Roy Cobb Private Roy W . Cobb ( June 18 , 1914 – January 1990 ) was a soldier who served with the 1st Armored Division years before enlisting in the paratroopers with Easy Company , 2nd Battalion , 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II . During his military service , Roy ' s rank was always Private . Cobb was portrayed in the HBO miniseries " Band of Brothers " by Craig Heaney . Military service . Cobb had served in the army for nine years prior to enlisting in the Parachute Infantry . During that time , he took part in an assault landing in Africa with the 1st Armored Division . He survived a torpedo attack that sank the troop ship he was on when travelling back to the States . During the drop into Normandy on June 6 , 1944 , he was wounded inside the plane and was unable to jump . Cobb and George Luz had exchanged seats because Luz wanted to jump earlier in the stick . Luz was afraid of being hit in the plane and not being able to jump . After recovering in England , Cobb rejoined his unit after they were relieved from combat operations in France ; he took part in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands , and fought at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge . In January / February 1945 , he was selected for a patrol at Haguenau under Lt . Jack Foley . When the patrol commenced , Cobb ' s raft riding capsized , sending the men into the frigid water of the Moder River . They were then ordered to remain behind by an officer . The patrol returned with two prisoners , while one severely wounded German was left on the riverbank . David Kenyon Webster feared the wounded German , if recovered , would give away the outpost ' s position and threaten their safety , therefore he offered to silence the wounded soldier . Webster and another paratrooper each threw 2 grenades , none of which killed the German . Cobb later made one attempt with a grenade of his own , killing the wounded soldier . Cobb was discharged from service after assaulting his platoon commander , Lt . Foley , in Haguenau , after consuming a bottle of schnapps . While handing the court - martial papers in , Robert Sink said , " Foley , you could have saved us all a lot of trouble . You should have shot him . " Cobb died in January 1990 at Niagara , New York . " Band of Brothers " . He was portrayed in " Band of Brothers " by Craig Heaney as a very unfriendly , bitter , and at some moments a cowardly person . This is thought to be because he served so long in the army but was never promoted . However , he is described in Stephen E . Ambrose ' s book " Band of Brothers " as invariably good - natured . One controversial note occurred during the episode " The Last Patrol " , in which Cobb gets drunk after the patrol and is mildly scolded by Second Lieutenant Jones and Staff Sergeant John Martin . In reality , Cobb was being yelled at by Jack Foley , who led the patrol , and Cobb eventually charged at Foley . Two men had to restrain him and John Martin pulled out his pistol and pointed it at him . This moment was not portrayed in the series , but several other events depicting him as bitter were shown in the series but never mentioned in the book .