Frederick Heyliger

Frederick Theodore Moose Heyliger June 23 1916 November 3 2001 was an American Army officer and World War II veteran He served as a first lieutenant with Easy Company 2nd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division and briefly commanded the company during the final stages of Operation Market Garden Heyliger enlisted in the US Army in 1940 and initially trained with the Army Air Corps before becoming an airborne officer He was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and served as a mortar platoon leader with Headquarters Company 2nd Battalion After Richard Winters was transferred to battalion headquarters as executive officer Heyliger took command of Easy Company in October 1944 On October 23 1944 Heyliger commanded Easy Company during Operation Pegasus in the Netherlands Following the failure of Operation Market Garden he led the rescue and evacuation of 138 British paratroopers from the 1st Airborne Division who had been stranded behind German lines For his role in the operation he was awarded the British Military Cross On October 31 1944 Heyliger was accidentally shot by an American sentry while returning from a patrol with Richard Winters The injuries required extensive skin and nerve grafts and ended his combat career He remained in the Army until February 1947 After leaving the military Heyliger enrolled at the University of Massachusetts and graduated in 1950 with a degree in ornamental horticulture He subsequently worked in the horticultural industry and lived in Massachusetts Heyliger was interviewed for Stephen E Ambroses book Band of Brothers and appeared in the HBO documentary We Stand Alone Together The Men of Easy Company His experiences were also depicted in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers in which he was portrayed by Stephen McCole Heyliger died on November 3 2001 in Concord Massachusetts at the age of 85 He was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord