"Band of Brothers" travel to Kuwait

Photo By Spc. Elayseah Woodard-Hinton | "Wild Bill" Guarnere, Edward "Babe" Heffron, Forrest Guth, Don Malarkey, Amos "Buck" Taylor and Clancy Lyall visit service members stop at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait Sept. 19, 2008 during their six day tour to visit deployed service members.  

KUWAIT

09.19.2008

Story by Spc. Elayseah Woodard-Hinton 

20th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Elayseah Woodard-Hinton
Desert Voice Staff Writer

Six members from the "Band of Brothers" visited service members in Kuwait, during a tour hosted by the United Services Organization Sept. 14-19, 2008.

The men, who served together in E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during World War II, traveled 12 hours from the U.S. to thank deployed Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines for their service to our country.

The members were "Wild Bill" Guarnere, Clancy Lyall, Amos "Buck" Taylor, Forrest Guth, Edward "Babe" Heffron and Don Malarkey.

They were scheduled to make a stop at Camp Buehring, Kuwait to meet with service members before moving forward to meet with troops in Iraq.

They began their tour at the Camp Buehring stage, but when it came time to move forward, they were not able to make their trip north due to inclement weather.

However, that did not keep them from fulfilling their goal of meeting with troops to show their appreciation for their service. Instead of going into Iraq, the USO made it possible for them to make various stops around military camps in Kuwait to talk to servic emembers.

"They are happy as long as they are seeing troops," said Dana DePaul, tour producer, USO.

"It's an honor to come and visit," said Lyall. "We wanted to boost the morale and show that we care."

Although it has been over a half century since these men made their contributions to the 101st and World War II, which were made famous through the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," their stories and experiences are not much different from service members who serve in the military today.

"I am no different from any Soldier here," said Lyall. "We just have good P.R. people," he added jokingly.

Much like today, each servicemember served and fought for their country during a time of war. Some volunteered for different reasons and others were drafted.

But war-fighters of both eras faced their own unique challenges.

During World War II, some of the challenges lay in the fact that the fighting conditions were different, the climate was cooler and the technology was not as advanced.
Many challenges that today's war fighters face involve improvised explosive devices and concerns of suicide bombers who threaten the lives and safety of service members and civilians.

These six men of E Company made the trip to show their appreciation for service members who are involved in the current war on terror and to let those service members know they understand some of the challenges that they face.

"We had an enemy," said Guarnere, a staff sergeant with the unit. "Here, you don't know who the enemy is."

He also spoke of how, although it was extremely cold when they fought at Bastogne, he was amazed that service members fight in the hotter climates of the Middle East.

"The heat, the heat," he said in an expression filled with much animation. "How you do it, I don't know."

During one of their final stops, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, many excited service members waited in a long line to shake hands, take pictures and show their appreciation for these six men.

"I think it's amazing getting a chance to see real life heroes in person," said Staff Sgt. Jarod Perkioniemi, public affairs, and a Farmington Hills, Mich., native. "It's just a tribute that they came out to see us Soldiers."

But these men were just as excited to see the troops who are currently making the same sacrifices they made over 60 years ago.

• Date Taken: 09.19.2008
• Date Posted: 09.26.2008 04:15
• Story ID: 24166
• Location: KW