Ed Mauser Passes - Omaha's Easy Company Veteran

Ed Mauser, Omaha's very own "Band of Brothers" veteran, died at his home on Friday, January 21 at the age of 94. Ed was the oldest surviving member of the 101st Airborne Division's famed "Easy Company" of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He parachuted into France during the early morning hours of D-Day and fought his way across Europe through Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and finally ended up capturing Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Mauser was a Private First Class and rifleman in Easy's 2nd Platoon. In addition to earning two Bronze Stars, he also earned two Purple Hearts for shrapnel wounds suffered in Belgium.

Mauser was a native of Peru, Illinois. He was working in the wristwatch department at the Westclox clock factory in LaSalle, Illinois, when the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was drafted into the Army about six weeks later at age 25. His first Army outpost was with the horse cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas, which soon transformed into a mechanized cavalry unit. Mauser was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and volunteered for paratrooper training. After the war he went back to work for Westclox and married Irene Furlan. Both were children of Slovakian immigrants. They were married 58 years. Mauser moved the family to Omaha from Illinois in 1960. He repaired watches and learned the jewelry business at the Time Center shop. He was a member of the American Legion in Millard.

Edward “Babe” Heffron, a fellow Easy Company veteran, was saddened by Mauser's death. “It's a shame,” Heffron said. “Ed was a good soldier. He went through his share of hell.” Lynn “Buck” Compton was Mauser's platoon leader. They parachuted from the same C-47 on D-Day. “We had a lot of esprit de corps in our outfit,” Compton said. “We were pretty close, and we were proud of our unit.” Mauser enjoyed all of the Band of Brothers glory, but he rejected any attempts to paint him as a hero. “No. I was no hero," Mauser said. "I was one of the guys. That's all.” With the passing of Ed Mauser, there are now 35 known living veterans of Easy Company.