Easy Company formed in Georgia in 1942 with 140 volunteers as part of an experimental offensive formation: infantrymen who would fall from the sky behind enemy lines, striking through combat's third dimension to provide a heavy ground force with a position of advantage.

[1 of 6]
[2 of 6]

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the men of Easy Company filled sticks 66 through 73 into Normandy.

Once inserted, they captured Carentan and held it against withering German counterattacks.
[3 of 6]

Three months later, Easy Company jumped into the Netherlands and marched into Eindhoven. For one month, they saw some of the ETO's heaviest fighting, often vs German tank units. In a daring rescue operation, they evacuated 138 British paratroopers trapped outside Arnhem
[4 of 6]

In December, 1944, the men entered the Battle of the Bulge by truck & rail. Surrounded, ill-equipped, outgunned near the town of Foy, the paratroopers once again held their position, this time in some of the most unforgiving conditions ever faced by the American Soldier
[5 of 6]

By war's end, Easy Company had seen some of the most violent combat of the European Theater.

In the 1990s, with the Stephen Ambrose book and the subsequent HBO show, Easy Company came to represent the WWII Soldier to the Nation.
[END]

Easy Company was a once in a life-time group of men who saved the future of the Free World.

With the death of Edward Shames, Easy Company is now all gone.

It's up to us to preserve and find meaning in their legacy.

• • •

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More from @18airbornecorps

20 Nov
[1 of 14]

Friends - let's head into the weekend on a positive note, with a cool story of a badass Sky Dragon Soldier.

We're talking about NFL tight end (Detroit Lions), war hero, Medal of Honor recipient, Arkansas Lt Governor, and successful businessman Maurice Britt.
[2 of 14]

Yesterday, as part of Marne Week, our @3rd_Infantry renamed a Fort Stewart Gate after Maurice. So, let's tell his story here.

Born in a small Arkansas town in 1919, Maurice quickly grew to be a remarkable athlete, excelling in baseball and football.
[3 of 14]

After high school, Maurice played football at the University of Arkansas. He was undersized but scrappy and smart. After graduation, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1941.

While Maurice had a promising NFL career, the storm clouds of war were gathering in Europe
Read 14 tweets
15 Nov
[1 of 6]

Happy 115th Birthday to Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay. Curtis, who died in 1990, grew from a small Ohio town to become one of the most polarizing figures of the early Cold War.

The aggressive Air Force general had unyielding faith in the strategic value of aerial bombing. Image
[2 of 6]

One of the principle architects of the policy that came to be known with derision as "Mutually Assured Destruction," Curtis was the inspiration for General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Image
[3 of 6]

In real life, Curtis chewed a cigar stub to disguise the Bell’s palsy partial facial paralysis that made one side of his lower lip droop. [He was struck with Bell's palsy while flying in the cold] Image
Read 6 tweets
3 Nov
This morning's #TDIDCH referenced a news story in a Lebanese magazine released #OTD in 1986 reporting the US illegally sold missiles to Iran [an enemy state under an arms embargo].

Here's a screenshot from that explosive story, which was initially denied by Washington

[1 of 4]
[2 of 4]

The administration hoped that in exchange for the arms, Iran would get Hezbollah [a group with Iranian ties] to free 7 American hostages [including this man, CIA Station Chief for Lebanon William Buckley] being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah.
[3 of 4]

It later emerged that the Reagan White House funneled profits from the sale to the Contras, anti-communist guerrillas in Nicaragua, an act forbidden by Congress [the Contras committed atrocities against citizens].

The stories turned into a scandal, dubbed "Iran-Contra.
Read 4 tweets
25 Oct
1 of 30:

38 years ago today, the US invaded a tiny Caribbean island, rescued a bunch of medical students, and rounded-up a group of gang members, along with their Cuban communist backers.

Don't remember this Cold War endeavor? Don't what we're talking about?

Read on.
2 of 30:

Operation Urgent Fury, the American invasion of Grenada, began on the morning of October 25th, 1983 with assaults on airstrips at Point Salines and Pearls.
3 of 30:

Over the next four days, US troops:
👉rescued US citizens
👉restored a popular native government
👉eliminated a threat to the stability of the Caribbean
👉eliminated US strategic interests in the region
Read 30 tweets
24 Oct
Dragon Jobs is our most successful📺show. This episode, Episode 11, is our favorite so far.

With @18CorpsPAO galavanting about elsewhere, Jeremiah "Mr. Personality" Meaney hosts this episode....from BEAUTIFUL Juneau, Alaska.

Jeremiah meets our Army Dive Detachment!🤿

1⃣of4⃣
Part 2⃣of 4⃣of Dragon Jobs, Episode 1⃣1⃣❗️

Here our Army Divers (MOS 12D) dive from a pier as they prepare for a ship repair mission in Alaska.

Wanna be a @USArmy Diver? Go here for more:
👉bit.ly/3vCYI2m

Our divers specialize in scuba🤿 ➕deep-sea🌊.

Keep Watching!
Part 3⃣of4⃣of Dragon Jobs, Episode 11, is WILD!

Our guest host, Jeremiah "Bonecrusher" Meaney, enters a compression chamber to certify to dive in Alaska...then the dive team tosses him underwater!
Read 4 tweets
30 Sep
Hey there, friends! Happy Thursday morning!

Today is #InternationalPodcastDay and if you're looking for a new podcast on #NatSec, leadership, and history, we suggest this one. apple.co/3F6eQh9

We've got 74 episodes to comb through.

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We've had some cool guests, such as entrepreneur Gary Vee [apple.co/3CZsssN], who spoke about empathetic leadership, motivation, and the value of failing.
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We had @PaulRieckhoff for Episode 56. As you'd expect, he had MUCH to say about the end of the war in Afghanistan, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and the need for veterans to reach out for help: apple.co/2Y1dDXB
Read 9 tweets

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