OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Celebrated World War II heroes are gathering in Overland Park this weekend. Books have been written about them. Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks even produced a mini-series about their exploits in battle.
If you’ve ever seen that mini-series, or read Stephen Ambroses’ “Band of Brothers,” then you already know about the “E-company.”
Friday that real band of brothers gathered for a yearly reunion decades after serving in World War II together.
Easy company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, is well known for its bold acts of bravery during the second world war. However, the real soldiers behind the books and movies don’t consider themselves heroes.
“I’m just one of the thousands. It took everybody to keep us going,” said veteran Paul Rogers.
“I think we deserve the recognition, but the problem is, other people did some things that were very comparable, airborne troops especially,” said veteran Ed Tipper.
Stories of their contribution during WWII is a source of pride for the current active members of Easy Company.
“These guys are just extraordinary soldiers in WWII, and they did some pretty amazing, unbelievable things and so I’m humbled and honored to be with these guys,” said Corporal Brandon Rickert.
The reunion which is in its 66th year, is just another great opportunity to shoot the breeze, and keep up with their brothers in battle for the soldiers.
“We were together so much ,we more or less became a family,” said veteran Earl McClung.
“We have a group that have made friends for life and when we keep in touch and when we come to the reunion, that’s a celebration of that kind of friendship,” said Tipper.
