Colonel Edward Shames, last officer of World War II 'Band of Brothers', dies at 99

At the age of 99, the last surviving veteran of World War II's 'East Company,' Colonel Edward Shames left for his heavenly abode on Friday. The news of his demise was informed through an obituary posted by the Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home and Crematory of Norfolk, Virginia, which said that Col. Shames "died peacefully at his home."

Shames was a member of the renowned 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, known globally as the East Company, the obituary said, "The story of the regiment and its members from World War II has now been immortalised in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." The piece of mini-cinema is based on The New York Times bestseller by Stephen E. Ambrose, as per CNN.

'Ed was involved in some of the most important battles of the War'

Born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 1922, Ed was "called to duty in the World War II" and was "involved in some of the most important battles," the obituary reminded. Colonel Edward made his "first jump" into Normandy in D-Day as part of "Operation Overlord." He also volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with East Company bin Operation Market Garden and Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. Remembered to be very "outspoken", Edward also had the highest of standards for himself and his fellow soldiers and was honoured with battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant for this outstanding leadership on June 13, 1944.

"This made him the first non-commissioned officer in the Third Battalion to receive a commission in Normandy," the obituary said.

Col. Edward Shames managed to bring back cognac from Hitler's 'Eagles Nest'

Among Ed's noteworthy anecdotes, the favourite one remains when he and his troop of the Band of Brothers entered Hitler's Eagle's Nest, where he managed to acquire a few bottles of cognac meant "for the Fuhrer's use only." As per the obituary, Colonel Edward used one of the bottles to toast his oldest son's Bar Mitzvah. He was also the first member of the 101st to enter the Dachau concentration camp, just after Germany surrendered.

After his retirement, Shames has been part of the National Security Agency as an expert on Middle East affairs. Later, he served in the US Army Division as a retired colonel. US Army Chief of Staff, General James C. McConville mourned the death of the WWII veteran. Talking to Twitter, General McConville said he is "deeply saddened" to hear about the loss.

(Image: @ArmyChiefStaff_Twitter)