Bradford Freeman, the last surviving member of Easy company 2nd bn 506th parachute infantry regiment, died 3 July at age 97.
Freeman was a paratrooper and private first class with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the war. A mortarman, he parachuted into France at age 19 with a base plate attached to his chest on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Freeman also parachuted into Operation Market Garden and was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. He recovered, rejoined his unit and participated in the occupations of Berchtesgaden in Germany and Austria.
Born Sept. 4, 1924, in Artesia, Miss., Freeman graduated from Artesia High School in 1942. He was a freshman at Mississippi State when he volunteered for the paratroopers. He entered the service on Feb. 4, 1944.
After the war, Freeman returned to Mississippi, married Willie Louise Gurley on June 29, 1947, and worked 32 years as a mail carrier. He is survived by a sister, two daughters, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Freeman was preceded in death by Edward Shames, the last surviving officer from Easy Company, who died Dec. 3, 2021, at his home in Virginia Beach, Va.
Freeman was portrayed in the 2001 HBO miniseries, “Band of Brothers,” by actor James Farmer. The series was based on the bestselling 1992 book, “Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest,” by Stephen E. Ambrose. Freeman was the last of a unit made famous by a series that brought to life the exploits of a generation that largely kept its accomplishments to itself.