“Wild Bill” Guarnere passes
The sad news comes that “Wild Bill” Guarnere has passed at the tender age of 90 years old – a month before his 91st birthday. Anyone who has watched “Band of Brothers” or read the book knows his wartime story. He was one of the two recipients of the Silver Star for his World War Two exploits with Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Now he goes on to join the other “Brothers” for the big reunion.
Category: Blue Skies
Condolences to his family and friends.
RIP, Wild Bill. You’ve definitely earned it.
I may just have to do a Band of Bro’s marathon in his honor. Problem is I gave up Scotch for Lent and I need Scotch when I do one of these. BTW: I served under MG Salve Matheson in the 1/101 (ABN)(Sep) in VN. Never talked about it and I had a lot of meals with him.
Anyone who gave up spirits for Lent is hereby given dispensation to raise a cup or two or more in memory of this warrior now in Heaven
For lent this year I gave up “making promise I won’t keep”.
Having a Jameson 18 Year for the man right now!
Master Chief, once in my life I would like a glass of Redbreast “Single Pot Still” Non Chill-filtered 21 Year Old Irish Whiskey. I hear it is the end all be all of Irish Whiskeys but I don’t drink much Irish Whiskey.(Kentucky/Tennessee Bourbon man myself)
So I can’t really speak knowledgeably about the brands. What do you think?
Sparks,buy yourself a small bottle of Pendleton. It’s shipped down from Canada, then processed in the Dalles Oregon. You will not be disappointed!
Sparks, buy yourself a small bottle of Pendleton. It’s a blend. Comes down from Canada, then processed in the Dalles Oregon You will not be disappointed!
I’ve had a bottle set aside for a long time for when Hanoi Jane assumes room temperature. Lent or not, it will be consumed. Hope it happens soon.
Roger that SJ! Roger that!
Thanks 3/17 Air Cav, I’ll Pendleton a shot or two. No pun intended,
Lenten charity:
(A family member posted this on Twitter)
“If anyone is interested in making a donation to @StJude in the name of #wildbillguarnere 1800-876-4302 tribute #35555845 Ty”
Thank you very much Jilly. I will check it out.
Rest in Peace, old soldier.
A true American hero from The Greatest Generation.
We’re loosing them at an increasing rate.
AATW, Brother! See you in a while …
Another Warrior guarding the gates of Heaven. Enjoy, Warrior, you’ve done your time in hell.
God Bless them all. They kept the darkness of fascism from turning out the light of Liberty.
We owe them a debt which we can never truly repay.
AW1 Tim Thank you and Here-Here!
Great men like him are passing every day. When I was last at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Pat, I rolled passed two older men sitting under the wing of a B-17. One was a pilot, the other a top turret gunner. I simply sat and listened to them for over an hour as they talked.
Listening to, and thinking about men like “Wild Bill,” I just get angrier at the valor thieves like Van Fleet and Styblo, POS who’d steal the honor of those good men who answered the call and defended the country. And it makes me thankful for sites like this that exposes those wastes of humanity for what they are.
RIP Brother of the Silk.
RIP.
[…] 'Wild Bill' Wild Bill Guarnere passes a month short of his 91st birthday: ?Wild Bill? Guarnere passes : This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here […]
St. Michael calls him a HERO! RIP my generations role model. Airborne!
RIP, Warrior…
RIP Sir…
Rest In Peace my elder brother. This nation and your veteran brotherhood are the lesser for your loss.
This eve I’ll set a glass out for you. RIP “Wild Bill.”
CURAHEE!
I met Guarnere (and Donald Boyett and a few other WWII Currahees) back when I was with the 506th int he late 1970s, they used to come to the Pratt Museum and do talks about their experiences. I am deeply embarrassed to recall how interested I was in their exploits, but how little I cared to learn more about them as men; I don’t think I even bothered to go up and shake his hand at the end of the lecture. I do recall he had an impressive “colorful” vocabulary, particularly about officers. I seem to recall that my CO, then 1LT (now LG) Ben Freakley was sitting in the audience for his speech, I do wonder what he thought of all the officer-bashing!
No worries, Brother. I can relate to being a callow youth. I suspect many of us can.
Good bye Bill old friend. Rest in peace. We will be there for you.
RIP Old Warrior
I met Sergeant Guarnere and Private Heffron at the public memorial for Dick Winters. They were getting more attention than their children would have liked. It was just so hard not to say “thanks” and they were both so willing to greet everyone who stopped to say something.
I knew several veterans growing up and few talked about their experiences during the war.
I am profoundly grateful that the men of Easy Company finally found the strength and courage to share those traumatic events with us.
We need more men like Winters, Malarkey, Compton, Gaurnere and Heffron. More of us need the courage to be more like them.
Rest in peace, Sergeant Gaurnere. The last bugle call has sounded.
Well Done Wild Bill…….
Thank you Wild Bill,,, thank you and your brothers, and all of your fellow soldiers. You gave us freedom, not worrying about your own live.
After so many years, you still show us how man can survive, yes you do,, the way you solved problems helped me ,and I’m sure, a lot of other people through life. Now take a that rest and peace you deserve so much. and we will never forget you and the brothers
RIP Wild Bill. I was amazed by your courage and that of your fellow band of brothers. My Grampa is 99 and of the things he remembers of late…Wild Bill is not forgotten.
That “Band of Brothers” series did more to educate later generations regarding the American soldiers of WW II than all sources of information combined. That Bill Guarnere has rejoined his brothers is a bittersweet thing, with the bitter all ours. Rest in Peace.
RIP Paratrooper! May your PLF onto heavens DZ been with blue skies, and zero knot winds. I can almost picture the LGOP coming together at that final rally point…
All those heroes, regardless of what MOS they held, whether they stormed the beaches, dropped in from the sky,flew bombers or fighters, or they never saw a shot fired at all but kept those who did supplied and cared for their wounds…
God Bless each and every one of them. We owe it to them to remember not just their sacrifices, but also why it is they fought as well.
It is sad. But would have been much more sad if we had lost him in the Ardennes Forest. He at least was able to share his story, and inspire all of us. On a related note, Hanks & Spielberg are teaming up for another mini-series. This one is about the Army Air Corps. http://collider.com/tom-hanks-steven-spielberg-masters-of-the-air/
I wrote to Mr. Guarnere, Mr. Dick Winters, Mr. Malarkey, and Mr Shifty Powers about ten years go. I received a response from them all. I got a major dressing down from Wild Bill for calling him a hero. (I’m proud of that ass chewing) Wild Bill told me the only heroes were the men he left interred in Europe.
Unfortunately I lost all of my letters in a couple of hurricanes (Frances and Jeanne)
RB325th_My sentiments exactly. My first thought was a wish for him to make a perfect PLF on that great Drop Zone in the Skies.
When I reported in for jump school at Fort Campbell in 1959, we still had quite a few of the WWII vets serving as senior NCO’s and officers. Most of us youngsters held them in absolute awe. My battalion SGM Cowboy Copas was one. Some, like 101st CSGM Paul Huff wore the MoH which really made them our heroes. Westmoreland, our DIV CG then, was one of them. Even six years later, when I arrived in Vietnam my Bn CO was a WWII and Korea vet.
RIP Trooper Guarnere…
Poetrooper. I remember that we had one WW II Veteran still active at Fort Jackson in 1972. I can still see him in my mind’s eye today. Of course, for those who entered service during the war–say, in 1943– and made a career of it, that’s not quite 30 so it’s not all that amazing, I guess.