Roderick Bain

Roderick G Rod Bain May 13 1922 February 5 2014 was an American Army noncommissioned officer and World War II veteran He served with the 2nd Platoon of Easy Company 2nd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division and was one of the original members of the company trained at Camp Toccoa Georgia Bain enlisted in the US Army in August 1942 and volunteered for the airborne forces He trained at Camp Toccoa under Captain Herbert Sobel before joining Easy Company in England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe As a radio operator he frequently accompanied patrols and reconnaissance missions despite carrying heavy communications equipment Bain made his first combat jump into Normandy on DDay June 6 1944 He subsequently participated in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium remaining with Easy Company through the end of the war After the war Bain pursued a career in education He graduated from Western Washington College of Education and became a teacher later moving with his family to Alaska His wartime experiences were featured in Marcus Brothertons 2009 book We Who Are Alive and Remain Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers He also appeared in the documentary We Stand Alone Together The Men of Easy Company Bain died on February 5 2014 at the age of 91 He is remembered as one of the original Toccoa men of Easy Company and for his service throughout the European campaign of World War II