One of the last surviving members of World War Two’s Band of Brothers brought a Veterans Day message to a small community in central Wisconsin over the weekend.
The members of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division were made famous by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
The real Herbert Suerth, nicknamed Junior, brought his message to a packed auditorium of students in the small town of Edgar Wisconsin.He didn’t sugarcoat the horror of war.
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“The guy’s brains were in our water supply,” he said.”And that was what we had to have for water that day.”
And he told them that the real heroes were the 52 members of Easy Company that didn’t make it back.
“They are the heroes,” he said.”Not us.We came home.”
Away from the auditorium, Herbert Suerth, Junior recalled a firefight in which 42 German soldiers were killed.
“But I ended up burying one of those kids,” he said.”And he was about 16-years-old, blond hair, blue eyed.And I looked down at him and I thought, you know, his mother and dad are going to wonder what happened to him.”
And the 88-year-old veteran had a simple message for today’s young people.
“Our country is really worth fighting for,” he said.”We are an exceptional group of people in an exceptional country.”
The young people in Edgar were listening.Kira Dittman is a senior.
“It made an impact on me, especially,” she said.”I have a cousin serving in Afghanistan right now.”
“They made this country what it is today,” said Tyler Durr, a junior.”Without their sacrifices, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Herbert Suerth’s appearance in Edgar continued a series of programs at the school marking Veterans Day.Previous guests included the world famous Tuskegee Airmen.
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