Oldest Living Member of ‘Band of Brothers’ Dies

Ed Mauser’s fierce WWII Army unit inspired book, HBO miniseries

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Oldest living member of ‘Band of Brothers’ dies (NBC Nightly News, Jan. 22, 2011) — Ed Mauser, who was drafted in 1942 and volunteered for the 101st Airborne, home of Easy Company, kept his role in the unit a secret until HBO produced a miniseries about its heroics. (00:28)

January 22, 2011

OMAHA, Neb. — A member of the “Band of Brothers” who fought in some of World War II’s fiercest European battles, Ed Mauser shunned the limelight and kept his service with the Army unit a secret, even from some of his family.

His role came to light only after his brother-in-law got him a copy of the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” said Terry Zahn, who met Mauser during a 2009 Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II memorial. …

But before that, “he never talked about it for years and years and years,” said Zahn, president of the Midwest chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association.

Mauser, 94, was the oldest living member of Easy Company, which is often better known now as the “Band of Brothers.”

Born in 1916 in LaSalle, Ill., he was drafted in 1942 and volunteered for the 101st Airborne Division. He was assigned to Company E, 506th Regiment — Easy Company — which participated in the D-Day invasion of France and the follow-up Operation Market Garden. The 101st also helped defend Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. …

“Don’t call me a hero,” Mauser told the Lincoln Journal Star in a 2009 interview. “I was just one of the boys. I did what I was told, and let’s leave it at that.” …

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Photoblog: A farewell to ‘Band of Brothers’

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — January 22, 2010

Taliban Attack Caught on Camera

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NATO cameras catch Taliban attack (MSNBC, Jan. 22, 2010) — NATO releases video of a Taliban militant atttack on the Presidential Palace and other government buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan. MSNBC’s Dara Brown reports. (00:41)

One year ago today, I reported that NATO released video of a complex Taliban attack on the Presidential Palace and other government buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 18, 2010.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — January 22, 2009

A Conservative Response to Obama

Two years ago today, on Jan. 22, 2009, I reported that former Congressman Joe Scarborough, speaking as “a good Republican,” responded to the inauguration of Barack Obama by saying, “I’m damn proud to be a part of this great republic.”