Ronald Speirs

Lieutenant Colonel Ronald C. Speirs (April 20, 1920 – April 11, 2007) was a United States Army officer who served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was initially a platoon leader in Company either "C" or "B" ("Charlie" or "Baker" Company) of the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Speirs was reassigned to "D" Dog Company prior to the Normandy Invasion. Later he was re-assigned to "Easy" Company, and commanded "E" or "Easy" Company in Bastogne at the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Speirs also served in Korea where he commanded a rifle company, and later became the American Governor for Spandau Prison in Berlin. He reached the rank of captain while serving in the European Theater during World War II and retired as a lieutenant colonel. Speirs was portrayed in the television miniseries Band of Brothers by Matthew Settle. Speirs' life story was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us. A more detailed and in depth account of Speirs' early life and military career can be found at www.ronaldspeirs.com.

Youth
Speirs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1920 and spent his first few years there until he emigrated with his family to the United States, arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 25, 1924. He attended military training in high school, which led to a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the infantry; Speirs then volunteered for the paratroopers. He served as a platoon leader with Dog Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, Georgia and was shipped to England shortly before Mission Albany.

Military service
Speirs parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944 (or D-Day) and quickly met with fellow troops after landing. He assembled a small group of soldiers to assist during the Brecourt Manor Assault, where he single-handedly captured the fourth 105 mm howitzer. Speirs' platoon spent the night of June 6 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 June 7. To initiate the attack, artillery fire was adjusted back towards American lines before moving forward in increments. Speirs ordered his platoon to hold position until the fire was completed to prevent serious casualties and fratricide. One of his squad leaders ignored the orders due to fatigue and disorientation. After his order was ignored a second time, Speirs shot the sergeant between the eyes, then promptly reported the incident to the company commander, Captain Jerre S. Gross. Gross was killed in combat the next day and the incident was not pursued.

Due to Easy Company's role as primary assault company, Dog Company did not see as much action as Easy. However, it still participated in many engagements during the war, and both Speirs and Dog Company were at Bastogne. When Easy Company's initial attack on the German-occupied town of Foy bogged down due to the poor leadership of its commander, 1st Lt. Norman Dike, battalion executive officer Captain Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve Dike of command. The selection of Speirs was random; 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 other soldiers, and relayed the order. Having completed this, he proceeded to run 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.

Winters assessed Speirs as being one of the finest combat officers in the battalion. He wrote in his memoirs that Speirs had worked hard to earn a reputation as a killer and had often killed for shock value. Winters stated that Speirs was alleged on one occasion to have killed six German prisoners of war and that the battalion leadership must have been aware of the allegations, but chose to ignore the charges because of the pressing need to retain qualified combat leaders. Winters concluded that in today's army, Speirs would have been court-martialed and charged with atrocities, but officers like Speirs were too valuable because they were not afraid to engage the enemy.

Although Speirs had enough points to go home after the end of the European Campaign, he chose to remain with Easy Company. Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, before Speirs and Easy could be transferred to the Pacific Theater.

Post World War II
Speirs returned to England to find that his wife (the widow of a British soldier who had been reported dead) had returned to her first husband who had turned up alive as a German prisoner of war. She apparently retained ownership of all the spoils of war (i.e., silver platters, goblets, plates, and utensils gathered at different places throughout Europe like Haguenau or Kehlsteinhaus) that Speirs had sent home from his travels in Europe.

Korean War
Speirs then returned to the United States and decided to remain in the army, serving in the Korean War, where he made one combat jump and commanded a rifle company until the war's end. On March 23, 1951, he participated in Operation Tomahawk in which he parachuted into Munsan (known as Munsan-ni at the time of the Korean War) with nearly 3,500 other troopers in his unit (187th Regimental Combat Team). The initial mission of his battalion was to secure the drop zone; this was accomplished, killing forty or fifty enemy soldiers. After the initial mission, he continued to command the 3rd battalion for its attack to cut the enemy escape route near Uijongbu.

Post Korean War
Following Korea, Speirs attended a Russian language course in 1956 and was assigned as a liaison officer to the Red Army in Potsdam, East Germany. In 1958 he became the American Governor of the Spandau Prison in Berlin, where prominent Nazis such as Rudolf Hess were imprisoned. Prisoner Albert Speer mentions in his book, Spandau: The Secret Diaries, a "hard-nosed, irritating American Commandant". That man was later identified as Speirs.

Laotian Civil War
In 1962, Speirs was a member of the U.S. Mission to the Royal Lao Army, where he served as a training officer in Mobile Training Team (MTT) for Operation White Star which was then managed by the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Laos (MAAG Laos).

Later years
His final assignment in the Army was as a plans officer in the Pentagon. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1964.

Although he did not normally attend the yearly Easy Company reunions, Speirs met with some Easy Company members several times and attended at least one reunion in 2001.

He died on April 11, 2007, in Saint Marie, Montana, where he and his wife lived part-time. He has survived by his son Robert and 3 grandchildren. 2 stepsons, 1 stepdaughter, 6 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren