Lewis A. Strandburg was a private in Company I, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment [Annotator's Note: Company I, 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] in Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. His job was carrying the radio for the COs [Annotator's Note: commanding officers], including Captain Murphy [Annotator's Note: first name not given]. Strandburg arrived on 8 June [Annotator's Note: 8 June 1944] following the main invasion. They landed their Horsa glider [Annotator's Note: British Airspeed AS.51 Horsa] in a field that was partially flooded. The glider, made of wood, broke up in pieces. One man died, and others were injured, though Strandburg did not have a scratch on him. The first night there, they were fired on. They thought there was a whole force against them, but it turned out to just be a single sniper. That is how green [Annotator's Note: inexperienced] they were. They had had good training at Fort Bragg [Annotator's Note: Fort Bragg, North Carolina] before going into combat. He had good friends in his unit. Some of them were killed as they approached Sainte-Mere-Eglise [Annotator's Note: Sainte-Mère-Église, France]. They knew they had to cross the Merderet River, but as a private, Strandburg did not know much more than that. They were all scared going into combat for the first time. What got them going was good leadership, with Gavin [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General James Maurice "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin] encouraging them. Colonel Carrell [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant Colonel Charles A. Carrell] was a mild-mannered individual and a West Pointer [Annotator's Note: a graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York]. He was convinced they had been sent on a suicide mission, and refused to send his men in. He was relieved of command then and there. Lieutenant Booker [Annotator's Note: likely Army First Lieutenant Bruce H. Booker] and Sergeant Hall [Annotator's Note: first name not given], an American Indian, pushed the men after that.

Lewis A. Strandburg [Annotator's Note: serving with the Company I, 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] smelled gunpowder and heard ammunition flying over head. He just hoped he would not be picked off. They were all scared to death of being killed right then and there. Strandburg was carrying a radio, a walkie-talkie, but during the charge it was useless so he abandoned it. He carried an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] and bayonet. The men's morale was boosted by seeing General Ridgeway [Annotator's Note: US Army General Matthew Bunker Ridgeway] and Gavin [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General James Maurice "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin] on the front lines. Strandburg remembers thinking they were foolish for standing on the causeway, vulnerable to enemy fire, but morale was immediately improved. The causeway [Annotator's Note: La Fière causeway over the Merderet River near Sainte-Mère-Église, France] was a raised roadway with swamp on either side. There was mostly small arms fire, rifles and grenades, not as much artillery. Two German tanks were knocked out on the causeway and had to be moved before they could progress to the other side. There were many dead and wounded on the causeway. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer mentions that this battle was one of the bloodiest small unit battles of World War 2, with around 50 percent casualties.] Strandburg was surprised as may men made it across as they did. He saw many men with their legs blown off and bleeding all over the place. It was tough to look at. He does not think anyone ever got used to combat. You could be killed at any time, even by a stray bullet.

Lewis A. Strandburg first saw paratroopers of the 507 [Annotator's Note: 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment] on the other side [Annotator's Note: of the La Fière causeway over the Merderet River in Normandy, France]. The 325th [Annotator's Note: 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was still pushing in the same direction, coming up behind the 507th and adding to their firepower. The troops spread out as much as they could in the hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation] when the German counterattack came. Strandburg's company [Annotator's Note: Company I, 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division] was mostly made up of southerners, many of whom had never gone to college. Strandburg remembers that Sergeant Student [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling, no first name given; unable to identify] was killed by a mortar [Annotator's Note: a short smoothbore gun which fires explosive shells at high angles] because he was more concerned with getting his men into position than for his own safety. Once the battle was over, they were all thankful they made it, but did not get enough rest before being called out again to push forward. They were still scared to death. Strandburg does not blame Gavin [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General James Maurice "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin] for pushing them too hard. In retrospect, he sees that he had no real choice. There were two German tanks knocked out on the causeway that had to be moved so American troops could continue across.

Lewis A. Strandburg [Annotator's Note: serving in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division in Normandy, France] applauds his fellow company men, he saw no cowardice [Annotator's Note: at the battle for the La Fière causeway over the Merderet River in Normandy, France]. Strandburg went on to complete another glider landing in Holland [Annotator's Note: Operation Market Garden, 17 to 27 September 1944, the Netherlands] and was taken prisoner. He had tried to get back to American lines, but could not figure out where they were. He was captured and spent the rest of the war, seven months, as a POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war]. He began writing about his wartime experiences while he was in prison camp, and finished writing once he got home. Anyone who says they were not scared while in combat is lying. They had to fight, there was no getting out of it. He feels extremely fortunate to be here today being interviewed. Many of his buddies did not make it. They were well-trained, from Fort Bragg [Annotator's Note: Fort Bragg, North Carolina] as well as in England. He feels fortunate to have had the experience, though he would not want to do it again.