The 10-episode miniseries "Band of Brothers", co-created by Spielberg and HBO, is still the ceiling of World War II-themed film and television dramas, which mainly depicts the elite units of the US Army in World War II, the 3rd Battalion E Company of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, in the battles of the Western Front of World War II from 1944 to 1945. Today, 76 years after the end of World War II, the last surviving officer of the force, Edward W. Bush, was the last surviving officer of the unit. Edward D. Shames also died at his home in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 3 at the age of 99.
Shams in Company of Brothers
Born on June 13, 1922 in Norfolk, Virginia, Shams lost his father at the age of 5. In September 1942, Shams volunteered for the U.S. Army and was assigned to serve in the Paratrooper Corps. At first he was sent to Tokoa, Georgia, for parachute training, and after graduating he became a regular soldier in the 3rd Battalion, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and because of his excellent training performance, Shams was promoted to sergeant after the troops were transferred to Britain.
During the simulation training of the Normandy airborne landing in the United Kingdom, Shams made the Normandy terrain sand table necessary for the airborne mission. He was known in the army for his stubbornness and outspokenness, and was extremely strict with himself and his officers and men. Because of his excellent leadership skills on the battlefield, Shams was soon recognized by his superiors and respected by his officers and men.
Shams at the time of enlistment
In the early morning of June 6, 1944, Shams led his troops to Normandy during the famous Operation Overlord, pinning down the German garrison in the interior for the landing forces. Because of his excellent battlefield command and adaptability, on 13 June Shams was promoted to second lieutenant in the line of fire, and he was the first non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Regiment to receive a battlefield promotion on the Normandy front, and he was subsequently transferred to E Company, where he was responsible for commanding more than 30 officers and men of the company's third platoon.
After joining Company E, Shams took part in the famous Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden), in which he and his comrade Paul Rogers used a bazooka to destroy a German tank in Fowey, Belgium, and suffered leg injuries as a result.
Screenshot of the documentary that Shams was interviewed
Nevertheless, in the original novel Company of Brothers, Captain Winters, the commander of the company, thinks that Shams will not be a good leader, commenting: "He has seen too many war movies..." "... He was always shouting on the battlefield". Company E Sergeant Donald even commented that it would be nice if Shams left the unit with the incompetent Lieutenant Dick.
Shams (center) hugs Company E comrade Ed McClon at the Entrance to the Library of Congress on July 16, 2003
Toward the end of the war, Shams discovered the German Dachau concentration camp and led the way into it, freeing the imprisoned Jews in the camp. Since Shams was of someWhat Jewish descent, it was clear that he was greatly shocked by the tragic scene in the camp. He later seized several special bottles of cognac at Hitler's headquarters in Bavaria, all of which read "Führer's Exclusive".
After World War II, Shams married in 1947, first working for the NSA as an expert on Middle East affairs, then transferring to the Army Reserve and eventually retiring as an Army Reserve Colonel. With 2 sons, 4 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren, the Shams were full of children and grandchildren, and interestingly, as the oldest officer in Company E, Shams was the last of them to die.
Shams attends the 24th Annual Meeting of American Veterans
Elderly Shams with his wife
In the miniseries Company of Brothers, Shams plays joseph May (1974-), a British actor born in Southampton, England, who is an actor, film composer and producer, and perhaps you may not expect that he is also the voice actor of Thomas, the protagonist of the American animated series Thomas Train. Because Joseph was living in Canada in 2003, he got the opportunity to star in "Company of Brothers".