BUCK COMPTON
Lynn "Buck" Compton was born in Los Angeles in 1921. While studying at UCLA from 1939 to 1943, he lettered on the football and baseball teams. Compton was on the UCLA team that played in the 1943 Rose Bowl. He participated in ROTC for four years then left his studies to attend Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in May 1943.
Compton joined Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in England in December 1943. He participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. He received the Silver Star and Bronze Star awards for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty.
Compton remained in the active reserves from 1946 to 1966 and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He completed a degree in law, and subsequently served as an LAPD detective, as a Deputy DA, and as Chief Deputy DA for LA County. In 1968, Compton handled the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Compton as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, a post from which he retired in 1990.
"WILD BILL" GUARNERE
Born in South Philadelphia, by 1942 Bill had a war essential job helping to build Sherman tanks at the Baldwin Locomotive Works but chose to enlist in the paratroopers. He was among the original members of Easy Company assembled at Camp Toccoa in Georgia where he became a mortar squad leader in Easy's 2nd Platoon, under command of Lt. Dick Winters.
Having lost a brother fighting the Germans in Italy, Bill was determined to get revenge and did so on D-Day, fighting with a fierceness and intensity that earned him the nickname, "Wild Bill." There, Bill was among a small number of Easy Company paratroopers to assault Brecourt Manor, an action for which he was awarded the Silver Star.
Bill would later fight in Holland, where he was wounded and sent to recover in an English hospital. Fearing reassignment to another unit, Bill broke out, went AWOL and rejoined Easy in time for their participation in the defense of Bastogne. Not long after, Bill lost his right leg during an artillery bombardment in the woods near Foy, Belgium.
Evacuated to safety, Bill would survive the war, having been awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He would go on to help organize the Easy Company reunions for decades to come. If there was any one man who deserves credit for keeping Easy Company together in the post-war years, it goes to Bill Guarnere.
Bill died in 2014, leaving behind two sons, nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Today, a statue of Bill stands proudly in South Philly.
DONALD MALARKEY
Donald Malarkey was born in Astoria, Oregon in 1921. He was in his first semester at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After the attack, Malarkey tried enlisting in the Marines, but he was turned down because of dental problems.
In July 1942, he volunteered for the paratroops of the United States Army, becoming a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. He received the Bronze Star Medal for his involvement in the Brécourt Manor assault on D-Day in Normandy. During his time with Easy Company he was promoted to the rank of Tech Sergeant. Malarkey was involved in combat in Normandy, Operation Market Garden in Holland, Bastogne, and Germany.
In the 2001 miniseries, "Band of Brothers," Malarkey was portrayed by actor Scott Grimes, now a star of the TV show E.R. Don Malarkey, along with his longtime friend Buck Compton, are today recognized as two of the most memorable characters of the Band of Brothers mini-series.
AL MAMPRE
Staff Sergeant Albert Mampre was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1922. He enlisted in the Army during 1942 and volunteered for the paratroopers.
He was assigned to Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne as a medic at Toccoa, Georgia. Prior to D-Day, Mampre developed a serious infection and was sent to the hospital, thus missing that jump.
He rejoined Easy Company in time for Operation Market Garden, his first combat jump. Soon after, Easy Company Lieutenant Bob Brewer was shot by a sniper outside of Eindhoven. Mampre immediately jumped to his aid and while providing medical assistance to Brewer, was also shot by the sniper, through the leg. This incident was depicted in "Band of Brothers" during Episode 4, "Replacements."
With the assistance of several Dutch citizens, both Mampre and Brewer were evacuated to an aid station. After several weeks of recovery, Mampre rejoined Easy Company in Mourmelon, France, in time to accompany them into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.
Towards the end of the war, Mampre was reassigned as a medic to regimental headquarters and continued to serve in this role during the 101st Airborne's time in Berchtesgaden and later in Austria.
Mampre returned home in September 1945 and married his wife, Virginia, that November. He went on to study psychology at the University of Chicago and worked as a psychologist until retiring in the 1970s.
