‘Band of Brothers' sets record straight

ASHLAND, Neb. — Six old warriors cussed a little, quipped a bit and set the record straight about their role in World War II and America's role in the world.

About 1,300 people crowded into a hangar in the shadows under the wings of a B-1 bomber at the Strategic Air & Space Museum to shake hands with history Saturday.

In the end, they were the ones touched.

Six of the Army paratroopers known as the “Band of Brothers'' since Stephen Ambrose chronicled them in a best-selling book of the same name, signed autographs by the hundreds and took questions by the dozens.

The soldiers included Buck Compton, 87, of Mount Vernon, Wash.; Babe Heffron, 86, of South Philadelphia, Pa.; Earl McClung, 86, of Pueblo, Colo.; Don Malarkey, 88, of Salem, Ore.; Ed Mauser, 92, of Omaha; and Ed Tipper, 88, of Lakewood, Colo.

It was Mauser's first reunion with his Easy Company buddies from the 101st Airborne Division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment since the war ended in 1945.

The unit parachuted into France on D-Day morning in 1944. They spearheaded the Market-Garden and Rhine offensives, fought at the Battle of the Bulge, liberated a concentration camp and occupied Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat.

Heffron, a crowd favorite for his salty language and jaunty overseas cap, said his fondest war memory came after parachuting into Holland in September 1944.

The paratroopers knew they were fighting for their country and their families, he said, but the jump into the town of Zon put it into perspective.

“You saw the faces of those Dutch people … and you knew instantly why you were there. They were so gratified — laughing and crying and hugging and giving you beer,'' Heffron said. “They were in the way. You couldn't get up to the fight if you had to.”

In Eindhoven, Holland, Heffron and four other Easy Company soldiers debated “freedom” before moving toward the front lines. They agreed that “ain't it great that we're here to do this for these people,” he said.

A Dutch civilian overheard the talk and offered his definition. He told the Americans that the word “freedom” doesn't mean much, but “when you lose your freedom, that means everything.”

Heffron illustrated what the Dutchman meant with an incident that followed an attack by Dutch underground militia on eight German soldiers. One German survived the assault with a shoulder wound.

Heffron said an elderly Dutch woman asked the soldier where it hurt. He indicated his shoulder.

“She hit him with a pocketbook right on the shoulder,” Heffron said. “Now he's screaming. She walloped him again. She hit him at least four times that I can remember.”

After two men from the Dutch underground carried the woman away, another militiaman told the Americans that the woman's purse contained a brick.

“It shows you what a loss of freedom can do,'' Heffron said. “That little old lady got even. Even if it was for two minutes. She got even. I know the (German) didn't like it.”

Malarkey said he encourages young people to believe in the United States, its values and what the nation has done in the past.

“The one thing you must remember: In all of the times we've sent armies overseas to different places, it never was to acquire land,” he said. “We don't own a … thing. But we provide the freedom and peace for oppressed people from throughout the world. That's the greatest thing that we do.”

Compton said he agreed that WWII was righteous and had to be fought and won. He disagrees, however, with those who say subsequent wars from Korea to the present weren't necessary.

“We have been fighting exactly the same enemy from World War II to the present day. Just under a different name,” he said.

McClung said he is confident that today's soldiers could match Easy Company's heroics in combat.

“I've got a lot of faith in our servicemen today,” he said.

McClung said the HBO miniseries was generally faithful to the book and their experiences.

“All of the incidents are true, but how and who done it was strictly Hollywood,'' he said. “It would have been pretty boring if they just showed what we did.''

And then they were gone.

Contact the writer:

444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com