Last living officer of Easy Company passed away last weekend at the age of 96. God Speed and thanks for your service. Enjoy heaven Don, you paid your dues down here.
Don Malarkey Band of Brothers
- Thread starter bkmtnittany1
- Start date
Just watched "Day of Days" the other night for the umpteenth time. Great show. Great guy.
NCO...Non-Commissioned Officer.according to wiki:
After Pearl Harbor, Malarkey tried enlisting in the Marines, but was rejected because of dental problems. He then tried the Army Air Corps, but lacked the requisite mathematics background. As such, when he was drafted in July 1942, he volunteered for the paratroops of the United States Army, after reading a Life magazine article about them being the best.[2]:29–30, 281 He trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Of the enlisted men who trained at Toccoa, only one man in six received certification as a member of the fledgling paratroops. He received his jump certification in 1942.[2]:36
He became a member of E ("Easy") Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He went to England in 1944 to participate in Mission Albany, the airborne landing portion of Operation Neptune, the largest amphibious invasion in history, which was the assault portion of Operation Overlord.[2]:64 Malarkey parachuted into France with his unit. Later that day, in a pitched battle, he helped knock out four German 105 mm artillery battery, an action now called the Brécourt Manor Assault, for which he received the Bronze Star for his heroism.
Donald Malarkey in 1945.
He fought for twenty-three days in Normandy, nearly eighty in the Netherlands, thirty-nine in the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium, and nearly thirty more in and around Haguenau, France, and the Ruhr Pocket in Germany. He was promoted to sergeant before Operation Market Garden. Malarkey, who was never seriously wounded, served more consecutive time on the front lines than any other member of Easy Company. Malarkey was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, and others.
Ed Shames (age 95) is the last living officer from Easy Company. So few of the WWII generation remain. RIP Sgt. Malarkey.
Looking at the Army insignia on his arm, it appears he was promoted to Tech Sergeant, three grades above Sergeant.
NCO...Non-Commissioned Officer.according to wiki:
After Pearl Harbor, Malarkey tried enlisting in the Marines, but was rejected because of dental problems. He then tried the Army Air Corps, but lacked the requisite mathematics background. As such, when he was drafted in July 1942, he volunteered for the paratroops of the United States Army, after reading a Life magazine article about them being the best.[2]:29–30, 281 He trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Of the enlisted men who trained at Toccoa, only one man in six received certification as a member of the fledgling paratroops. He received his jump certification in 1942.[2]:36
He became a member of E ("Easy") Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He went to England in 1944 to participate in Mission Albany, the airborne landing portion of Operation Neptune, the largest amphibious invasion in history, which was the assault portion of Operation Overlord.[2]:64 Malarkey parachuted into France with his unit. Later that day, in a pitched battle, he helped knock out four German 105 mm artillery battery, an action now called the Brécourt Manor Assault, for which he received the Bronze Star for his heroism.
Donald Malarkey in 1945.
He fought for twenty-three days in Normandy, nearly eighty in the Netherlands, thirty-nine in the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium, and nearly thirty more in and around Haguenau, France, and the Ruhr Pocket in Germany. He was promoted to sergeant before Operation Market Garden. Malarkey, who was never seriously wounded, served more consecutive time on the front lines than any other member of Easy Company. Malarkey was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, and others.
Thanks Obli..I knew I was correct. I love those guys.
And thanks to Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg...without those 2 we probably never would have learned about Guarnere, Winters, Nixon, Malarkey, Compton,Toye, Sink etc...I have all the DVD's but when it comes on HBO I will sit all day and watch the episodes. And I still get teary- eyed at the baseball scene at the very end...I respect the heck out of those guys.
Thanks also to Stephen Ambrose, author of the book that inspired the series. One of the few times I actually read the book first. It helped watching the mini series a lot.
Tough guys.
I enjoy the Pacific but wasn’t near as good as Band of Brothers. Thought HBO did a poor job with the actors they chose for The Pacific.
I enjoy the Pacific but wasn’t near as good as Band of Brothers. Thought HBO did a poor job with the actors they chose for The Pacific.
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