Edward Heffron

About

Remembered for winning the bronze star in the World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, this United States Army private and member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment also assisted in the liberation of the Kaufering Nazi concentration camp in Landsberg, Germany and in the Allied forces' takeover of Hitler's Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) retreat.

Before Fame

After dropping out of high school during The Great Depression, he worked for a New Jersey shipbuilding company.

Trivia

His close friend and army comrade, Johnny Julian, was killed on New Year's Day of 1945. He and Julian were both characters in the Steven Spielberg-produced HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Family Life

He and his four siblings grew up in an Irish Catholic family in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Dolores, raised a daughter named Patricia.

Associated With

He and fellow soldier William Guarnere co-wrote the 2007 memoir Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story.