborne
Leslie Palmer Cruise Jr.
Marie-T Lavieille
Denise Lecourtois
Howard Huebner
Malcolm D. Brannen
Thomas W. Porcella
Ray T. Burchell
Robert C. Moss
Richard R. Hill
Edward W. Shimko
 
 101st Airborne
John Nasea, Jr
David 'Buck' Rogers
Marie madeleine Poisson
Roger Lecheminant
Dale Q. Gregory
George E. Willey
Raymond Geddes
 
 Utah Beach
Joseph S. Jones
Jim McKee
Eugene D. Shales
Milton Staley
 
 Omaha Beach
Melvin B. Farrell
James R. Argo
Carl E. Bombardier
Robert M. Leach
Joseph Alexander
James Branch
John Hooper
Anthony Leone
George A. Davison
James H. Jordan
Albert J. Berard
Jewel M. Vidito
H. Smith Shumway
Louis Occelli
John H. Kellers
Harley A. Reynolds
John C. Raaen
Wesley Ross
Richard J. Ford
William C. Smith
Ralph E. Gallant
James W. Gabaree
James W. Tucker
Robert Watson
Robert R. Chapman
Robert H. Searl
Leslie Dobinson
William H. Johnson
 
 Gold Beach
George F. Weightman
Norman W. Cohen
Walter Uden
 
 Juno Beach
Leonard Smith
 
 Sword Beach
Brian Guy
 
 6th Airborne
Roger Charbonneau
Frederick Glover
Jacques Courcy
Arlette Lechevalier
Charles S. Pearson
 
 U.S.A.A.F
Harvey Jacobs
William O. Gifford
 
Civils
Philippe Bauduin
Albert Lefevre
René Etrillard
Suzanne Lesueur
Marie Thierry
 

 

Ray T. Burchell.
Pvt - Company 'C' - 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd A/B Division.

My name is Ray T. Burchell and I was in 82nd Airborne during WWII. I was not a paratrooper but served in Company 'C', 325th Glider Infantry, I was a rifleman, Company radio operator. This was a #400 radio that I carried on my back. This unit weighted 45 pounds.

I was in on D-Day invasion, my glider landed near Sainte-Mere-Eglise. It crashed when we landed, I was knocked out, when I came to, James Bristow (deceased) was only one there from my glider. We heard rifle shots and machine gun fire coming from town so we took off in the direction of the firing.
We were perhaps 1/8 mile from Sainte-Mere-Eglise. We came upon this narrow path (perhaps cow path) but anyway we went up it and ran into 5-6 paratroopers from 505. We joined up with them, and we took part in battle for Sainte-Mere-Eglise.

As we moved forward up this narrow path, I looked straight ahead of me and I saw side of church with John Steele hanging there on church roof where his parachute had got caught on slate roof. I thought he was dead as he did not move at all. Little did I know that two German soldiers were still in church steeple.

I was in Normandy for 33 days until the 82nd got replaced by another division. I took part in these battles, the battle for Sainte-Mere-Eglise, we fought for and held four bridges over Merderet river at La Fiere and at Chef-du-Pont and over the Douve river at Pont-l'Abbe and at Beuzeville-la-Bastille. We never gave back any ground to Germans once we took it from them.

Ray T. Burchell     (April 25, 2006)

Testimony collected by Hervé Pellan