Bradford C. Freeman of Caledonia, Mississippi, passed away this week.
He was the only living member of the
“Band of Brothers” 101st Airborne Division, WWII.
July 4, 2020: Soon after being honored on a visit to New Orleans’ , Mr. Bradford Freeman unfortunately became ill and passed away in his Mississippi home. He lived alone but had family and close friends close by, who visited him frequently. He was called “Mr. Brad.”
Here is the story Bradford Freeman told me in March 2021. Until this week, Freeman was the last surviving member of the Band of Brothers.
“I was one of eight children. We grew up working on our daddy鈥檚 rented 410-acre farm near Artesia, Mississippi, black land. We grew cotton, corn, hay, and cattle, and operated a dairy farm. I was an 18-year-old freshman at Mississippi State studying agriculture when I was told that if I joined the Army I could avoid being drafted. They let me finish out that year.”
Brad and his brother had always wanted to become paratroopers, so they both joined up.”I entered the U.S. Army on December 19, 1942. My brother was sent to the Pacific.
“After training at Camp McClellan, Alabama, Camp Shelby, Mississippi and Camp McCall, North Carolina, I was sent to England to join the 101st聽Airborne (who were already there): E (鈥淓asy鈥) Company, 506th聽Parachute Infantry Regiment. [This is the unit portrayed in the 2001 movie 鈥淏and of Brothers.鈥 ]
鈥淲e were at a camp in Alderborne, in southern England on June 5, 1944. They had us under guard until they told us when we would go. We were supposed to jump the 5th聽of June, but it was raining and they cancelled it.”
“We jumped at midnight on June 6 . . . one of the first three planes.”
“We jumped at midnight on June 6. We were one of the first three planes. I was in the mortar squad. My job was to carry the base plate of the mortar. Sgt. Malarkey was my squad leader. He carried the other part. We were on maps. I set the sights. We had three other boys who carried the ammunition.”
“I landed in a pasture.”
鈥淚 landed in a pasture where there were beautiful white-faced cows. I was told that when I got there I was supposed to stay right where I was and wait till I got somebody else with me. I saw a man come down. He was my buddy, Lewis, from Atlanta, Georgia, and he had broken his leg. I helped him into the bushes and I took his things and put them in the woods. We were supposed to help a fella if we could, and then go, because we had something else to do. We had to get the big guns. I went on and joined some other boys and we gathered at a place. We were popping our little crickets to keep from shooting each other or getting shot at.”
Bradford Freeman
Protecting the Soldiers Coming Ashore at
鈥淲e had to take the place and get the big guns so they couldn鈥檛 interfere with the soldiers who were coming ashore at Normandy. We scattered pit and set up. We were taking roads and bridges. They had told us that if we saw an enemy truck coming down the road, to shoot the driver. We happened to be fortunate enough to do it right, I reckon. We secured the area and let the Army go through. They had come ashore and now they got on with their business.”
“Eisenhower wanted us to take a beach town . . .”
“A week or so later, General Eisenhower wanted us to take a beach town on a peninsula in France that the Germans occupied. It was a place where landing would be a lot easier than landing on the beaches. It was surrounded by water. There was no way to get to it but a concrete bridge鈥攐ne way in, same way out. We were firing mortars into that town. We finally took the town.”
Operation Market Garden
“We went back to England and did more jumps. We were loaned to the British Army. We jumped for them in Holland on September 17, 1944 [Operation Market Garden]. The Germans came right on down the river and blew the bridge, so we had to turn around and go back. We saw the Dutch people taking girls who had associated with the Germans and cutting their hair off. We laughed at that.”
“We鈥檙e from the United States of America, we鈥檙e going to do whatever we want to.”
“We went to Bastogne when German tanks came through. When a German plane came over, we would stop and stand still like a fence post. We heard the Americans were losing and giving up and that was a sad thing for us. We were told to run, but we took off after the Germans. One of our fellas, a short, little guy about five feet, 鈥淏abe鈥 Heffron, told them, 鈥榃e鈥檙e from the United States of America, we鈥檙e going to do whatever we want to.鈥”
鈥淲hen the Germans found out we were the 101st, they stopped.”
鈥淲hen the Germans found out we were the 101st, they stopped. When they saw the eagle on our shoulders, they stopped. They knew who we were, yes ma鈥檃m. We waited for the Americans coming on up. We set up our mortars and were supposed to take three towns.
鈥淒uring the Battle of the Bulge, I got shot in my right leg near Neuville, France. It didn鈥檛 hit the bone, but it cut a leader in my leg. I couldn鈥檛 control my foot, but I could drag it along. They said I got shot by a 鈥楽creaming Mimi.鈥 You could hear it coming, but you can鈥檛 get out of the way. They said it was a little boy who did the shooting.
