The only surviving member of the fictional Easy Company from Steven Spielberg’s HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” and the novel both passed away on July 3.
At the age of 97, Bradford Freeman of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, who took part in the Battle of the Bulge, D-Day, and the liberation of Nazi Germany’s death camps, passed away.
In the bloodiest conflict in human history, the division known as the Screaming Eagles battled their way through France, Holland, and Belgium before reaching Austria.
In a way, Mr. Freeman’s demise signifies the end of a chapter. He belonged to a group of guys whose tale many of us were familiar with and appreciated, according to the documentary maker History Underground, who broke the news of his departure.
Freeman, a native of Caledonia, Mississippi, enlisted in the US Army in 1942 and offered to serve as a paratrooper. He was quickly assigned to Company E as a mortarman (Easy Company).
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Freeman leaped into Normandy, France, with Easy Company while wearing an 18-pound mortar baseplate strapped to his chest.
His contribution to the liberation of France later earned him the French Legion of Decoration, the nation’s highest military honor.
Freeman participated in Operation Market Garden and then helped defend Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge while remaining with his company the entire time.
He was hurt on January 14 during the attack on Noville when a German rocket detonated close to him, causing shrapnel to bury itself in his knee.
Freeman saw his last battle, and it took him three months to recuperate from the injury.
Freeman, however, later returned to his squad and took part in the occupation of Austria and Berchtesgaden.
After the war, Freeman went back to Caledonia to marry his childhood sweetheart and start a family. He raised two kids, used the GI Bill to attend college, and then spent 30 years working for the postal service.
After the war, the retired soldier maintained a close friendship with Damien Lewis’ portrayal of Major Richard “Dick” Winters.
He had a significant impact on the creation of the 2001 HBO series Band of Brothers, which was adapted on Dr. Stephen Ambrose’s book of the same name.
The last surviving soldier of Easy Company in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Freeman passed on the day before the United States celebrated Independence Day.
History Underground paid tribute to the former soldier, saying, “Easy Company was just one company of men among the thousands who served in the war, but they represented their fellow veterans well.”
“The Easy Company tale provided everyone of us with a window to look through to better appreciate the wonderful achievements that were accomplished to overthrow injustice and tyranny. When their names were called, these common individuals performed amazing feats.
It’s difficult not to feel melancholy when the men and women of his generation go from this world to the next.
They stand for something that occasionally seems to have been forgotten in our nation.
However, they leave behind a legacy and a set of guidelines for us to follow.
And as they pass on to their eternal rest, it is our duty to preserve their memory and continue imparting the life lessons they taught.