Col. Edward Shames, final surviving member of the World War II parachute infantry regiment known as the “Band of Brothers” which inspired the HBO miniseries and book of the same name, died Friday. He was 99.
According to his obituary posted by the Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory and quoted by Breitbart:
He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne.
...
When Germany surrendered, Ed and his men of Easy Company entered Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest where Ed managed to acquire a few bottles of cognac, a label indicating they were ‘for the Fuhrer’s use only.’ Later, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son’s Bar Mitzvah.
Here is Col. Shames talking about his experiences:
3 comments:
Alas for us to have lost such men; thank God for them having been with us in an hour of need.
506th battalion! That's Curaheee. I've hiked Curahee mountain, but they used to run it.
Grandpa Carl was 501st.
And that, the toast, was a wonderful revenge.
LittleRed1
Post a Comment