{"id":1087287,"date":"2021-12-05T17:29:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T22:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1087287"},"modified":"2021-12-05T17:29:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T22:29:19","slug":"last-surviving-band-of-brothers-officer-a-jewish-soldier-who-toasted-his-sons-bar-mitzvah-with-cognac-stolen-from-hitlers-eagles-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/last-surviving-band-of-brothers-officer-a-jewish-soldier-who-toasted-his-sons-bar-mitzvah-with-cognac-stolen-from-hitlers-eagles-nest\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Surviving \u2018Band Of Brothers\u2019 Officer \u2013 A Jewish Soldier Who Toasted His Son\u2019s Bar Mitzvah With Cognac Stolen From Hitler\u2019s \u2018Eagle\u2019s Nest\u2019 \u2013 Dies At 99"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">54<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flast-surviving-band-of-brothers-officer-a-jewish-soldier-who-toasted-his-sons-bar-mitzvah-with-cognac-stolen-from-hitlers-eagles-nest%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1087287&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Retired Army Col. Edward Shames \u2014 the last surviving officer of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division \u2014 passed away Friday at the age of 99.<\/p>\n<p>Shames and his brothers-in-arms were immortalized in HBO\u2019s miniseries \u201cBand of Brothers,\u201d which documented Easy Company\u2019s movements from training and parachuting into Normandy on <a href=\"https:\/\/dailywire.com\/news\/veteran-who-fought-d-day-at-15-dies-of-covid-19-at-92\/\">D-Day<\/a> as part of Operation Overlord to the disastrous Operation Market Garden, and the turning point at Bastogne\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dailywire.com\/news\/wapo-uses-white-christmas-to-point-up-virus-deaths\/\">Battle of the Bulge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This feels like the end of something.<\/p>\n<p>Edward Shames, the final living member of the Band of Brother, Easy Company, 506th, has left us. He died peacefully at home at 99.<\/p>\n<p>Ed jumped into Normandy, fought in some of WWII\u2019s most critical moments, was memorialized on the HBO show. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4o57njMJ5k\">pic.twitter.com\/4o57njMJ5k<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 XVIII Airborne Corps (@18airbornecorps) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/18airbornecorps\/status\/1467249531905622023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home and Crematory posted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollomon-brown.com\/obituaries\/Edward-D-Shames?obId=23292641#\/obituaryInfo\">Shames\u2019 obituary<\/a> on Saturday:<\/p>\n<p><em>Ed was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 13, 1922, to the late David and Sadie Shames. In August, 1942, Ed was called to duty in World War II. During the war, he was a member of the renowned Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division now known globally as the \u201cBand of Brothers.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ed was involved in some of the most important battles of the war. He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ed gained a reputation as a stubborn and very outspoken soldier who demanded the highest of standards from himself and his fellow soldiers. He not only earned the respect of his men, but was recognized by command for outstanding leadership and on June 13, 1944, he received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. This made him the first non-commissioned officer in the Third Battalion to receive a commission in Normandy. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>According to the obituary, the Jewish officer was the first member of the 101st Airborne Division to walk into Dachau \u2014 the Nazi regime\u2019s longest-operating concentration camp \u2014 just days after the men of New York\u2019s 42nd Infantry \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalguard.mil\/News\/Article\/2166335\/nys-42nd-infantry-division-liberated-dachau-75-years-ago\/\">Rainbow Division<\/a>\u201d had discovered it. Dachau was the third camp to be liberated by Allied forces, and at the time housed 32,000 living prisoners. Corpses were stacked everywhere, from rail cars to empty barracks rooms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing you can put in words would adequately describe what I saw there,\u201d Division Assistant Chaplain (Maj.) Eli Bohnen wrote in a letter to home on May 1, 1945. \u201cThe human mind refuses to believe what the eyes see. All the stories of Nazi horrors are underestimated rather than exaggerated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Germany surrendered weeks later, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollomon-brown.com\/obituaries\/Edward-D-Shames?obId=23292641#\/obituaryInfo\">Shames<\/a> and the men of Easy Company went into Hitler\u2019s famed Eagle\u2019s Nest \u2014 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2021\/12\/05\/band-brothers-last-veteran-edward-shames-death\/8879976002\/\">Shames<\/a> managed to steal several bottles of cognac that had been labeled \u201cfor the Fuhrer\u2019s use only.