To log this virtual you have to:
1) Take a picture of you, your GPS, or any object of your choice with each of the five crosses in honour of the members of the Easy Company
2) Send me the answer of the fallen soldier buried at Plot H, Row 9 grave 71 via GC Message Center.
This is a Virtual Cache, to log this Geocache firstly you need to find the below listed graves and take a picture either of your cacher name, your GPS or any other object of your choice (which makes your picture unique) with each of the five crosses(plot/row/grave) in honor of the fallen members of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division, as a background. Secondly you have to visit Plot H, Row 9, grave 71 and send me the name of this fallen soldier via GC Message Center.
At the listing coodinates, you can start your visit. All the information can be found at the site of the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery and Memorial in Luxembourg-Hamm.
BAND OF BROTHERS
1) Sergant Warren H. “Skip” MUCK. Plot E, Row 9, Grave 45.
Rank: Sergant of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506st Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101 Airborne Division.
Birth : 31-01-1922 Tonawanda, New York.
Died: 10-01-1945, killed in action, Foy, Belgium. (Battle of the Bulge)
Muck enlisted in the Army in 1942 at Buffalo, New York and was placed as a mortarman in the Mortar Squad, of 2nd Platoon, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Eventually, he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the Mortar Squad, 1st Platoon, by Lieutenant Winters. They dropped into Normandy, France on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord: Muck got lost but eventually reunited with his Company. He fought at Carentan and later headed to Holland for Operation Market Garden. When his unit was beset by German tanks and infantry at the town of Nuenen, Muck and Guarnere helped take out a machine gun nest atop a building. Muck then participated in the Crossroads assault, firing mortars at the machine gun nests and providing covering fire.
2) Private First Class Alex M. PENKALA, Jr. Plot I, Row 9, Grave 5
Rank: Private First Class of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506st Parachute Infantry Regiment,in the 101 Airborne Division.
Born: 1924
Died: 01-10-1945, killed in action, Foy, Belgium. (Battle of the Bulge)
He enlisted in the Army on February 27, 1942, at Toledo, Ohio, and volunteered for the paratroopers. He was sent to Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where he was assigned to Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th, where he was put under the harsh leadership of Herbert Sobel. After completing training in August, he was sent to Fort Bennings, where he earned his jumpwings as a paratrooper. After completing more training at Camp Mackell in 1943, he and the rest of the unit were sent to Aldbourne, England.
Penkala dropped with the 101st Airborne into Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, part of Operation Overlord. He grouped up with his Company at Ste. Marie-du-Monte. On June 10, he and the 506th headed to Carentan, where they fought a fierce battle for the town. They eventually won with only a few wounded. While relaxing, he, Private Blithe, Sgt. Muck, PFC. Malarkey, and Pvt. More chatted about how 1st Lt. Speirs killed a few Germans on D-Day, before heading out. They met a fierce counterattack by the Germans, but won the fight.
They then headed back to Aldbourne in July, where they waited for their next mission. He and the unit the landed in Holland on September 17, part of Operation Market Garden. They met little resistance when they landed, but were bested at Nuenen on September 20th. The Operation eventually ended on September 25, and the 2nd Battalion was sent to an area known as "The Island" on October 2. They fought against a unit of German SS soldiers, and beat them on October 5.
He and his unit were pulled off the line on November 26, and were sent to France. They were eventually sent to Bastogne in the Ardennes forest, Belgium on December 18 to relieve the 28th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge. Sometime around the battle, Penkala was wounded by a Mortar explosion in the arm. Doc Roe tended to him, but Penkala insisted he didn't need to go to the aid station. Roe replied, "Well, you're in luck Penkala, we ain't got no aid station," meaning Penkala was still in the fight.
They were eventually sent to the town of Foy. On January 10, while preparing to invade Foy, they were bombarded by heavy artillery. George Luz was knocked down by an explosion, and Penkala and his buddy Muck yelled at him to get into their foxhole, when they took a direct hit from a shell, blowing him to pieces and killing him instantly. Luz was able to dig up their remains, and Penkala was buried at Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
3) Private First Class Kenneth Jay WEBB. Plot G Row 4, Grave 20
Rank: Private First Class of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506st Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101 Airborne Division.
Birth : 08-15-1920 Bringhampton, Broome County, New York.
Died: 01-13-1945, killed in action, Foy, Belgium. (Battle of the Bulge)
Kenneth joined the Army and signed up for a new division called the 101st Airborne. He was assigned to Company E ("Easy Company"), 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment which was made famous in the 11-hour HBO miniseries and documentary called, "Band of Brothers" produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Included in the documentary was an actor who played a brief and fairly inaccurate role of Kenny. I say "inaccurate" as he was portrayed in the show as young and naïve.
4) Private Patrick H. NEILL Plot B, Row 9, Grave 34
Rank: Private First Class of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506st Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101 Airborne Division.
Birth: 1924 Alabama, USA
Died: 01-01-1945, killed in action, Foy, Belgium. (Battle of the Bulge)
5) Private Fist Class John T. JULIAN Plot F, Row 10, Grave 24
Rank:Private First Class of the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506st Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division. BAND OF BROTHERS.
Birth :1924 Alabama, USA
Died: 01-01-1945, killed in action, Foy, Belgium. (Battle of the Bulge)
He was a recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. Julian was a member of the famous Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He died of his wounds sustained from German machine gun fire in the Ardennes. He was shot in the neck and died from losing a massive amount of blood.
OPENING HOURS OF THE LUXEMBOURG AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL: 09:00 to 17:00 (closed on December 25th and January 1st). You are on a cemetery. So please respect the place! Lest we forget.
Easy Company was eventually sent to the Bois Jacques, an area in the Ardennes forest in Belgium near the town of Bastogne, to fight against the German offensive of the Ardennes, known as the Battle of the Bulge. Muck and Easy Company survived long artillery raids made by the Germans and faced off against a fierce tank offensive. Afterwards, Muck and the men advanced upon Foy, where the German artillery was. During an artillery raid, Muck and Alex Penkala were killed when an artillery round hit their foxhole and exploded. Their remains were buried at Luxembourg National Cemetery.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.