FILE - Edward Shames, center, hugs Ed McClung, center left, both members of the World War II Army Company E of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne, with veterans Jack Foley, left, Joe Lesniewski, right, and Shifty Powers, far right, at the Library of Congress in Washington, on July 16, 2003. Shames, who was the last surviving officer of “Easy Company,” which inspired the HBO miniseries and book “Band of Brothers,” has died at age 99. An obituary posted by the Holomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory said Shames, of Norfolk, Va., died peacefully at his home on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Edward Shames, last ‘Band of Brothers’ officer, dies at 99
By The Associated Press
Gerald Herbert / AP
FILE - Edward Shames, center, hugs Ed McClung, center left, both members of the World War II Army Company E of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne, with veterans Jack Foley, left, Joe Lesniewski, right, and Shifty Powers, far right, at the Library of Congress in Washington, on July 16, 2003. Shames, who was the last surviving officer of “Easy Company,” which inspired the HBO miniseries and book “Band of Brothers,” has died at age 99. An obituary posted by the Holomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory said Shames, of Norfolk, Va., died peacefully at his home on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
(Norfolk, Virginia) — A World War II veteran who was the last surviving officer of “Easy Company,” which inspired the HBO miniseries and book “Band of Brothers,” has died.
Edward Shames was 99.
An obituary posted by a funeral home said Shames, of Norfolk, Virginia, died peacefully at his home on Friday.
Shames was involved in some of the most important battles of World War II.
He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord.
He also fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.
Shames was the first member of the 101st to enter Dachau concentration camp, just days after its liberation.
