Ronald Speirs

Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Charles Speirs (20 April 1920 – 11 April 2007) was a United States Army officer who served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II.

Speirs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1920, and spent his first few years there.

He emigrated with his family to the United States, arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, on 25 December 1924.

He attended military training in high school, which led to a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the infantry of the United States Army.

Speirs volunteered for the paratroopers after the United States entered World War II.

There he served as a platoon leader within Dog Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which later became part of the 101st Airborne Division, at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and was then shipped to England in late 1943.

After arriving in England, the division began training for the invasion of France.

Speirs was reassigned to D Company of the 2nd Battalion before the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and later assigned as commander of E Company during an assault on Foy, Belgium, after the siege of Bastogne was broken during the Battle of the Bulge.

He finished the war in the European Theater as a captain.

Speirs served in the Korean War, as a major commanding a rifle company and as a staff officer.

He later became the American governor for Spandau Prison in Berlin.

He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

In the award-winning television miniseries Band of Brothers, he was portrayed by Matthew Settle.

Speirs parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) and met up with fellow troops soon after landing.

He assembled a small group of soldiers to help in the Brecourt Manor Assault; they captured the fourth 105mm howitzer.

Speirs commanded 2nd platoon, Dog Company.

His unit spent the night of 6 June being shuffled into position with other platoons of a company being arranged for battle early the next morning.

During the early morning hours, upon accepting the surrender of three German soldiers, Speirs allegedly gave the order to execute them.

Later that morning Speirs was said to have shot another group of 4-5 soldiers who were surrendering.

The ground assault was to begin with a rolling artillery barrage on the morning of 7 June.

Speirs was given orders to halt their attack on Ste.

Come-du-Mont and to hold position while regimental headquarters coordinated a rolling barrage shelling 15 targets near St. Marie-du-Mont.

Before the battle, Speirs allegedly shot a sergeant in self-defense, according to Private First Class Art DiMarzio, the eyewitness who related the fullest account of the event.

DiMarzio was lying next to a sergeant, who was drunk.

An order to hold position was given and relayed down the line; the sergeant refused to obey, wanting to rush forward and engage the Germans.

Once again, Speirs gave him the order to hold his position.

Speirs told the man that he was too drunk to perform his duties and that he should remove himself to the rear.

The sergeant refused and began to reach for his rifle.

Speirs again warned the sergeant, who now leveled his rifle at the lieutenant.

DiMarzio said he saw Speirs shoot the sergeant in self-defense.

The entire platoon also witnessed the event.

Speirs immediately reported the incident to his commanding officer, Captain Jerre S. Gross.

DiMarzio said Gross went to the scene of the shooting and after receiving all the information, deemed it justifiable self-defense.

Gross was killed in battle the next day, and the incident was never pursued.

In January 1945, when Easy Company's initial attack on the German-occupied town of Foy bogged down, battalion executive officer Captain Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve 1st Lieutenant Norman Dike of command.

The selection of Speirs was incidental; Winters later said that Speirs was simply the first officer he saw when he turned around.

Speirs successfully took over the assault and led Easy Company to victory.

During this battle, Dike had ordered a platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town.

Speirs decided to countermand this order but the platoon had no radio.

He was initially assigned as a platoon leader in B Company of the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.