Remembering William Alexander Howell: Band of Brothers and Beyond: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne
Band of Brothers and Beyond: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne
Technician Fifth Grade William Alexander Howell—known to family and friends as Bill—was one of Adams County’s own who answered the call of duty during the Second World War. His life story reflects quiet courage, deep loyalty, and a lifelong devotion to family, community, and country. As we remember Bill Howell, we honor not only his service as a paratrooper in one of the most storied units of the war, but also the values he carried home long after the fighting ended.
Roots in Manchester, Ohio
William Alexander Howell was born on April 10, 1922, in Manchester, Ohio, the first of five children born to Neil Luther Howell and Lillie Ellen Shelton Howell. He grew up in the close-knit river village of Manchester, where his father worked for the local bakery and the Howell family lived on East Fifth Street. Bill attended school through the ninth grade before entering the workforce, taking on jobs around Manchester to help support his family.
Among Bill’s closest boyhood friends were Donald “Don” Hoobler and Robert “Bob” Rader—friendships that would shape the course of his life in extraordinary ways. By the time he was 20, Bill had moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he worked in maintenance at Wright-Patterson Army Air Field. His draft card from this period describes a young man of 20 years, six feet tall, and weighing 152 pounds.
Choosing the Paratroopers
On August 22, 1942, while working at Wright-Patterson, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army alongside Hoobler and Rader. Encouraged by one another, the three friends chose the paratroopers, attracted by both the challenge and the higher pay. They jokingly called themselves “The Three Hillbillies,” unaware of how tightly their lives would soon be bound by combat.
Bill, along with Hoobler and Rader, was sent to Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where he endured thirteen weeks of intense physical and infantry training under the demanding leadership of Lieutenant Herbert Sobel. Daily runs up Currahee Mountain—three miles up and three miles down—became a defining experience. In later years, Bill would describe Toccoa simply as “rough training,” recalling with humor a moment when ducking into the bushes during a run “to relieve himself” earned him the punishment of running the mountain all over again.
After Toccoa, Bill completed parachute training at Fort Benning, earning his Parachutist Wings, followed by advanced airborne combat training at Camp Mackall in North Carolina. By mid-1943, Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment had become a fully trained combat unit, forged through relentless preparation and shared hardship.
Across the Atlantic and Into Combat
In September 1943, Bill sailed from New York Harbor aboard the USS Samaria, bound for England. Many aboard became seasick and uneasy, sensing that the war was becoming real. Easy Company was eventually billeted near Aldbourne, England, where Bill slept in a converted horse stable—an experience he later recalled vividly, along with the persistent hunger of those early months overseas.
On June 6, 1944, Bill parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, taking part in the daring airborne assault that helped secure key positions and disrupt German defenses. That September, he jumped again during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, fighting to hold vital bridges and roadways. By winter, Easy Company was
rushed to Bastogne, Belgium, where they endured brutal cold, constant artillery fire, and scarce supplies during the Battle of the Bulge.
Wounded at Bastogne
On January 3, 1945, Easy Company was dug in at Bois Jacques, a frozen woodland between Bastogne and the village of Foy. Though Bastogne had been relieved days earlier, German forces still occupied the surrounding high ground, directing deadly artillery fire into the woods. That day, an artillery shell exploded beside Bill’s foxhole, throwing him violently and burying him beneath shattered trees and debris. He was dug out by his comrades, suffering a broken bone in his foot and severe injuries to his ankle and leg.
The wounds were serious enough to remove him from the front lines for weeks of hospitalization and recovery before returning to E Company. Tragically, the same day Bill was wounded, his close friend Donald Hoobler was killed in action—a loss that Bill carried with him for the rest of his life.
For his service and sacrifice, Bill was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was known among his comrades by the nickname “Shep,” and he served as a Technician Fifth Grade, a skilled enlisted specialist who also fought as a rifleman alongside his fellow paratroopers.
Bill Howell standing third from the left. First man standing on left may be Bob Rader. 1942 Camp Toccoa, Georgia.
