David Kenyon Webster
| David Webster | |
|---|---|
Webster during World War II
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Dave, Web, Einstein, Professor, Keen college boy |
| Born |
June 2, 1922 New York City, New York |
| Died | September 9, 1961 (aged 39) Santa Monica, California |
| Place of burial | Lost at sea |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942-1945 |
| Rank |
 Private First Class
|
| Unit | Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
| Relations | -Barbara (wife) -John (brother) -Ann (sister) |
| Other work | Journalist, Author |
Private First Class David Kenyon Webster (June 2, 1922 - September 9, 1961) was an American soldier, journalist and author. During World War II he was a private with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division. Webster was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Eion Bailey.
Webster was born in New York and educated at The Taft School, Watertown, Connecticut. He was of English and Scottish descent. In 1943, he volunteered for the paratroopers before having a chance to finish his studies as an English literature major at Harvard University. He used his middle name "Kenyon" while addressing his family in his letters to home rather than his given name, David.[1]
Webster originally trained with Fox Company, jumped on D-Day with Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion, then requested a transfer to Easy Company and served in the Company until discharged in 1945.
From a wealthy and influential family, Webster could have arranged an officer's commission stateside, but he wanted to be a "grunt" and thus be able to see and document the war from a foxhole. By most accounts, he did not like what he saw and had great disdain for Germany's audacity in creating the war.
On D-Day, Webster landed nearly alone and off-course in flooded fields behind Utah Beach, and was wounded a few days later. He also jumped into the Netherlands in Operation Market Garden. Later in this campaign, he was wounded in the leg by machine gun fire during an attack in the no-man's land called "the Island" (also referred to as "The Crossroads"), near Arnhem, where the company was relocated after Operation Market Garden ended. Before he was wounded, his squad's machine gunners Mike Massaconi and Clancy Lyall were low on ammo. As Webster was their ammo bearer, Clancy and Mike yelled at him to bring more ammo, but Webster did not move out of his foxhole. After numerous shouts from both men, Clancy took out a grenade and threw it right in Webster's foxhole. The pin on the grenade was still in place, unbeknownst to Webster. Webster quickly fled up the dike to get ammo.
...
Wikipedia