Donald Malarkey passes
Bobo sends us the sad news that Donald Malarkey, one of the members of Easy Company, of “Band of Brothers” fame has passed;
Malarkey fought across France, the Netherlands and Belgium and with Easy Company fought off Nazi advances while surrounded at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
He was often praised for his actions during the war. In 2009, he was presented with the Légion d’Honneur – the highest honor awarded by the French government.
Malarkey was haunted by memories of combat and the devastation of losing fellow soldiers and friends, his family members said. Still, the release of Band of Brothers was cathartic for him and helped him come to terms with the emotional scars of battle, Hill said.
He was 96 years old.
Category: Blue Skies
Slip away Airborne, slip away.
RIP
Every day that ticks by we lose more of the Greatest.
I will not let you down, I swear with every fiber of my being.
Rest well, Airborne!
Time to do another Band of Brothers video marathon. One of the Brothers, Salve Matheson, was my CG in VN. Have to wait until Class VI opens though.
What an honor to have had MG Matheson as your unit’s Commander! A hell of a troop and Officer to be sure.
Yes it was even before I found out about Band of Bros years later. He was always a gentleman and a great leader. Never talked about WW2 except if an experience from there was relevant to what we were doing in Song Be.
May God keep him in well-deserved repose.
His memoir is a pretty good read. He offered a lot of context about the men of the company, especially Joe Toye and Skip Muck. I highly recommend it, along with that of Dick Winters and the one co-written by Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron.
Rest In Peace, Senior Warrior. You’ve earned your place in History and Valhalla and when my time comes may I be judged worthy enough to join you there.
Rest in Peace, elder Brother.
God rest you in well deserved peace Sir.
Rest well.
Rest in Peace, Brother.
Rest in peace, sir!!
At some future time, advances in aircraft capabilities will render the use of troop insertion by parachute unnecessary. We can only hope that when that time comes, those future warriors will look back with awe, wistful for the days, Technical Sergeant Malarkey, when brave men like you actually leaped from aircraft in flight and fell from the skies to destroy your enemies.
Currahee!
Sgt Poe
Bravo and HHC, 2d Bn 506th Airborne Infantry
1964-65
Wrong. Whilst the upstairs flank exists determined men will be sent to exploit it.
The toys may improve with time but the core qualities will not change.