Albert Blithe
Encyclopedia
Master Sergeant Albert Blithe (June 25, 1923 – December 17, 1967) was a career soldier who had been a Private First Class with Easy Company
, 2nd Battalion
, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
, in the 101st Airborne Division
during World War II
. Blithe was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Marc Warren
. Blithe's life story was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us.
Blithe had also served in Korea with the 187th ARCT after the end of hostilities and later was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group
(MAAG) in Taiwan
. He never retired from military service.
As portrayed in Band of Brothers, Blithe was struck with a temporary case of hysterical blindness
following the fierce fight to capture Carentan
. He recovered and was part of a patrol investigating a farmhouse a few days later, where he was shot by a sniper
in his right shoulder. He would recover from the wound and receive a Purple Heart
on June 25, 1944, his 21st birthday. He later jumped into Holland with Easy Company in September 1944. Due to his wound, on the 1st of October 1944 he was sent home and never returned to the European Theater of Operations.
See Misreports of an early death, below.
Blithe was released from the Army Hospital October 8, 1945 which has been verified by his discharge paperwork at the end of World War II. He attended the 1st Annual Reunion of the 101st Airborne Division
Association. He returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, and started a career with Westinghouse Electric. He reenlisted on March 28, 1949 and was discharged on March 27, 1952. He reenlisted again on March 24, 1954, received his Master Parachutist Badge May 13, 1954, and went on to serve in post-war Korea with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Later, he was named the 82nd Airborne Division's 1958 Trooper of the Year. He then served in the 82nd Quartermaster Corps, 82nd Quartermaster Parachute Supply and Maintenance Company (aka "82nd Quartermaster Parachute Maintenance").
Before his sudden death in 1967, Blithe had achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and had completed over 600 parachute jumps, and was given a Military Assistance Advisory Group
(MAAG) assignment in Taiwan
.
at Wiesbaden Air Force Hospital. A week before his death, he had attended a weekend at Bastogne
, Belgium commemorating the Battle of the Bulge
, from which he had returned feeling unwell. He was taken to the emergency room on December 11 and diagnosed with a perforated ulcer
. Emergency surgery was performed on December 12, 1967. He subsequently developed peritonitis
and on December 16, he suffered renal failure
and died at 0055 hours on December 17. After a memorial service conducted by Chaplain (Major) Thomas F DesChamps, Blithe was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
, Virginia
with full military honors on December 28.
and mini-series, Band of Brothers. Fellow Easy Company
Currahee veterans interviewed while writing the book and mini-series had believed, in error, that Blithe was wounded in the neck, and that he did not recover. In the book, author Stephen Ambrose reported those errors as fact, and stated that Blithe had died in Philadelphia in 1948. Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which episode 3, "Carentan", episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."
After viewing the mini-series, the Blithe family publicly corrected this historical error, and requests were made to edit the mini-series to remove it. Photographs and records documenting his service after 1948 and his 1967 death are now posted on the website of the 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association. However, the error has not been corrected in the book (though the 2001 UK edition makes no mention of Blithe's death) and has been perpetuated in the DVD editions of the mini-series. It is still in repeated broadcast of the series as recently as the March 12, 2011 broadcast of the episode on Spike TV
.
The Blu-ray version has an interactive guide called "In the field with the men of Easy Company", stating correctly that Blithe died in 1967, but episode 3 still contains the error.
E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is one of the most well-known companies in the United States Army. Their experiences in World War II are the subject of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers based on the book...
, 2nd Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
The 506th Infantry Regiment is a unit assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division. During World War II, the unit was designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment ....
, in the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Blithe was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Marc Warren
Marc Warren
Marc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles as Danny Blue in Hustle, Dougie Raymond in The Vice and Dominic Foy in State of Play.-Career:...
. Blithe's life story was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us.
Blithe had also served in Korea with the 187th ARCT after the end of hostilities and later was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisers sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries. Before and during the Vietnam War, there were three of these groups operating in Southeast Asia...
(MAAG) in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. He never retired from military service.
