Last “Easy” Company (Band of Brothers) officer passes away

KoB sends in the sad word that the last officer of Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, World War II has passed away at age 99. Shames was portrayed by actor Joseph May in the Band of Brothers mini-series in 2001. He appeared in the seventh episode “The Breaking Point”. That episode dealt with the 101st’s valiant stand at Bastogne in the harshest winter in decades, surrounded by the enemy.

Shames was from Norfolk, Virginia. Enlisted in 1942, he volunteered to become a paratrooper. Joining the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, he was assigned as a private to “I” (Ida) Company. When the division deployed to the ETO, Shames was promoted to Operations Sergeant and built the sand tables the division used in their planning for the Normandy Invasion.

Shames jumped with Ida Company into Normandy in the pre-dawn hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944. A week later he received a battlefield commission. The new second lieutenant was moved to a new unit (as was SOP). This is where he became part of the storied Band of Brothers, Easy Company under Captain Richard “Dick” Winters.

With Easy Company, Shames jumped in Operation Market Garden, participated in Operation Pegasus, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In the latter, near Foy, he is said to have used a bazooka to destroy an enemy tank.

Shames was the first man of the 101st Airborne to enter the Dachau Concentration Camp, just a few days after its liberation (one of the limited-series’ creative licenses was having the 506th PIR liberate the camp, which they didn’t). Unsurprisingly, this greatly effected the young lieutenant.

The 506th had been sent to occupy Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. Expecting heavy SS resistance, the men found none. They were there in the most opulent location of the Reich when the German government surrendered. According to Shames’ obituary “When Germany surrendered, Ed and his men of Easy Company entered Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest where Ed managed to acquire a few bottles of cognac, a label indicating they were ‘for the Fuhrer’s use only.’ Later, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son’s Bar Mitzvah.”

After the war Shames worked for the NSA as a Middle East expert. He remained in the Army Reserve, retiring in 1973 as a colonel. He is survived by his sons Douglas and Steven, four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

According to this site, here are Shames’ awards and decorations.

While many of these are unofficial commemorative medals, the actual awards are more than impressive on their own. The colonel received three Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, two Presidential Unit Citations, and the French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm (indicating a citation at the Army-level). He’s also the recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge and has two “mustard stains” on his jump wings. The above linked page has some links that are worth reading. One is a letter about the colonel’s actions in Bastogne, the other an interview with him.

Rest easy, Sir. You’ve earned it. You stand relieved, Colonel. Godspeed.

Category: Army, Historical, Real Soldiers, Veterans in the news, We Remember