Bill "Gonorrhea" Guarnere dead at 90

[techs]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/09/bill-wild-bill-guarnere-band-brothers-fame-dies-at-0/

Bill 'Wild Bill' Guarnere, of Band of Brothers fame, dies at 90

William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, one of the World War II veterans whose exploits were dramatized in the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died at the age of 90.

Guarnere's son, William Guarnere Jr., confirmed Sunday that his father died at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Guarnere was rushed to the hospital early Saturday and died of a ruptured aneurysm early Saturday night.


RIP your work is done.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

RIP So few of those WWII vets left.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Ruptured aneurysm is a pretty quick, clean way to die in my opinion.

 

[Markbnj]

One of my favorite "characters" in Band of Brothers. RIP.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

RIP So few of those WWII vets left.

I think about this sometimes and it makes me feel old.

When I was a kid, WWII vets were everywhere. Now? Not so much. Korea, same thing.

The last WWI vet died a couple years ago too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_I_veterans_by_country

 

[TheVrolok]

90 years old and goes quickly from a ruptured aneurysm? Hopefully a fitting reward for his service. /salute /rose /RIP.

 

[feralkid]

So long, Wild Bill.

 

[Fingolfin269]

RIP

 

[VulgarDisplay]

RIP

Think I'm due for a re-read and re-watch of band of brothers.

 

[soulcougher73]

RIP. Now i have to go watch BoB again for the hundreth time.

 

[BikeJunkie]

RIP... guy was tough as nails. They don't build 'em like that anymore.

Now i have to go watch BoB again for the hundreth time.

This.

 

[GTaudiophile]

*Salute*

 

[midwestfisherman]

RIP Wild Bill! We also lost William Clay Ford (yes that Ford), he was also a WWII vet (pilot).

 

[techs]

On a related note it would be great if a Band of Brothers type show highlighting the Korean vets who fought in some terrible conditions.

 

[techs]

Interesting stuff from wiki:

He joined the Citizens Military Training Camp (CMTC) program during the Great Depression. Guarnere's mother told the government her son was 17 when he was, in fact, only 15. He spent three summers in the CMTC, which took four years to complete. His plan upon completion of training was to become an officer in the United States Army. Unfortunately, after his third year, the program was canceled due to the pending war in Europe.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and six months before graduation, Guarnere left South Philadelphia High School and went to work for Baldwin Locomotive Works, making Sherman tanks for the Army. This upset his mother, because none of her other children had graduated from high school. Guarnere switched to the night shift and returned to school, earning his diploma in 1941. Because of his work, he had an exemption from military service.[4]

However, on August 31, 1942,[5] Guarnere enlisted in the Army Airborne and started training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia

 

[thegimp03]

Several of the guys interviewed in Band of Brothers have passed away over the last year or two. Sad to see.

 

[techs]

More info. Guarnere was court martialed and busted to private:

Guarnere was wounded in mid-October 1944, while Easy Company was securing the line on "The Island" on the south side of the Rhine. As the sergeant of Second Platoon, he had to go up and down the line to check on and encourage his men, who were spread out over a distance of about a mile. While driving a motorcycle that he had stolen from a Dutch farmer across an open field, he was shot in the right leg by a sniper. The impact knocked him off the motorcycle, fractured his right tibia, and lodged some shrapnel in his right buttock. He was sent back to England on October 17.[8]

While recovering from injuries, he didn't want to be assigned to another unit, so he put black shoe polish all over his cast, put his pants leg over the cast, and walked out of the hospital in severe pain. He was caught by an officer, court-martialed, demoted to private, and returned to the hospital. He told them he would just go AWOL again to rejoin Easy Company. The hospital kept him a week longer and then sent him back to the Netherlands to be with his outfit

He arrived at Mourmelon-le-Grand, just outside Reims, where the 101st was on R and R (rest and recuperation), about December 10, just before the company was sent to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, on December 16. Because the paperwork did not arrive from England about his court-martial and demotion, he was put back in his same position

 

[techs]

Guarnere received the Silver Star for combat during the Brecourt Manor Assault on D-Day, and was later decorated with two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts

 

[kage69]

Winters, Heffron, now Bill... It's hard news.



RIP Wild Bill, you were a true warrior. All Americans owe something to your grit.

If there's an afterlife, I hope you've found Winters and convinced him to have a drink with you and the others in heaven's pub. My sons will know of your story and service in due time. You won't be forgotten.

RIP Bill Guarnere