Band of Brothers booksigning in Columbus, OH - Oct. 31st

[Marcus Brotherton]

For anyone in the Columbus, OH, area, plans are being made for a large-scale book signing to be held in conjunction with the 63rd annual Easy Company reunion, happening the same weekend.

Details are as follows:

Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 2:00pm
Barnes & Noble,
Easton Town Center
4005 Townsfair Way,
Columbus, OH, 43219.
614-476-8480

The store is advertising the event under my name. I’ll be there, but good grief … it’s the men you want to see. See notice at: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/61729

Men scheduled to be in attendance include:

Earl "One Lung" McClung
Ed Tipper
Roy Gates
Amos "Buck" Taylor
Hank Zimmerman
Ed Joint
Frank Soboleski
Bill Wingett
Herb Suerth Jr.
Ed Shames
Rod Strohl
Paul Rogers
Bill Maynard

Bear in mind that at their age with health, etc., plans can change quickly. So if you’re planning on travelling from far away, keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed.

The men have a banquet later that evening, so the amount of time for the signing will be limited to a few hours—i.e. can’t go on forever. :)

Herb said that Bill Guarnere is still undecided as he hasn’t been feeling well lately, but may come too.

People have asked me if the men will also sign other books besides “We Who Are Alive & Remain.” The answer is yep, we're all on the same team. :)

Hope to see you there,
--Marcus

[Mooch]

Heck, with the exception of Eddie Joint and Bill Wingett, it looks like a 3rd Platoon reunion!

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

OH NO, not the 3rd Platoon!

[ambulnick]

Marcus,

Best of luck with the booksigning - it sounds like it's going to be a great event. Shame that I'm the wrong side of the pond

Herb said that Bill Guarnere is still undecided as he hasn’t been feeling well lately, but may come too.

Sad news - I hope that it's nothing too serious!

Regards,
Nick

[padraigmc]

Marcus

Best of luck with the event looks like it will be very interesting.


Sorry to hear than Wild Bill isnt feeling too good at the moment, hope we hear better news real soon.

[csnow]

Wow, I wish I could be there. I am aprox. 13hrs away. This would be a great opportunity and these guys; although we wish they would be, won't be here forever. I hope all goes well and I hope Bill get's to feeling better. God Bless.

[subsonic]

Gonna try to attend this if at all possible. May have to jump on a plane for it though.

[kronos251]

Thanks Marcus. I wish I could be there too, I'm all the way out in the Pacific!!
I really really really REALLY hope Ol' Gonorrhea is doing okay...
I might be going to the US of A next year, so I am impatient as hell to meet these guys!! gahh!!!

[Mooch]

Marcus,
I'll see you and the fellas there!
Hang Tough,
Mooch

[padraigmc]

Well guys and gals any reports or photos?

[Linda]

Found a fun to read press article with photo


After stamping his signature, Hank Zimmerman hands a book to fellow veteran Frank Soboleski.
KATIE MILLER | DISPATCH

So to Speak
Many thank 'brothers' of WWII

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 3:04 AM
By JOE BLUNDO

When the men of Easy Company have a reunion, some precautions are in order.

"I swore the hotel to secrecy," said Herb Suerth Jr., 85, of Minnesota. "It just gets out of hand."

Late in life, these World War II veterans have become celebrities.

Eight surviving members of Easy Company -- the unit portrayed in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers -- visited Columbus during the weekend for their annual reunion at an undisclosed location.

The reason for the furtiveness became obvious at the group's only public appearance: a book-signing Saturday at the Barnes & Noble at Easton Town Center -- which drew 200 people bearing cameras and gratitude.

Gail and Nick Calcasola drove from Zanesville for the event. The increasingly rare opportunity to see eight World War II combat veterans in one room was something they couldn't pass up, said the Calcasolas, whose fathers both fought in the war.

"We wanted to have the opportunity to hear the stories and to say thank you," Mrs. Calcasola said.

The members of E (or Easy) Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment were among the soldiers who parachuted into Normandy, France, ahead of the invasion fleet on D-Day in 1944. They also fought in the Battle of the Bulge as well as Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, and they helped liberate concentration camps in Germany.

Band of Brothers, based on a book by Stephen Ambrose, turned their reunions into media events, although not all the vets like the book and movie. Ed Shames, 87, of Virginia told anyone who would listen that the former is "a good novel."

The veterans were at Easton, though, in support of a different book: We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories From the Band of Brothers by Marcus Brotherton.

The author calls the veterans "the rock stars of the military world."

Along the way, they have clearly learned a few things about celebrity.

Hank Zimmerman, 84, of Pennsylvania uses a stamp to avoid having to sign his name repeatedly.

Shames bantered easily with admirers, and he and his colleagues all smiled for cameras and posed with babies.

The other veterans at the reunion were Bill Maynard, 88, of California; Earl McClung, 86, of Colorado; Frank Soboleski, 85, of Minnesota; Paul Rogers, 91, of Kansas; and Ed Joint, 86, of Pennsylvania.

They met in Columbus for logistical reasons: They needed a central location with direct flights. Suerth, whose legs were shattered by an artillery round during the Battle of the Bulge, said none of them is interested in hurrying through airports.

Their appearance attracted young and old.

Nicole White and Abbey Puderbaugh, students at New Albany Middle School, went because they're studying World War II.

Army Staff Sgt. Andrell Cook, a Westerville recruiter dressed in fatigues, went to express gratitude.

"Without them," he said, "there would be no us."

That the hour is late for the men of Easy Company was evident from their hearing aids, canes and stiff gaits. At the end of a two-hour book-signing, with some of the vets looking weary, a photographer asked them to gather for a few photos.

"OK," Suerth said, "but you better click fast."

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/co ... ml?sid=101