The following are excerpts from the executive officer's, Lt Dave Owen, interrogation book on one of U-856's crew members. They give us a glimpse into the state of mind of those who narrowly escaped the fate that befell so many of their comrades.

--Joined Navy 1941. In school. This his first ship. Drafted to U-boats, nearly whole crew drafted.
--Captain had been successful in other U-boats, but this was first command. First trip for practically whole crew-48 to 49 at least.
--Won't blame captain for loss of boat. Was aft in diesel compartment when attack came. No diesel used under water.
--Was down 100 meters whenattack came. Came to surface because everything was broken. Deepest he went down was this morning when plane came over - went down 200 meters.
--Depth gauge registers 200 meters. Can stay down 18 hours at 30-40 meters. Does not think boat can stop without sinking. Never stays on surface when attacked by large ship, only if small.
--Don't lie on bottom when attacked. Submerge and keep going.
--No new equipment. All other boats of this class have same type of gun. 15-16 knots on the surface. Cannot stay down for more than 20 hours.