Youth
Blithe was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After completing 3 years of high school, he enlisted for the paratroopers on August 18, 1942 in his hometown.World War II
Blithe trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia in August 1942 under Captain Herbert M. Sobel. Blithe jumped with the rest of Easy Company into occupied France as part of the massive Airborne invasion; however, when he landed, he found himself lost. Blithe was joined by a number of other paratroopers who were also part of the mis-drops. They teamed up together and found the rest of Easy Company.As portrayed in Band of Brothers, Blithe was struck with a temporary case of hysterical blindness
Conversion disorder
Conversion disorder is a condition in which patients present with neurological symptoms such as numbness, blindness, paralysis, or fits without a neurological cause. It is thought that these problems arise in response to difficulties in the patient's life, and conversion is considered a psychiatric...
following the fierce fight to capture Carentan
Battle of Carentan
The Battle of Carentan was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between 10 and 15 June 1944, on the approaches to and within the city of Carentan, France.The objective of the...
. He recovered and was part of a patrol investigating a farmhouse a few days later, where he was shot by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
in his right shoulder. He would recover from the wound and receive a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
on June 25, 1944, his 21st birthday. He later jumped into Holland with Easy Company in September 1944. Due to his wound, on the 1st of October 1944 he was sent home and never returned to the European Theater of Operations.
See Misreports of an early death, below.
Blithe was released from the Army Hospital October 8, 1945 which has been verified by his discharge paperwork at the end of World War II. He attended the 1st Annual Reunion of the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
Association. He returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and started a career with Westinghouse Electric. He reenlisted on March 28, 1949 and was discharged on March 27, 1952. He reenlisted again on March 24, 1954, received his Master Parachutist Badge May 13, 1954, and went on to serve in post-war Korea with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Later, he was named the 82nd Airborne Division's 1958 Trooper of the Year. He then served in the 82nd Quartermaster Corps, 82nd Quartermaster Parachute Supply and Maintenance Company (aka "82nd Quartermaster Parachute Maintenance").
Before his sudden death in 1967, Blithe had achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and had completed over 600 parachute jumps, and was given a Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisers sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries. Before and during the Vietnam War, there were three of these groups operating in Southeast Asia...
(MAAG) assignment in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Death
Blithe died December 17, 1967, while on active duty with the 8th Supply and Transport Battalion, 8th Infantry Division, in West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
at Wiesbaden Air Force Hospital. A week before his death, he had attended a weekend at Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
, Belgium commemorating the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, from which he had returned feeling unwell. He was taken to the emergency room on December 11 and diagnosed with a perforated ulcer
Perforated ulcer
A perforated ulcer, is a very serious condition where an untreated ulcer can burn through the wall of the stomach , allowing digestive juices and food to leech into the abdominal cavity. Treatment generally requires immediate surgery...
. Emergency surgery was performed on December 12, 1967. He subsequently developed peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
and on December 16, he suffered renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
and died at 0055 hours on December 17. After a memorial service conducted by Chaplain (Major) Thomas F DesChamps, Blithe was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
with full military honors on December 28.
Misreports of an early death
Blithe is the subject of a particularly glaring error in the bookBand of Brothers
Band of Brothers is a 2001 ten-part, 11-hour television World War II miniseries based on the book of the same title written by historian and biographer Stephen E. Ambrose. The executive producers were Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who had collaborated on the World War II film Saving Private Ryan...
and mini-series, Band of Brothers. Fellow Easy Company
E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is one of the most well-known companies in the United States Army. Their experiences in World War II are the subject of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers based on the book...
Currahee veterans interviewed while writing the book and mini-series had believed, in error, that Blithe was wounded in the neck, and that he did not recover. In the book, author Stephen Ambrose reported those errors as fact, and stated that Blithe had died in Philadelphia in 1948. Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which episode 3, "Carentan", episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."
After viewing the mini-series, the Blithe family publicly corrected this historical error, and requests were made to edit the mini-series to remove it. Photographs and records documenting his service after 1948 and his 1967 death are now posted on the website of the 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association. However, the error has not been corrected in the book (though the 2001 UK edition makes no mention of Blithe's death) and has been perpetuated in the DVD editions of the mini-series. It is still in repeated broadcast of the series as recently as the March 12, 2011 broadcast of the episode on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
.
The Blu-ray version has an interactive guide called "In the field with the men of Easy Company", stating correctly that Blithe died in 1967, but episode 3 still contains the error.