Retired Colonel Edward Shames, the last surviving officer from the legendary Easy Company of World War II paratroopers whose exploits were featured in the award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers, died at age 99 on Friday.
Shames died 'peacefully at home,' according to an obituary posted by the Holloman-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory.
Born to Jewish parents, Shames forged his mother's signature to enlist in the Army in 1942 at just 19, and was one of the officers in charge of the famed Easy Company, part of the US Army's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
The book Band of Brothers - chronicling the bravery of Easy Company, or the Screaming Eagles - was written by Stephen Ambrose in 1992.
Shames's death leaves 97-year-old Bradford Freeman as the last surviving member of Easy Company. Freeman, who enlisted and was a mortarman, was a consultant for the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries created by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg in 2001.
Edward Shames (pictured) forged his mother's signature to enlist in the Army in 1942 at just 19 years old, and was one of the famed members of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, leading to its chronicling in the book Band of Brothers in 1992
Edward Shames (pictured in 2019) died 'peacefully at home,' according to an obituary posted by the Holloman-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory
Nine years after Band of Brothers was written by Stephen Ambrose, the book was made into an HBO miniseries, created by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg. Shames was played by actor Joseph May (pictured)
In 2012, Shames described the grueling training he underwent in Georgia before he was first sent out into combat.
