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Post by wilhelmmoa on Mar 9, 2014 9:37:11 GMT -5
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Mar 9, 2014 12:13:41 GMT -5
I too met Wild Bill at a Battle of the Bulge reunion long before the series band of brothers but after the book had been written. he said he would live to be 100 as he had longevity in his family and his heart was now pumping blood to a smaller body having lost his legs in the Bulge. he was ornery and agile, sharp as a tack and really fun to listen to. The fellow who played him in the series captured his attitude and mindset quite well.
91 is a long time to live and WILD BILL really lived. Definitely a hero in a company of heroes. He said the bravest thing he ever did in WW2 was the stand he and the other NCOs took to get rid of Captain Sobel before D-Day while he admitted that Captain Sobels draconian ways was what made Easy Company the unit it became. Like the other members of the Band of Brothers he had enormous respect for Major Winters but having met him as well you couldn't find two more completely different personalities. Wild Bill was brash and outspoken, opinionated and salt of the earth frank while Major Winters was elegant and soft spoken rmarkably modest and humble. Humility was not Wild Bill nor should it be. Both were absolute warriors in very different ways. A street brawler and a tactician.
I admire and respect them both beyond words and enjoy my lifestyle and freedom because of them an so many others like them. in a world where we call football players heroes his passing should not have gone un announced by the media.
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Post by kilroysbrother on Mar 9, 2014 17:20:11 GMT -5
I just got back from a campout and saw it on the news. I wish I could have met him but I am however overjoyed that a hero like him could have his story told. I hope that his and the men he served with will inspire many generations to come.
Mr Guarnere I salute you and hope that you rest in peace.
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