As soon as the Germans passed, I jumped the ditch and continued to walk until I heard someone say FLASH. I did not even try to recall the correct response, which was THUNDER, but said OH SHIT! I just couldn't remember the password. I was lucky again. The challenger was Corporal William F. Brown from Detroit. We agreed we were going in the right direction and continued down the path.
As we walked we met more paratroopers. We found men from the 505 and the 507 regiments and the 101st Airborne Division.
Just before daybreak, we encountered a group of German soldiers at a crossroad and engaged them in a fierce firefight for about twenty minutes before we drove them off.
We continued moving in the chosen direction. We had been trained for this and had been told what to expect, but experiencing it first hand was not a good experience.
We fought off Germans two more times before we reached a main road. We were out-numbered each time. The only explanation for our coming out ahead is that we were more determined, and perhaps better trained, although we did lose some of our men.
At about 1000, D-Day morning, we arrived at a crossroad outside the village or Beuzeville on the East Side of the Douve River. We were at the bridge, which our unit was supposed to destroy, but we did not know it at the time.
We were still under the impression that we had landed on the East Side of the Merderet River, and had no real idea where we were until later in the day.
A pocket of German soldiers was positioned at the crossroad and we discovered more paratroopers were across the road from us. We drove the Germans off and crossed the road to join the other group.
We thought that more 508th PIR men were located up the road from us. Mel Beets from Hq1 volunteered to go up the road and bring them back to us. We later found out the men up the road were Germans, and Mel Beets was captured. Days later Mel escaped during an air attack. Our merged group assembled in fields behind a row of about seven houses along the Beuzeville road. Staff Sergeant Raymond Hummel from Hq1 was the senior noncom and took command. | 
