William 'Bill' Guarnere

William J Wild Bill Guarnere April 28 1923 March 8 2014 was an American Army noncommissioned officer and World War II veteran He served as a Staff Sergeant with 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 Born in South Philadelphia Guarnere enlisted in the US Army on August 31 1942 and joined Easy Company at Camp Toccoa He completed airborne training and deployed to England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy Guarnere made his first combat jump on DDay June 6 1944 and participated in the Battle of Normandy and Operation Market Garden During the latter he was wounded by a sniper while riding a motorcycle but later returned to Easy Company in time to participate in the Battle of the Bulge In January 1945 Guarnere lost his right leg during an artillery barrage while attempting to help his wounded friend Joe Toye He was subsequently evacuated and discharged from the Army For his wartime service Guarnere received the Silver Star Bronze Star Medals and Purple Hearts After the war he worked a variety of jobs and remained active in veterans organizations and Easy Company reunions He coauthored the 2007 memoir Brothers in Battle Best of Friends with fellow Easy Company veteran Edward Babe Heffron and journalist Robyn Post Guarneres experiences were featured in Stephen E Ambroses book Band of Brothers and its 2001 HBO miniseries adaptation in which he was portrayed by Frank John Hughes Guarnere died on March 8 2014 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania at the age of 90