Alumni Profile
Ronald Speirs ’38: EHS Alumni Who Was One of the WWII “Band of Brothers” – Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division
Recently, EHSA was contacted by alumnus Philip MacLaughlin ’64 to inform us that English graduate, Ronald Speirs, of the Class of 1938, had gone from English High to a distinguished military career that included time in the famous Easy Company of the Army 101st Airborne Division. This was the unit that was the basis for Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers and was later made into a popular HBO series produced by Tom Hanks.
Below learn more about Ronald Speirs . . .a Man of Honor, Achievement and Service to Mankind.
Ronald Speirs, English High School Class of 1938
Ronald Speirs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1920 and spent his first few years there. He immigrated with his family to the United States, arriving in Boston on Christmas Day, 1924. Ronald attended English High School, where military training was compulsory for all students, graduating in 1938. The English yearbook reports that his nickname as English was “Jock” and his ambition “To be successful”
He later wrote,
“My first experience with the military was in high school. Close order drill was taught by two regular army officers. They encouraged the students to attend Citizens Military Training Camp (CMTC) during the summer vacation. CMTC for the infantry was held at Great Diamond Island in Portland, Maine.”
After the US entered World War II, Speirs volunteered for the paratroopers and his EHS Military Drill training led to a commission as 2nd Lieutenant. He served as a platoon leader within Dog Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which later became part of the 101st Airborne Division, at Camp Toccoa, Georgia and was then shipped to England in late 1943. After arriving in England, the division began training for the invasion of France.
Speirs jumped into Normandy with D Company on D-Day. His company would serve heavy losses. Speirs was injured in the face and knee by a grenade. He was taken back to England to recover from his injuries before returning to his unit before they jumped into Holland.
Speirs’ platoon spent the night of 6 June being shuffled in position with other platoons as the company was arranged for battle to begin early the next morning. A rolling artillery barrage had been coordinated in support of the ground assault on the morning of 7 June, to initiate the attack. It was here that PFC Art DiMarzio, who is also referenced in the book “Beyond Band of Brothers”, was eyewitness to an event. He stated that a replacement sergeant disobeyed a direct order while in a combat situation, thereby risking the lives of the other soldiers in the company. According to DiMarzio, Speirs, commanding 2nd platoon, Dog Company was given orders to halt their attack on Ste. Come-du-Mont, to hold position while regimental headquarters coordinated a rolling barrage shelling fifteen targets in the vicinity of Ste. Come-du-Mont. DiMarzio, who was lying in a prone position next to a sergeant, stated he remembered the sergeant being drunk. An order to hold position was given and relayed down the line which the sergeant refused to obey, wanting to rush forward and engage the Germans. Once again, Speirs gave him the order to hold his position. Speirs told the man that he was too drunk to perform his duties and that he should remove himself to the rear. The sergeant refused and began to reach for his rifle. Speirs again warned the sergeant, who now levelled his rifle at Speirs. Art DiMarzio says he then saw Speirs shoot the sergeant in self-defense. The entire platoon also witnessed the event. Lieutenant Speirs immediately reported the incident to his commanding officer, Captain Jerre S Gross. Eyewitness DiMarzio says that Captain Gross went to the scene of the shooting and after receiving all the information, deemed it justifiable self-defense. Captain Gross was killed in battle the next day, and the incident was never pursued.[4]: 262
In January 1945, when Easy Company’s initial attack on the German-occupied town of Foy bogged down due to the commander 1st Lieutenant Norman Dike, battalion executive officer Captain Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve Dike of command. The selection of Speirs was incidental; Winters later stated that Speirs was simply the first officer he saw when he turned around. Speirs successfully took over the assault and led Easy Company to victory. During this battle, Lt. Dike had ordered a platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town. To countermand this order, Speirs himself ran through the town and German lines (as this platoon had no radio), linked up with the Item Company soldiers and relayed the order. Having completed this, he then ran back through the German-occupied town. He was reassigned as commanding officer of Easy Company and remained in that position for the rest of the war. Of the officers who commanded Easy Company during the war, Speirs commanded the longest.
In the HBO series “Band of Brothers” Ronald Speirs (left) was portrayed by actor Matthew Settle (right)
Although Speirs had enough points to go home after the end of the European Campaign, he chose to remain with Easy Company. Japan surrendered before Speirs and Easy could be transferred to the Pacific Theater.
Speirs went on to serve with distinction in the Korean War followed by assignments in East Germany, Laos, and at the Pentagon. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1964.
To learn more about Ronald Spiers, visit the website: RonaldSpeirs.com
