Paul Davis On Crime: William Wild Bill Guarnere

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Band Of Brothers' South Philly WWII Veteran "Wild Bill" Guarnere Dies

David Chang at CNSPhilly.com reports that William "Wild Bill" Guarnere died.

Friends and family are mourning the death of a national hero. William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, a South Philly native and World War II vet who was portrayed on the television miniseries, “Band of Brothers,” died on Saturday at the age of 90.

Both Guarnere's family through their website, and Jake Powers, a historian who runs a Band of Brothers tour company, confirmed his death.

Born in South Philadelphia on April 28, in 1923, Guarnere was a non-commissioned officer with the legendary Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II.

... After enlisting in the paratroops in 1942, Guarnere eventually joined Easy Company, earning the nickname “Wild Bill” for his daring battlefield exploits. Guarnere’s time in World War II was dramatized in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" in which he was played by actor Frank John Hughes.

Guarnere’s time in the war ended when he lost his right leg while trying to help a wounded soldier. He received the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.
After the war, Guarnere played an active role in several veterans’ organizations and Easy Company reunions.

In 2007, Guarnere wrote the national best-seller "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story" with fellow unit member and Philly native Edward “Babe” Heffron as well as journalist Robyn Post. Heffron died last December, also at the age of 90.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.csnphilly.com/article/wwii-vet-bill-guarnere-dies

You can also read an earlier post on the death of "Babe" Heffron via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/12/band-of-brothers-wwii-veteran-edward.html

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

'Band Of Brothers' WWII Veteran Edward 'Babe' Heffron Dies At 90

Bonnie L. Cook at the Philadelphia Inquirer offers an obituary of Edward J. 'Babe' Hefforn, a South Philly WWII veteran who was portrayed in the book and TV mini-series Band of Brothers and wrote Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends with his fellow South Philly paratrooper William 'Wild Bill' Guarnere.

Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, 90, the former Easy Company private whose World War II experiences were chronicled in the cable TV miniseries Band of Brothers, died Sunday, Dec. 1, at Kennedy Hospital in Stratford.
Mr. Heffron served as a machine gunner with the Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division from 1941 to 1945.
He fought in some of the major conflicts of the European Theater - Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium - and used his stories as fodder for a memoir.
The 2007 work, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story, was written with longtime friend William Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html#cOHCEsceCUL2RWjY.99

Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, 90, the former Easy Company private whose World War II experiences were chronicled in the cable TV miniseries Band of Brothers, died Sunday, Dec. 1, at Kennedy Hospital in Stratford.Mr. Heffron served as a machine gunner with the Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division from 1941 to 1945.He fought in some of the major conflicts of the European Theater - Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium - and used his stories as fodder for a memoir.The 2007 work, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story, was written with longtime friend William Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html#CkuelgGmeAYd69O1.99

Easy Company private whose World War II experiences were chronicled in the cable TV miniseries Band of Brothers, died Sunday, Dec. 1, at Kennedy Hospital in Stratford.Mr. Heffron served as a machine gunner with the Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division from 1941 to 1945.He fought in some of the major conflicts of the European Theater - Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium - and used his stories as fodder for a memoir.The 2007 work, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story, was written with longtime friend William Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html#j0aDp8HLeGPX33LQ.99

You can read the obituary via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html

You can also read about Babe Heffron's life at CNSPhilly.com via the below link:

http://www.csnphilly.com/article/wwii-vet-babe-heffron-dies-90

Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, 90, the former Easy Company private whose World War II experiences were chronicled in the cable TV miniseries Band of Brothers, died Sunday, Dec. 1, at Kennedy Hospital in Stratford.Mr. Heffron served as a machine gunner with the Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division from 1941 to 1945.He fought in some of the major conflicts of the European Theater - Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium - and used his stories as fodder for a memoir.The 2007 work, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story, was written with longtime friend William Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html#j0aDp8HLeGPX33LQ.99

Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, 90, the former Easy Company private whose World War II experiences were chronicled in the cable TV miniseries Band of Brothers, died Sunday, Dec. 1, at Kennedy Hospital in Stratford.Mr. Heffron served as a machine gunner with the Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division from 1941 to 1945.He fought in some of the major conflicts of the European Theater - Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium - and used his stories as fodder for a memoir.The 2007 work, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story, was written with longtime friend William Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20131203__Babe__Heffron__90__hero_of__Band_of_Brothers_.html#89UrGmemZfGCoK0h.99

Monday, June 7, 2010

Paul Davis

Paul Davis is a writer who covers crime. He has written extensively about organized crime, cybercrime, street crime, white collar crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, the military, espionage and terrorism. His 'Crime Beat' column, which covers crime news, crime issues and crime prevention in South Philadelphia, appears weekly in the South Philly Review, and his 'On Crime' column, which covers crime in the Greater Philadelphia region, appears weekly at Philly Daily and Broad and Liberty. He is also a longtime contributor to Counterterrorism magazine and writes their online 'Threatcon' column, which covers crime, espionage and terrorism. Paul Davis' crime fiction appears in American Crime Magazine. His work has also appeared in the Washington Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Weekly and other publications. As a writer, he has attended police academy training, gone out on patrol with police officers, accompanied detectives as they worked cases, accompanied narcotics officers on drug raids, observed criminal court proceedings, visited jails and prisons, and covered street riots, mob wars and murder investigations. He has interviewed police commissioners and chiefs, FBI, DEA, HSI and other federal special agents, prosecutors, judges, public officials, WWII UDT frogmen, Navy SEALs, Army Delta operators, Israeli commandos, military intelligence officers, Scotland Yard detectives, CIA officers, former KGB officers, film and TV actors, film writers, directors and producers, journalists, novelists and true crime authors, gamblers, outlaw bikers, and Cosa Nostra organized crime bosses. Paul Davis has been a student of crime since he was a 12-year-old aspiring writer growing up in South Philadelphia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 17 in 1970. He served aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War and he later served two years aboard the Navy harbor tugboat U.S.S. Saugus at the U.S. floating nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland. He went on to become the civilian administrative officer of a Defense Department command in Philadelphia, where he oversaw security, safety and other programs for the command's military and civilian employees, and served as an investigating officer, while working part-time as a newspaper crime reporter and columnist. He retired in 2007 after more than 37 Navy/DOD years of service and became a full-time writer. From 1991 to 2005 he was a producer and on-air host of "Inside Government," a public affairs interview radio program that aired on Sunday mornings on WPEN AM and WMGK FM in the Philadelphia area. You can read Paul Davis' crime columns, crime fiction, book reviews and news and feature articles on this website. You can read his full bio by clicking on the above photo (by Brittany Davis-Pearson). And you can contact Paul Davis at pauldavisoncrime@aol.com.

Paul Davis On Crime