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son\u2019s Bar Mitzvah,\u201d the obituary continued. \u201cOn November 6, 2021, the American Veterans Center at its annual Veterans Conference and Honors program gave a final toast to Ed and presented him with the distinguished Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Wings of Valor Award.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The last surviving member of the famed \u201cBand of Brothers\u201d is 97-year-old Bradford Freeman, an enlisted mortarman, who served as a consultant for the HBO miniseries and now lives in Mississippi.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Brad Freeman is the last surviving enlisted man and currently lives in Mississippi. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pV6Tjotcku\">pic.twitter.com\/pV6Tjotcku<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ricky Barksdale (@RickyBarksdale) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RickyBarksdale\/status\/1467476849676668929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 5, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Retired Army Col. Edward Shames \u2014 the last surviving officer of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division \u2014 passed away Friday at the age of 99.Shames and his brothers-in-arms were immortalized in HBO\u2019s miniseries \u201cBand of Brothers,\u201d which documented Easy Company\u2019s movements from training and parachuting into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord to the disastrous Operation Market Garden, and the turning point at Bastogne\u2019s Battle of the Bulge.This feels like the end of something.Edward Shames, the final living member of the Band of Brother, Easy Company, 506th, has left us. He died peacefully at home at 99.Ed jumped into Normandy, fought in some of WWII\u2019s most critical moments, was memorialized on the HBO show. pic.twitter.com\/4o57njMJ5k\u2014 XVIII Airborne Corps (@18airbornecorps) December 4, 2021Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home and Crematory posted Shames\u2019 obituary on Saturday:Ed was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 13, 1922, to the late David and Sadie Shames. In August, 1942, Ed was called to duty in World War II. During the war, he was a member of the renowned Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division now known globally as the \u201cBand of Brothers.\u201d Ed was involved in some of the most important battles of the war. He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. Ed gained a reputation as a stubborn and very outspoken soldier who demanded the highest of standards from himself and his fellow soldiers. He not only earned the respect of his men, but was recognized by command for outstanding leadership and on June 13, 1944, he received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. This made him the first non-commissioned officer in the Third Battalion to receive a commission in Normandy. According to the obituary, the Jewish officer was the first member of the 101st Airborne Division to walk into Dachau \u2014 the Nazi regime\u2019s longest-operating concentration camp \u2014 just days after the men of New York\u2019s 42nd Infantry \u201cRainbow Division\u201d had discovered it. Dachau was the third camp to be liberated by Allied forces, and at the time housed 32,000 living prisoners. Corpses were stacked everywhere, from rail cars to empty barracks rooms.\u201cNothing you can put in words would adequately describe what I saw there,\u201d Division Assistant Chaplain (Maj.) Eli Bohnen wrote in a letter to home on May 1, 1945. \u201cThe human mind refuses to believe what the eyes see. All the stories of Nazi horrors are underestimated rather than exaggerated.\u201dWhen Germany surrendered weeks later, Shames and the men of Easy Company went into Hitler\u2019s famed Eagle\u2019s Nest \u2014 and Shames managed to steal several bottles of cognac that had been labeled \u201cfor the Fuhrer\u2019s use only.\u201d\u201cLater, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son\u2019s Bar Mitzvah,\u201d the obituary continued. \u201cOn November 6, 2021, the American Veterans Center at its annual Veterans Conference and Honors program gave a final toast to Ed and presented him with the distinguished Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Wings of Valor Award.\u201dThe last surviving member of the famed \u201cBand of Brothers\u201d is 97-year-old Bradford Freeman, an enlisted mortarman, who served as a consultant for the HBO miniseries and now lives in Mississippi.Brad Freeman is the last surviving enlisted man and currently lives in Mississippi. pic.twitter.com\/pV6Tjotcku\u2014 Ricky Barksdale (@RickyBarksdale) December 5, 2021The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1087287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1087287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1087287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1087287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1087287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}