Last 'Band of Brothers' veteran dies aged 97
Bradford Freeman, reportedly the last surviving member of the US Army unit whose World War II exploits were chronicled in the best-selling "Band of Brothers" book and hit television series, has died at age 97. Freeman passed away at a hospital in Missouri on Sunday, an obituary released by a funeral home in the state said. He joined the US Army after the outbreak of the Second World War and served as a mortar man in Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. US media reported that he was the last Easy Company survivor. Freeman jumped into Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion, fought in Operation Market Garden, and was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. He later served as part of the occupation of Germany and Austria. After the war, he married Willie Louise Gurley and worked as a mail carrier for more than three decades. He is survived by a sister, two daughters, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. "Our dad was always astounded that a country boy from Mississippi was able to see so many places and meet so many interesting people," Freeman's obituary said. The story of Easy Company was told in historian Stephen Ambrose's book "Band of Brothers," which was later turned into an HBO miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. (AFP)