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. He was 90.

His 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.

The younger Guarnere told FoxNews.com that like so many of his generation, "Wild Bill" didn't talk about his service, even though he lost his leg in combat.

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

Well, an American legend has left us.

Wild Bill, or gonorrhea as he was known to his friends in "Easy" company of the 506th, has gone to join the comrades he left 60 years ago, and to see his C.O. Dick Winters, who died aged 93.

Bills best friend easy company vet Babe Heffron died in december.

Sad to see men like these go...a little peice of history has gone..



Bill and babe in 2010.

reply to post by andy1972


Having looked after heroes like this and listened to their stories I feel a big ping of pain when I hear one has passed
They were in the last just war and so brave.
RIP dude.

I personally signed the petiton for Dick Winters Medal of Honor campaign, for what he and the rest did at Brécourt Manor on D-Day, but they never saw fit to award him what he deserved.

Quote - "In his autobiography, Beyond Band of Brothers; Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, Richard Winters referred to Ronald Speirs and Guarnere as "natural killers".
In making those statements about both men, Winters expressed respect, not negativity.

Im glad the exploits of these guys came to light and the world heard their story...it deserved to be told. RIP Bill and Babe.

andy1972
Quote - "In his autobiography, Beyond Band of Brothers; Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, Richard Winters referred to Ronald Speirs and Guarnere as "natural killers".
In making those statements about both men, Winters expressed respect, not negativity.

You sure?

Seems that first night he violated a direct order and took personal revenge on enemy troops for the death of his brother. And he was out of line.

According to this anyway."Good" warfare is not just or fair. Its about sneaking up on unsuspecting "enemies' and blowing their brains out before they do the same to you. Thats murder, not heroism.

intrptr

andy1972
Quote - "In his autobiography, Beyond Band of Brothers; Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, Richard Winters referred to Ronald Speirs and Guarnere as "natural killers".
In making those statements about both men, Winters expressed respect, not negativity.

You sure?

Seems that first night he violated a direct order and took personal revenge on enemy troops for the death of his brother. And he was out of line.

According to this anyway.

"Good" warfare is not just or fair. Its about sneaking up on unsuspecting "enemies' and blowing their brains out before they do the same to you. Thats murder, not heroism.

If you watch the band of brothers video, i believe it's the episode 'day of days', Winters says it loud and clear.

Yes he disobyed orders, because he thought that Winters who he called a "quaker" would have let the German patrol pass, but Bill had recieved the news about his brother, and he killed them all.

Out of line, maybe. Maybe not. The mission was to secure the routes behind the beaches, disrupt communications and stop reinforcements getting to the front, and kill the enemy. They completed the mission.

As for "good" warfare, it doesn't exist.

War is #ty, and it's kill or be killed. War is legalised murder, as for heroism, it comes in many shapes and forms.

Watch a few Dick Winters interviews - "The real heores are those that didn't come back.:"

reply to post by andy1972

Watch a few Dick Winters interviews - "The real heroes are those that didn't come back.:"

Thanks for your reply. I agree with most of that.

There are no heroes in war, only survivors.