Richard “Dick” Winters

An original officer of Easy Company. He begins his career as a second lieutenant before being promoted to captain and soon thereafter to major after his success leading the company on the battlefield. Largely considered the heart and soul of Easy Company by many, Winters is loved and respected by nearly everyone who crosses his path.

Read an in-depth analysis of Richard Winters.

David Kenyon Webster

Harvard English major who serves as a private in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His long letters home provide poignant insight into the soldier experience and snapshots of the men of Easy Company after their battles. Webster considers himself a dutiful spectator, and his responsibility is to capture the realities of war. This recounting of Easy Company’s role in World War II would not be complete without his many astute observations.

Read an in-depth analysis of David Kenyon Webster.

Robert Sink

Regimental commander of the 506th. A 1927 West Point graduate, his approach to war is sensible and realistic. Sink treats his men fairly, and his main objective is to qualify highly trained, well-disciplined, confident soldiers. He is well-liked by the men under his command.

Lewis Nixon

Original officer of Easy Company. He earns a promotion to battalion staff and helps coordinate movements and maneuvers. Nixon is largely considered the most brilliant tactical mind of all the staff officers. He is a close friend of Richard Winters.

Herbert Sobel

The original commanding officer of Easy Company. Captain Sobel is perhaps the greatest reason why Easy Company excels in so many areas. His focus on discipline and fitness creates an outstanding unit. Sobel is replaced as acting CO before D-Day, but the cohesive company he built wreaks havoc on the Germans nonetheless.

Read an in-depth analysis of Herbert Sobel.

Ronald C. Speirs

Original platoon leader for Dog Company. He eventually commands Easy Company after taking control from its frozen commanding officer during a high-stakes mission to retake the city of Foy. Speirs is a hardened soldier and a disciplined leader with a reputation for brutality. Where he leads, men dutifully follow.

Read an in-depth analysis of Ronald C. Speirs.

Harry Welsh

Second lieutenant of 2nd Battalion, Easy Company. He is a tough soldier and a stalwart leader who loves to drink and fight. A close friend to Dick Winters, Welsh is an extremely capable and reliable soldier.

Carwood Lipton

An original member of Easy Company. One of the original first privates selected to Easy Company, Lipton begins as a private with Easy and eventually attains promotion to company first sergeant replacing Lt. Winters. Lipton is wounded by artillery fire in defense of Bastogne and honorably discharged with a battlefield commission. He is well respected as a leader by those in his company.

Floyd Talbert

An original member of Easy Company. Sgt. Floyd Talbert takes over first sergeant duties from Carwood Lipton after his injury at Bastogne. He is a genial man who is appreciated by his men for his commonsense approach to military matters.

Robert Rader

An original member of Easy Company. Rader serves as a sergeant throughout the entirety of Easy Company’s maneuvers in Europe, a truly remarkable feat considering how many casualties Easy Company endures. He is considered a highly conscientious leader.

John Martin

An original member of Easy Company. Martin is as good a sergeant as any in the war. He survives three campaigns without injury before a condition in his knee provides an early exit. Martin is well respected among his peers.

Don Malarkey

An original member of Easy Company. Malarkey serves capably as a private and later as a sergeant. He bravely endures through the entirety of the war.

Bill Guarnere

An original member of Easy Company. Guarnere begins as a private before promotion to sergeant and then staff sergeant after the events of Normandy. He is injured at Bastogne, thus ending his involvement in World War II. Guarnere stays active with the 101st and Easy Company in his postwar career.

Lynn Compton

The leader of 2nd Platoon, Easy Company. Lynn is a friendly and genial man who gets along well with the enlisted men. He is a favorite of many, except for Lt. Nixon, who resents jocks. He serves dutifully until suffering severely during the battle at Bastogne.

Walter Gordon

An original member of Easy Company. Gordon is a tough soldier who gets injured multiple times during his service with Easy. He advances to rank corporal. He is paralyzed at Bastogne by a bullet from a German sniper, ending his war career. Gordon will walk again, however, and lives a happy, successful life.

Burton Christenson

An original member of Easy Company. Christenson serves as an assistant squad leader, squad leader, and assistant platoon leader during his time with Easy Company.

Leo Boyle

An original member of Easy Company. Leo serves as a sergeant for Easy Company before sustaining a serious injury from German artillery fire in Holland. He becomes a teacher after the war.

Gordon Carson

An original member of Easy Company. Carson makes corporal and fights with Easy Company throughout its assignments. He becomes the company clerk by the end of the war.

Shifty Powers

Virginia mountain man who is part Native American. Powers is a sharpshooter and gifted tracker. He saves many lives at Bastogne by spotting hidden enemy snipers and artillery.

Omar Bradley

Commander of the U.S. First Army. Bradley commands the V Corps at Omaha Beach and the VII Corps at Utah Beach during D-Day.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied commander. Eisenhower oversees the war on all fronts and works closely with American allies deciding when and where to deploy their various fighting divisions.

Maxwell Taylor

Commander of the 101st. General Taylor is the opposite of Colonel Sink as far as his speaking style. A bit of a cheerleader, he assumes that his men are anxious to kill Germans.

Ed Tipper

An original member of Easy Company. Tipper serves with Easy Company until he is hit by mortar fire at Carentan. He survives the injury, but the war ends at Carentan for Tipper. He goes on to become a teacher after the war.