Robert 'Popeye' Wynn

Robert Popeye Wynn July 10 1921 March 18 2000 was an American Army noncommissioned officer and World War II veteran He served as a 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 Hill Virginia Wynn attended vocational school in Norfolk where he trained as a machinist and became friends with fellow paratrooper Darrell Shifty Powers He enlisted in the US Army in 1942 and volunteered for the airborne forces He was assigned to Easy Company and completed his training at Camp Toccoa Fort Benning Camp Mackall and Camp Shanks before deploying to England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe Wynn parachuted into Normandy on DDay June 6 1944 and participated in the assault on the German artillery position at Brécourt Manor He was wounded during the attack and evacuated to England but returned to Easy Company in time for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands He subsequently fought with the company during the Battle of the Bulge and remained with Easy Company through the final months of the European campaign He received the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart for his wartime service After the war Wynn worked as a structural ironworker on buildings and bridges He later lived in South Chester Virginia and maintained a home in Kitty Hawk North Carolina where he spent time with his family Wynns experiences were featured in Stephen E Ambroses 1992 book Band of Brothers He was also one of the Easy Company veterans whose experiences were adapted for the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers in which he was portrayed by Nicholas Aaron Wynn died on March 18 2000 in Chester Virginia at the age of 78