Evening star., 1944-07-11
MPs Suffered 25%
Invasion Casualties,
Col. Daily Declares

police might have become the for
gotten men" Of the Normandy in
vaaton.
They took their losses along with
the rest" Col. DAILY commented at
. press conference late yesterday at
which he revealed that some M. P.
units suffered at least Is per cent
casualties
Col. DAILY is a native of Washing
ton who was graduated from McKin-
ley High School and the Univer-
sity Of Maryland before leaving the
District some years ago to make his
home in Patchogue, Long Island,
N. Y. He returned from France with
high praise for the M. p. and the
grateful spirit Of the French people
IN Normandy. who regarded Ameri-
can dead as martyrs"
Guides to D.day Forces.
Before the June 6 invasion, Col.
DAILY observed the operations of 1000
American M. P.s in the United King
dom, where they served as guides
for the far-f1ung D-day forces from
assembly points to ports of de-
barkation. 1T was the greatest
performance in the history OF the
military police" he remarked.
Once on the continent, the M. P.'s
protected equipment on the beaches,
directed traffic, guarded and evac-
uated the nearly 10000 prisoners
of war taken in the Cherbourg
Peninsula. Used to hold bridges
and to relieve combat casualties,
Col. DAILY said the M. P.'s suffered
high losses in many cases.
The receptive spirit of the French
people was revealed in the fresh
flowers placed on rows of American
graves along the roadsides, he said,
flowers replaced every day. Some
times the reverence of the French
for the American martyrs" caused
great Inconvenience for the ceme-
terry details, he recalled.
Townspeople Held Services.
whenever they found a dead
American" he said, the townspeo-
pie would place the body in a grave
and hold services. Then the mill
tary authorities would have to dig
up the body and rebury it in a
military cemetery. 1t soon became
necessary to stop the French from
burying our dead for this reason"
Col. DAILY was in the outskirts of
Cherbourg the night before it fell
and saw the two German COM
manders, 1t. Gen. Carl Won Schlie-
ben and Rear Admiral Hennecke,
when they were taken prisoners
They had all their baggage with
them and it looked like they might
have been trying to get out" he
explained, although the day before
they had ordered the Germans to
hold to the last man."
Confirming news reports of the
general character of the German
forces in the Cherbourg area. he
said the Impressed" army consisted
mostly of Russians, Poles, Czechs
and Ukrainians. Il saw two truck
leads Of wounded prisoners brought
in and not one of them could speak
German he explained.
Boys Among Prisoners.
A number of so-called Hitler
Youths, who fought fanaticaly but
weren't well trained" were among
the prisoners. These boys, under
18 years, had been serving as
!aborers, but were impressed into
the combat army on D-day. Hun
dreds of Todt workers-French ci-
villain laborers-were given the same
status of other prisoners.
Col. DAILY said that before the in
vasion our forces had been informed
that many women were being used
to guard the coastal defenSes, so
that special preparations were made
at prison camps for their reception.
A few women were captured with
the German forces, he said, but
these turned out to be wives IF SOL
diers and the usual run of "camp
followers" There were no conl,,at
Amazons