Legendary Medic from ‘Band of Brothers’ Battalion Has Died
Operation Market Garden, The largest airborne operation in American history began with seven days notice.
The Allies had hit the German army hard since D-Day and pushed it back to the German border. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery conceived a bold plan for a two-pronged attack. Operation Market-Garden was a combined airborne and ground assault culminating at Arnhem, Holland, to strike at GermanyAca,!a,,cs industrial heart, the Ruhr valley. The airborne portion, included the American 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions, along with the British 1st Airborne Division. Each airborne division was assigned to capture one or more bridges over canals and rivers in the area, and hold them until relieved. Market Garden was the ground operation, in which the XXX (BR) Corps was to drive north from the Belgian-Dutch border and link up with each airborne division in turn and ultimately secure key bridges in Arnhem over the Rhine River. Allied leaders believed the German army was in retreat with only small forces in the area. Intelligence had revealed that the Germans had moved an armored division into the vicinity of Arnhem, but the Allied commanders decided to take a calculated risk that the enemy in the area could be quickly defeated.
The airborne assaults occurred over two days, using aircraft and gliders. One of the thousands of soldiers in those two storied divisions was Private Lloyd Click of Battery B, 320th Glider Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. He and twelve other soldiers loaded their gear and jeep with trailer on a CG-4A Waco glider bound for Holland. As the formation encountered flak over the coast, Click remembered this mission as being the first time he was ever really scared: “The first shell exploded near my glider and almost turned it over.I sat down, buckled up, and shut up. This war business had become quite serious. Many troops and equipment hit their intended landing zones with precision, but unit did not. After a nearly four hour flight from England, the tow plane released his glider after the landing zone had passed. He landed ten miles from his intended target,, and several Soldiers were wounded when the glider floor was ripped away during the landing. The German unit nearby immediately attacked the unit with mortars, and much of the equipment was either burned or captured. Half his battery was captured, but Click and others finally made contact with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment and continued the mission.
The Americans reached most of their objectives quickly, but some bridges were destroyed before they could be captured. Captain Dick Winters led E Co., 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment toward one such objective: “We had a column of men on each side of the road. Suddenly, an 88 fired down the road and we heard a German machine gun open up. There were no casualties. D Company covered the right side of the road, E Company the left side. We pushed forward. When we were about 25 to 30 yards from our first objective, a bridge, it blew. For the second time that afternoon, we were caught in a hail of debris. [I remember] thinking to myself, “What a hell of a way to die in combat!
Despite initial successes, the operation ultimately failed. The blown bridges along the single access road leading to Arnhem caused critical delays allowing the Germans to move in forces which surrounded and destroyed the British 1st Airborne division. Nevertheless, it was a bold strategic move, and General Omar Bradley called it Aca,!A”one of the most imaginative of the war.Aca,!A?
Medic from ‘Band of Brothers’ Battalion honored at funeral service
By Sgt. David Lietz
Legendary World War II Soldier Al Mampre, one of the featured Soldiers in the 2001 HBO series ‘Band of Brothers’ was honored during funeral services Saturday, June 15th, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston.
Staff Sgt. Albert Leon Mampre served as a medic with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion “Currahee,” 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was wounded twice and saw action in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II including the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden in Holland.
Mampre joined the paratroopers and volunteered to serve as a medic after enlisting in the Army in 1942.
Upon hearing of Mampre’s death on May 31, Soldiers assigned to the same unit Mampre served in volunteered to travel to Illinois to provide an honor guard to his funeral service.
“The minute we heard about this we were going to support this (funeral) 100 percent,” explained Maj. Scott Krasko, Operations Officer, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
“We wanted to respectfully honor the legacy of Al Mampre. The current Soldiers draw strength from those who went before,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Kris A. Belanger, Commanding General, 85th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command, developed a strong bond with Mampre after meeting him at a Memorial Day commemoration last year.
“It only took one time to meet him to realize what a special person he was. It was because he made everyone feel special,” explained Belanger. “He loved people. He gave so much of himself to other people. Everybody experienced his charisma, his wit, his humor and his charm and overall kindness.”
Staff Sgt. Paul Mampreian, a medic assigned to 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington is Mampre’s great nephew who also attended the service for his great uncle.
“He was always humble. He never talked about himself. Absolutely a down to earth man,” explained Mampreian. “He definitely influenced me to become a medic.”
The influence of Mampre and his ‘Band of Brothers’ Soldiers still carries an impact on Soldiers serving in today’s Army.
“I really wish I had the chance to meet him. I would have listened to his stories all day long,” explained Staff Sgt. John Saxby, Reconnaissance Team Leader, 3rd Brigade, 2-506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. “It’s such a big part of our Army history. Those guys in World War II were trained to fight and sustain themselves with the bare minimum. You never know when your equipment will fail. The Soldiers from World War II went days on end without food or bullets. It’s something to really be proud of.”
Mampre was a religious man and attended services at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. That’s where church parishioner Tim O’brien met him eight years ago.
“Our pastor introduced us and we became friends. Al would come by my church pew and crack jokes. He was hilarious and corny,” explained O’brien, a Vietnam veteran. “He was from my father’s generation but he had great respect for Vietnam veterans.”
Church parishioners also remembered Mampre and shared that he had a special place he liked to sit during mass services.
“Al would come to early mass at 8 o’clock” explained church parishioner Marcia Lauf. “The second pew was Al’s pew. No one else could sit there.”
After church she would go out for breakfast with Mampre at Bakers Square, a local area restaurant.
At the conclusion of the mass service, a police escort led the funeral motorcade that carried Mampre’s body to Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie. The Soldier was laid to rest under a gentle rain. A folded American flag was presented to Virginia Mampre, daughter of Mampre. Words were spoken earlier during the mass homily by retired reverend Larry Handwerk.
“He had as they say true grit,” said Handwerk. “He was the most generous of men. Wherever he went he was like the sun. His ability to connect with all was like sunshine.”