Thanks to all of the members of the greatest generation. ......................................................... (CNN) -- William Guarnere, a World War II veteran popularized by the "Band of Brothers" miniseries, has died. He was 90. Guarnere was rushed to a hospital early Saturday morning and died of a ruptured aneurism that night, his son, William Guarnere Jr., told CNN. "He lived a good life. He traveled a lot. He pretty much did everything he could have done," the son said Sunday. During the war, Guarnere earned the nickname "Wild Bill." He lost a leg trying to save a friend on the battlefield. The HBO miniseries was based on a book by Stephen E. Ambrose. It told the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army. Guarnere was played by actor Frank John Hughes. The family is planning a funeral this week in Philadelphia, where Guarnere was born and lived most of his life, his son said.
Rest in peace, Wild Bill. And tell the rest of your unit that we still remember and revere them here.
It's always a sad day when we lose an American Hero. If I recall correctly, I read an interview with Stephen Ambrose where he said that "Band of Brothers" was written because during his research on WWII, he found a single picture of a small group of American soldiers at Hitlers "Eagles Nest". When he saw the picture he said to himself "who are these guys and what did they have to go through to get to when they were". So he started tracing these guy backwards through WWII all the way back to Georgia. An amazing story of American heroism all because of one picture. Bill Guarnere was a hero in his own right, but more importantly his story as told by Ambrose stands as a reminder of all our heroes from a time when America understood the cost of freedom. God bless Bill Guarnere and his family, and God bless the rest of the Greatest Generation!
My dad served with the Marines in the south Pacific. When the mini-series came out called The Pacific it was after he had passed on. I was amazed at the conditions of service in that theater as compared to the ETO. I always respected his service, though I gave him immeasurable grief about being a Marine (after all, my brother and I both served in the Army). Dad was with the 3rd Marine Division, 12th Regiment (Division Artillery) and was on many of those resort locations covered in The Pacific. It was eye opening to see the things they went through. I only have one picture of him from that theater, taken on Guadalcanal. bfayer, I agree. God bless those who served and God bless the Greatest Generation.
I had it worse. Not only did I have a much older brother who was a marine, the one who taught me chess went NAVY at least he made the teams so we didn't ex communicate him. NOTE: we let him stay in the family. All you navy boys please don't send me any hate mail, or hurt feelings, please. It's called branch rivalry.
Those men did a terrific job--rose above themselves on so many occasions to do what had to be done and at terrible costs. Hand salute to you all.
