Easy Company

From Camp Toccoa to the Rhine, the men who jumped first and fought hardest.

E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, served as an elite airborne unit during World War II. Known as "Easy" Company based on the phonetic alphabet for "E," they were created in 1942 to jump from C-47 transport planes into hostile territory. Their formation began at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, under the strict command of 1st Lieutenant Herbert Sobel, where troops ran the steep "Currahee" hill three miles up and three miles down. The unit's combat experiences were later chronicled in Stephen Ambrose's 1992 book Band of Brothers and the 2001 HBO miniseries.

Quick Facts

Affiliation

101st Airborne Division, United States Army

Parent unit

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (2nd Battalion)

Key leaders

Major Richard Winters
Captain Sobel
Major Sink

Lore & Background

The company's history is marked by intense leadership conflicts and pivotal combat moments. Before D-Day, tensions between Sobel and 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters peaked when NCOs threatened to surrender their stripes unless Sobel was replaced; Colonel Robert Sink eventually transferred Sobel out, giving him command of a training school at Chilton Foliat. During Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944, Easy Company dropped over the Cotentin Peninsula in eight aircraft (Sticks #66-73). Stick #66 was hit by flak and exploded in the air, killing all 15 aboard, including commander Thomas Meehan. Winters took command and led the Brécourt Manor assault to disable four German heavy guns threatening Utah Beach's Causeway 2.

Reader's Guide

Easy Company originally consisted of three rifle platoons and a headquarters section. Each platoon held three twelve-man rifle squads and a six-man mortar team squad, with one machine gun per rifle squad and a 60mm mortar in each mortar team. During Operation Market Garden, the company landed in Sonse Forest northwest of Son to support British forces around Eindhoven. They marched behind other companies of the 2nd Battalion but were met by enemy fire when they reached the destroyed Son Bridge. Engineers built a makeshift crossing, allowing E Company and six Cromwell tanks from the British 11th Armoured Division to advance toward Helmond on September 19.

Did You Know?

All paratroopers, including Easy Company, completed the full Jump School curriculum, which included physical training; there is no canonical record of Easy Company skipping any portion.
Two ringleaders of the protest against Sobel, Terrence Harris and Myron Ranney, were demoted to private; the specific timing of Ranney being transferred back five days before D-Day is not supported by established canon.
During the Carentan battle, Winters suffered only a minor wound despite leading a charge that ended with heavy German counterattacks.