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Edward Shames, last surviving officer of the WWII Band of Brothers, dies aged 99: Jewish soldier raided Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest' and was one of the first Americans to help liberate Dachau concentration camp
Col. Eddie Shames, 99, died peacefully in his home on Friday
The
World War II paratrooper in the Easy Company was played by Jonathan May
in a 2001 in an HBO miniseries directed by Tom Hank and Steven
Spielberg
Shames parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, fought in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge
He was one of the first Jewish American soldiers to be held in the Dachau concentration camp
Famously, he and the members of the Easy Company raided Hitler's Eagle's Nest after Germany surrendered in 1945
There, he stole bottles of cognac that he would later use to toast his oldest son's bar mitzvah, according to his obituary
With his death, there is only one surviving member of the Easy Company: 97-year-old Bradford Freeman.
Retired Colonel Edward Shames, the last
surviving officer from the legendary Easy Company of World War II
paratroopers whose exploits were featured in the award-winning
miniseries Band of Brothers, died at age 99 on Friday.
Shames died 'peacefully at home,' according to an obituary posted by the Holloman-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory.
Born
to Jewish parents, Shames forged his mother's signature to enlist in
the Army in 1942 at just 19, and was one of the officers in charge of
the famed Easy Company, part of the US Army's 506th Parachute Infantry
Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
The book Band of Brothers - chronicling
the bravery of Easy Company, or the Screaming Eagles - was written by
Stephen Ambrose in 1992.
Shames's
death leaves 97-year-old Bradford Freeman as the last surviving member
of Easy Company. Freeman, who enlisted and was a mortarman, was a
consultant for the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries created by Tom Hanks
and Stephen Spielberg in 2001.
'You could hear the shrapnel hitting
against the side of the plane and when we jumped out, you could hear the
bullets coming through the parachutes,' Shames recounted.
He
went on to fight in Operation Pegasus, Operation Market Garden and the
Battle of the Bulge - and became one of the first American soldiers to
help liberate Dachau concentration camp.
After Germany's surrender in 1945, Shames
raided Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest,' used primarily to entertain visiting
dignitaries, along with the rest of Easy Company. There, he swiped
bottled of cognac that were labeled 'for the Fuhrer's use only,' which
he used to toast his oldest son's bar mitzvah.
After
Germany's surrender in 1945, Shames raided Hitler's 'Eagle's
Nest,' used primarily to entertain visiting dignitaries, along with the
Easy Company
Shames retired as a colonel after working for the National Security Agency for Middle East Affairs and the Army reserve.
He
and his wife, Ida, were married for 73 years and traveled the world
together before she eventually passed away. The pair are survived by
their sons Douglas and Steven, their four grandchildren and 12 great
grandchildren.
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