  neville brand (born lawrence neville brand; august 13, 1920 â april 16, 1992) was an american television and movie actor. ==early life== neville brand was born in griswold, iowa to leo thomas brand (june 24, 1892 &ndash; april 18, 1985) and the former helen louise davis (august 4, 1900 &ndash; october 23, 1991) as one of seven children. his father had worked as an electrician and bridge building steel worker in detroit. neville was raised in kewanee, illinois, where he attended high school. after his schooling, he helped support the family employed as a soda jerk, waiter, and shoe salesman in kewanee. he entered the illinois army national guard on october 23, 1939 as a private in company f, 129th infantry regiment. he was enlisted in the united states army as corporal neville l. brand, infantryman on march 5, 1941. ===world war ii=== he trained at fort carson, and served in world war ii seeing action with the 331st infantry regiment of the 83rd infantry division (thunderbolt division) in the ardennes, rhineland, and central european campaigns. brand, a sergeant and platoon leader, was wounded in action along the weser river on april 7, 1945. his upper right arm was hit by a bullet, and he nearly bled to death. his official military records indicate that he participated in the ardennes, rhineland, and central european campaigns, and received the silver star while convalescing at the 21st general hospital for gallantry in combat. his other awards and decorations are the purple heart, the good conduct medal, the american defense service ribbon, the european/african/middle eastern theater ribbon with three battle stars, one overseas service bar, one service stripe, and the combat infantryman's badge. in a 1966 interview he explained the silver star. withering fire from german machine guns in a hunting lodge kept him and his unit pinned down. "i must have flipped my lid," he said. "i decided to go into that lodge." he was discharged from service in october 1945. he worked on a 1946 u.s. army signal corps film with charlton heston, and next settled in greenwich village and enrolled at the [[ame
1920_births 1992_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_television_actors American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II Burials_in_California Deaths_from_emphysema Male_actors_from_Iowa People_from_Cass_County,_Iowa People_from_Kewanee,_Illinois Recipients_of_the_Purple_Heart_medal Recipients_of_the_Silver_Star The_Untouchables United_States_Army_soldiers Western_(genre)_television_actors