Harry Welsh First Lieutenant Harry F . Welsh ( September 27 , 1918 – January 21 , 1995 ) was a commissioned officer with Easy Company , 2nd Battalion , 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II . Welsh was portrayed in the HBO miniseries " Band of Brothers " by Rick Warden . Youth . Welsh came from Luzerne County , Pennsylvania and enlisted in the paratroopers in 1942 . He was assigned to Fort Benning with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment as part of the 82nd Airborne Division . While an enlisted man , Welsh was reportedly made a Sergeant and then " busted " ( demoted ) to private six times for fighting . Three of his commanding officers saw his potential and recommended him for Officer Candidate School . Military service . After graduating OCS , Welsh was transferred to the 101st Airborne , and was assigned to Easy Company , 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , and quickly became friends with 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters . Welsh jumped into Normandy on D - Day and didn ' t find Easy until the next morning , shortly before Easy was given the task of taking Carentan . When he joined the rest of his company , he was placed in charge of 1st platoon after Richard Winters took charge of the company . On June 12 , 1944 , he led his platoon on a direct assault into Carentan . He was pinned down until the rest of Easy Company moved into the town , and after taking the town , the Company moved against a German counterattack south of Omaha Beach . His platoon held the line with Easy Company , and during the Battle of Bloody Gulch , Welsh ran into the open field with an enlisted gunner , John McGrath , and knocked out a Sturmgeschütz III , a German armored vehicle , with a bazooka . Elements of the 2nd Armored Division arrived in force and drove off the remaining Germans . After holding the line for another month , Welsh and the rest of Easy Company were relieved and shipped to England for refitting and replacements . He became Executive Officer of Easy Company . On September 1944 , Welsh dropped into the Netherlands for Operation Market Garden and remained there for the duration of the operation . After the failure of the operation , Welsh and the rest of Easy Company returned to Mourmelon - le - Grand , France to await the next assignment . On December 16 , 1944 , German armored divisions broke through American lines in the Ardennes Forest . By this point , Welsh had been re - assigned to Headquarters Company of 2nd Battalion , and his Division was assigned to defend the town of Bastogne . During battle on Christmas Day , Welsh was severely wounded . Welsh was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor during his combat action , and two purple hearts for being wounded . Later years . Welsh returned home and married his awaiting lover Catherine " Kitty " Grogan . For her wedding dress , she used silk from Welsh ' s reserve parachute . They had one son , Kevin , who predeceased Welsh . Welsh spent time after the war at different jobs including a teacher at Wilkes - Barre area schools , a tax collector for Luzerne County , and finally became a director of pupils for the Wilkes - Barre area . He retired in 1983 . Welsh died of heart failure on January 21 , 1995 , on his good friend Richard Winters ' 77th birthday . His wife Catherine died three years later in 1998 . He is buried in the Wilkes - Barre City Cemetery .