Ronald Speirs

Ronald Speirs in Bastogne, December 1944/January 1945

Speirs parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 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 they captured the fourth 105mm howitzer.[3]^:83[4]^:88[5]^:69

Speirs' platoon spent the night of 6 June being shuffled in position with other platoons as the company was arranged for battle to begin early the next morning.[4]^:186 A rolling artillery barrage had been coordinated in support of the ground assault on the morning of 7 June, to initiate the attack. It was here that PFC Art DiMarzio, who is also referenced in the book "Beyond Band of Brothers", was eyewitness to an event. He stated that a replacement sergeant disobeyed a direct order while in a combat situation, thereby risking the lives of the other soldiers in the company. According to DiMarzio, Speirs, commanding 2nd platoon, Dog Company was given orders to halt their attack on Ste. Come-du-Mont, to hold position while regimental headquarters coordinated a rolling barrage shelling fifteen targets in the vicinity of Ste. Come-du-Mont. DiMarzio, who was lying in a prone position next to a sergeant, stated he remembered the sergeant being drunk. An order to hold position was given and relayed down the line which the sergeant refused to obey, wanting to rush forward and engage the Germans. Once again, Speirs gave him the order to hold his position. Speirs told the man that he was too drunk to perform his duties and that he should remove himself to the rear. The sergeant refused and began to reach for his rifle. Speirs again warned the sergeant, who now levelled his rifle at Speirs. Art DiMarzio says he then saw Speirs shoot the sergeant in self-defense. The entire platoon also witnessed the event. Lieutenant Speirs immediately reported the incident to his commanding officer, Captain Jerre S Gross. Eyewitness DiMarzio says that Captain Gross went to the scene of the shooting and after receiving all the information, deemed it justifiable self-defense. Captain Gross was killed in battle the next day, and the incident was never pursued.[4]^:262

In January 1945, when Easy Company's initial attack on the German-occupied town of Foy bogged down due to the poor leadership of its commander 1st Lieutenant Norman Dike, battalion executive officer Captain Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve Dike of command.[4]^:176 The selection of Speirs was incidental; Winters later stated that Speirs was simply the first officer he saw when he turned around.[4]^:185[3]^:209 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.[3]^:208 To countermand this order, Speirs himself ran through the town and German lines (as this platoon had no radio), linked up with the Item Company soldiers and relayed the order.[3]^:209 Having completed this, he then ran 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.[4]^:272

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.[4]^:187 Winters stated that Speirs was alleged on one occasion to have killed six German prisoners of war with a Thompson submachine gun 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 at the time 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 before Speirs and Easy could be transferred to the Pacific Theater.

Speirs returned to the United States and decided to remain in the Army, serving in the Korean War. On 23 March 1951, he participated in Operation Tomahawk in which he made a combat parachute jump into Munsan-ni with nearly 3,500 other troopers in his unit (187th Regimental Combat Team). As a rifle company commander, he was part of his battalion's mission to secure the drop zone; forty to fifty enemies were killed and wounded by the battalion.[6]

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.[3]^:301 Prisoner Albert Speer mentions in his book, Spandau: The Secret Diaries, a "hard-nosed, irritating American Commandant"; that man was later identified as Speirs.

In 1962, Speirs was a member of the US Mission to the Royal Lao Army,[3]^:301 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).

His final assignment in the Army was as a plans officer in the Pentagon. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1964.[7]