World War II US Army Soldier. He served as a private first class with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division, and the stories of he and his comrades were featured in the 2001 HBO television mini-series "Band of Brothers," based on the book by Stephen Ambrose. The third of five children whose father worked as a prison guard, he dropped out of high school during the Great Depression in order to support the family. He went to work at New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey, sandblasting cruisers in preparation for them to be converted to light aircraft carriers. Although he had a 2B exemption from military service, he didn't use it because he wanted to go with his friend into the airborne and enlisted in the US Army in November 1942. As a member of Easy Company, he fought in several major battles in the European Theater, including Operation Market Garden (September 1944) in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium (December 1944). During the Battle of the Bulge he served as a machine gunner and was awarded the Bronze Star. He helped to liberate the Kaufering concentration camp in Landsberg, Germany, and in the seizure of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany. During his combat tour, he also received the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. After returning from the war in 1945, he worked for Publicker Industries, a whiskey distillery plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until 1966, when he worked on the Philadelphia waterfront, performing cargo checks and clerk duties. He wrote "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story" with fellow Easy Company veteran William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post in 2007, outlining the activities of Easy Company from 1942 to 1945. He was portrayed in the "Band of Brothers" mini-series by actor Robin Laing. He died at the age of 90.