Capt. Ronald Speirs
Talk1this wiki
| Capt. Ronald Speirs | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rank | Captain (Retired as Lieutenant Colonel) |
| Status | Deceased as of April 11, 2007 from Alzheimer's disease. |
| Nickname | Sparky |
| Actor | Matthew Settle |
Captain Ronald C. Speirs was an officer from Dog Company, and was later transferred to Easy Company and made CO.
Contents |
Biography
Edit
Early life
Edit
Ronald Speirs was born in Edinburgh Scotland on April 20, 1920 and later emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in December 26, 1924.
He then went through military training in High School, and eventually made 2nd Lieutenant.
WWII
Edit
He then joined the Paratroopers, and was assigned to Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne, at Camp Toccoa. He was later transferred to Dog Company, 2nd Battalion, and made 1st Lieutenant.
After training, Speirs headed to England, to await for their next mission. At Aldbourne, he married a British widow, and had a son named Robert.
They eventually dropped into Normandy on June 6, 1944. On D-Day morning, it was said he gave cigarettes to 20 Nazi POWs, and later hosed them down with his machine gun. He then helped in the Brecourt Manor Assault, where he took 5 Dog Company Soldiers, and a Fox Company Soldier, and singlehandedly took out a howitzer.
During the Normandy Campaign, he was wounded by a German Potato Masher in the face and knee. He recovered, and returned to Dog Company.
He then jumped into Holland on September 17. During the Operation, he swam across the Neder river with vital information, in spite of being wounded in the buttocks by a machine gun, which was still firing at him. He won a Silver Star for his actions.
He was then sent to Belgium on December 17, to fight at the Battle of Bulge. During Easy Company's attack on Foy, the Company's CO 1st Lt. Norman Dike was suffering from shell shock, so Captain Richard Winters made him Company commander, and thanks to him, they were able to take the town of Foy.
After Belgium, they then went to occupy Germany in April 2, 1945. He and the Company liberated a Nazi Concentration Camp, and later Hitler's Eagles Nest at Berchtesgaden. After Germany surrendered on March 8, Speirs decided to stay and fight in Japan. However, Japan surrendered, and the war ended.
After the war, Speirs found out that, in fact, his wife's first husband hadn't died, and had been instead imprisoned in a POW Camp. She divorced him, and remarried her previous husband. She took all of Speirs' war spoils.
Korean War
Edit
He eventually volunteered to fight in the Korean War. He was commander of a rifle company, and made one combat jump.
Later life
Edit
He then attended a Russian language course in 1956. He eventually was made a liaison officer in the Red Army. He then found work as governor of Spandau Prison, in Berlin, in 1958.
He then returned to the US Army, and was in a mission to the Royal Lao Army in 1962. He retired from the Army in 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel, and stayed with his family in California.
He died in 2007.
Added by Pookylove2008Reputation
Edit
Among the men of Easy Company, there are rumors that he gave cigarettes to 20 Nazi POWs, and later shot all but one. He was also said to have shot a drunk Sergeant. He neither denies these, nor confirms them, and he merely says "the guy that told you this says he was there, but when asking him what it was like, will say he heard it from the other guy."