鈥淭hen there was more shooting. We tried to get out of the way and took cover between two dead mules. They was froze solid and boy, they were cold! That was all the mules I seen in all of Europe. A Jeep picked us up and took us to town.”
“You take care of the other boy first.”
鈥淎nother fella, Ed Joint, got shot in the arm. The medic came and started cutting my britcha-leg. I told him, 鈥榊ou take care of the other boy first. I鈥檓 not hurt.鈥 But I was. The medic couldn鈥檛 do anything for the leader in my leg, so they flew me to England, where I stayed for three months before they could get the leader to grow back to where it would stay. I got back into the fighting. Now, I can walk on two feet.”
Guarding Eagle’s Nest
鈥淲e were near Hitler鈥檚 Eagle鈥檚 Nest when the Germans surrendered. I was guarding a bridge nearby. The Germans were coming up and we were guarding it. We got a new bunch of soldiers in and we were training them.
鈥淪ome of us were assigned to load horses into train cars. Every other car had horses and the cars between them had displaced persons. We rode on the ends of the car as聽guards. We got off at one of the stops and didn鈥檛 go all the way, so I don鈥檛 know where they ended up. They sent a truck to pick us up.”
The War Was Over
鈥淭hat was the end of the war for us. After the war was over, we stayed in a house in the mountains and went hunting. We had somebody to cook for us and somebody made up our beds. I hunted quail because that鈥檚 what I had hunted in Mississippi.
鈥淲hen the bomb fell, I could have gone to Japan, but I had enough points, so decided to come back home. They sent me down to Marseille, France, where they were shipping people home. The ship I was supposed to get on sank. They kept me there for two weeks, and I was ready to shoot them!
鈥淥ur officer, Major Dick Winters, and I got to be good buddies. He had known my folks.鈥 [Bradford Freeman was asked to write the foreword to the book of Dick Winters鈥 letters,聽Hang Tough, published in 2020.]
Bradford Freeman
Freeman revisits Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest hideaway in Berchtesgaden, Germany. He was guarding a bridge near Eagle’s Nest on the day the Germans surrendered in Reims, France.
Tom Hanks and Bradford Freeman attended the funeral of “Band of Brothers” Captain Dick Winters.
The United Kingdom’s Prince Charles shakes the hand of Bradford Freeman in London.
Freeman often spoke to groups about his service in the 101st Airborne.
We were trained for it and we went there to do it . . .
and I had packed my own chute.鈥
When Mr. Brad was thanked in 2021 for what he did to save our civilization from Naziism, he said, 鈥淚 was glad to do it and was glad I could do it.鈥
Asked if he was ever scared when jumping out of a plane, he said, 鈥淣o, we were trained for it and we went there to do it. And I had packed my own chute.鈥
In recent years, many groups came to Mr. Brad’s home to hold ceremonies with color guards, flags, awards, and speeches, to honor him for his service with the 101st Airborne.
He said, “I would sit on my porch while they paraded by. I was thrilled with the displays of American flags and banners they put in my yard.” In my last phone conversation with him earlier this year, he told me he’d just been outside feeding his chickens.
Freeman often spoke to groups about his service in the 101st Airborne.
Individuals wrote letters asking for his autograph. Many people called, asking him to him tell his story. Others emailed or called his friend, Ms. Joanne Gunn, who helped schedule phone interviews with people from far away.
In 2019, a sixteen-year-old student from Ontario, Canada, Jaxon Hekkenberg, read Freeman’s story in this newsletter and asked for help arranging a phone call. Mr. Brad told his story to Hekkenberg, whose goal is to create a YouTube channel of the stories he’s collected from WWII veterans.
Mr. Brad was a hero whom we were fortunate to know. His story will live on with its sharing by young people like Jaxon, and all of us who are grateful for the courage of the Band of Brothers and so many more who won the war.
By Janis Allen
I was telling my mother in law a bit about this. She hasn’t seen the movie, or even familiar with it.
She asked if young men today would be able and willing to do the same today.
I thought about it for a few minutes and said yes, it may not be as it was then, so much has changed in the minds of our youth, but there are plenty of patriotic young Americans. We have to stop the assault on our pride of country and each other.
That’s what I think.
Hard times make hard men (E company were hard men) hard men make for soft times, soft times make for soft men! We are at the latter stage now, soft men make for hard times!!! The movie told the 101st airborne story so well, it should be mandatory for High School history class, every American should know the sacrifices the greatest generation paid for the freedoms that we take for granted today, we are forgetting the price that was paid, as time passes so do the lessons, and if we don鈥檛 honor these heroes and keep the memories alive, we are doomed to repeat it again and again! To all the great men of Easy Company and every America that went off to protect the way of life we now enjoy.. you are all heroes, Thank You! God Bless each of you. BZ