Coming Home and Building a Life
Bill was discharged from the Army on December 6, 1945, after more than three years of service. He returned home to Manchester, where he soon began the next chapter of his life. On March 9, 1946, he married his fiancée, Mildred Shultz, in Maysville, Kentucky. Together, they built a family grounded in hard work and devotion.
In the early years of their marriage, Bill worked as a carpenter while Mildred was employed as a seamstress at the Hercules Pant Factory. Their first son, Lanny, was born in 1947. In the early 1950s, Bill found work at the Hinde & Dauch paper mill in Sandusky, Ohio—later known as the Westvaco Paper Mill—a job that would become his career for the next thirty years. Though he initially traveled back and forth on weekends, the family eventually settled permanently in Sandusky, where Bill and Mildred raised their three children: Lanny, Sherri, and Christopher.
Bill was respected by coworkers as a capable leader with a good sense of humor. At home, he enjoyed family life, card games, football on television, camping trips, and tackling the never-ending list of household projects. He attended the Church of God in Sandusky and lived a quiet, steady life shaped by values forged long before.
Left to right back row: Paul Rogers “Slim” (1918 – 2015), James Alley “Moe” (1922 – 2000), Walter Gorden “Smokey” (1920 – 1997), Bill Maynard “Wild Bill” (1921 – 2011) and Myron Ranney “Skeeter” (1925 – 1999)
Left to right Front Row: George Luz “Gus” (1921 – 1988), Charles Grant “Chuck” (1922 – 1984), Edward Tipper “Babe” (1921 – 2017), Bill Howell “Shep” (1922 – 1983), John Martin “Paddy” (1922 – 2005), and Bill Guarnere “Wild Bill” (1923 – 2014).
A Lasting Brotherhood
Though Bill rarely spoke in detail about his wartime experiences, the bond he shared with his comrades never faded. Family vacations often included trips to Easy Company reunions, where Bill remained active in the 101st Airborne Division Association. He maintained lifelong friendships with fellow paratroopers, including Bob Rader, and stayed in touch with Easy Company members such as Bill Guarnere and Dick Winters.
When war movies featuring paratroopers appeared on television, Bill would simply tell his children, “That is what I did.” On another occasion, when a son complained about a meal, Bill quietly reminded him, “Anything is better than snowballs,” a reference to Bastogne.
Remembering William Alexander Howell
William Alexander Howell passed away on December 9, 1983, at the age of 61, and is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. He did not live to see the publication of Band of Brothers or the HBO miniseries
that later brought Easy Company’s story to the world. Yet his life embodies the very spirit those works sought to capture—ordinary men who endured extraordinary trials, returned home, and lived with humility and purpose.
The Adams County Community Foundation is honored to remember and share the story of William Alexander Howell. His legacy lives on in his family, his community, and the enduring example of service and sacrifice he represents for future generations.
In the HBO series “Band of Brothers”, Carwood Lipton was played by Donnie Wahlberg as a dedicated and respected non-commissioned officer. George Luz was played by Rick Gomez, the company’s humorous and talented impressionist and Robert “Popeye” Wynn was played by Nicholas Aaron. The series and book also featured many other soldiers from Easy Company, including Corporal Walter Gordon “Smokey”, also pictured above.
Location of this Easy Company 101st reunion is unknown but probably took place in the 1960’s.
n the HBO miniseries, Bill Guarnere was played by actor Frank John Hughes, George Luz by actor Rick Gomez and Edward Tipper by actor Bart Ruspoli.
Soldiers mentioned in the book “Band of Brothers” by Steven Ambrose included Walter Gorden “Smokey”, Myron Ranney “Skeeter” Forrest Guth “Goody” and James Alley Jr. “Moe”
These pictures were taken long before Easy Company became famous through the “Band of Brothers” book published 1992 by Steven Ambrose and HBO series of 2001 produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Almost every soldier in Easy Company received a nickname from his comrades. Nicknames reflected personality, habits, appearance, hometowns, or irony. Once given, a nickname often became a man’s primary identity within the unit and for the remainder of his life during reunions and through correspondence.
Special thanks to Sherri Howell LaGrass, daughter of Bill Howell, who generously provided key information for this article, as well as the photographs.
