"I don't think any of us planned to make it through. I think that's what made us so good." (Video interview, 14:33)

Earl Ervin McClung

Earl McClung at time of service [detail from video] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Service Location: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; England; Normandy, France; Bastogne, Belgium; Austria; Central Europe Rank: Staff Sergeant

Drafted before he completed high school, Army Staff Sergeant Earl Ervin McClung served with the famed Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After surviving the jump into Normandy, he was wounded during Operation Market Garden in Holland. In his interview, he emphasizes that he does not consider himself a hero, although as a group, he and his comrades achieved some heroic things. As for the acclaim given to his unit, he says, “We didn’t go through any more than a lot of other people did.”