The Band of Brothers Loses Oldest Member, Ed Mauser
Ed Mauser, the oldest surviving member of Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, died January 21, 2011, at age 93. Easy Company became famous the the "Band of Brothers" after historian Steven Ambrose authored a book with that title about the unit. Later, it became a hit miniseries on HBO, making a worldwide audience familiar with these World War II soldiers.
Mauser was not portrayed in the miniseries and only learned of it when his brother-in-law gave him a DVD copy.
Click here to read a comcast.net news story about Ed Mauser
Earlier this month, Dick Winters, perhaps the most famous member of the Band of Brothers, died at age 92.
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Dick Winters passing last week brings home the greatest generation is answering the “recall” of heaven. Yesterday Paul Buckles the last surviving U.S. doughboy turned 110. World War I warriors have passed on to their eternal encampment. The Civil War’s soldiers passed from the scene in 1959. The veterans of previous war give life to history. Thousands joined veterans organizations to keep alive the sacrifices of comrades who rested in national cemeteries or nameless graves.
The Korean War and Vietnam War veterans are marching to join their brothers and sisters in the last encampment. The current conflict represents another phase of human history and as they age and pass on, the events that brought ordinary men and women, to step forward and place themselves in the line of fire for their fellow countrymen shows that the spirit that made a nation out of many continues as long as Dick Winters and Ed Mausers step up for the principles that founded the nation.