Ronald Speirs
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| Ronald Speirs | |
|---|---|
| b. 20 April 1920 | |
 Ronald Speirs at Bastogne |
|
| Nickname | Sparky |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Years of service | 1942-1945, 1956-1958 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Dog Company/Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment |
| Awards | - Purple Heart - Silver Star - World War II Victory Medal - Presidential Unit Citation (2OLC) |
| Other work | Governor of Spandau Prison, Red Army Liaison Officer |
Ronald Speirs (b. 20 April 1920) was an officer with the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. He was initially a platoon leader in Company "D" ("Dog Company") of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Speirs was reassigned to "E" or "Easy" Company in Bastogne at the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Speirs went to Korea and commanded a rifle company and later became the American Governor for Spandau Prison in Berlin. He served as a Captain during the European Theater but retired a Lieutenant Colonel.
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[edit] Early life
Speirs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but grew up in Portland, Maine. He attended military training in high school, which led to a commission in the infantry; however, Speirs volunteered for the paratroops. He served as a platoon leader with Company "D" at Camp Toccoa, Georgia and was shipped to England shortly before Operation Chicago.
[edit] World War II
Speirs parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944 (or D-Day) and quickly met with fellow troops at their makeshift command post at an empty farmhouse. He rounded up a few men, moved out, and helped in the capturing of the fourth 105 mm howitzer at the Brecourt Manor Assault. Soon after, rumors began circling that Speirs had killed twenty or thirty POWs after handing them cigarettes and giving them a light. Speirs has never denied nor confirmed the rumors (for more on this, see Rumors).
Due to Easy Company's role as primary assault company, Dog Company did not see as much action as Easy. However, it still participated in many engagements during the war, and both Speirs and "D" Company were at Bastogne. As "E" Company made the initial assault on the town of Foy, battalion commander Captain (later Major) Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve Lieutenant Norman Dike of command. Speirs successfully took over the assault and led "E" Company to a victory over the Germans. He was reassigned to Commanding Officer of "E" Company and remained so throughout the rest of the war, helping them take such monuments as Kehlsteinhaus (or the Eagle's Nest) near Berchtesgaden, Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat. Of all those who commanded Easy Company from the start of the war on, Speirs commanded them the longest.
Although Speirs had enough points to go home after the end of the European Campaign, he chose to remain with "E" Company. Japan surrendered after the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki before Speirs and "E" had to parachute into Japan.
[edit] After World War II
Speirs returned home to England to find that his wife (the former widow of a British soldier who had been reported dead) had returned to her first husband who had turned up as a POW. The rumor is that she retained ownership of all the spoils of war (i.e., silver platters, goblets, plates, and utensils gathered at different places throughout Europe like Haguenau or Kehlsteinhaus) that Speirs had sent home from his travels in Europe. Speirs decided to remain in the army, later serving in the Korean War, where he made one combat jump into Korea and led a rifle company until the war's conclusion.
Following the war, Speirs took a Russian language course in 1956 and was assigned as a liaison officer to the Red Army in Potsdam, East Germany. In 1958 he became the American Governor of the Spandau Prison in Berlin, the same place Rudolf Hess was serving his life term. In 1962, he went to Laos with the U.S. Mission to the Royal Lao Army.
In Albert Speer's book, Spandau: The Secret Diaries (Amazon Listing) he mentions a hard-nosed, irritating U.S. Commandant, but not by name. This commandant has since been identified as Ronald Speirs.
Although he does not normally attend the yearly Easy Company reunions, Speirs has met with several Easy Company members from time to time and attended at least one reunion some years back.
[edit] Rumors
Ronald Speirs was a legend during World War II because of rumors that he had shot twenty to thirty German prisoners of war digging a hole on D-Day, under guard. It is rumored that he gave the prisoners cigarettes, gave them a light, and then shot all of them but one. This rumor has sparked much debate among veterans, and fans of Band of Brothers and Stephen Ambrose's book debating such things as:
- Did it happen?
- Where did it happen?
- How many prisoners?
- Was he ever called upon this by higher officers?
Stories from Easy veterans suggest it did happen, including Richard Winters saying that Speirs suggested the rumors were true but never gave any details. However, if the shooting of the prisoners actually took place, its exact location cannot be conclusively determined. Donald Malarkey claimed he heard a Tommy Gun firing on D-Day but did not actually see anything. Winters originally heard that the incident took place at Bastogne. Carwood Lipton claimed he heard it happened in Carentan. To this day, Speirs has never discussed the rumors publicly.
Richard Winters, in his own book entitled Beyond Band of Brothers: The Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, detailed exactly what did happen on the instance involving Speirs having shot a sergeant in one of his squads for disobeying a direct order in the face of the enemy. Winters notes that by shooting the sergeant, Speirs saved the lives of many other men. Winters also repeatedly calls Speirs "a born killer” and states that despite Speirs possibly making flawed decisions off the battlefield, he was a superb combat commander, and Winters respected him immensely. Winters also points out that Speirs did report that incident to his commanding officer and names the officer. However, that officer was killed in action the next day, and the incident was never pursued on any level. Winters suggests that command was so desperate for competent field officers that they could not afford losing one of Speirs' caliber, and that those serving under Speirs respected him immensely, and feared him also. Therefore, the incident eventually just went away officially but became legend among the troops.
Ronald Speirs was portrayed in the HBO/BBC miniseries Band of Brothers by Matthew Settle.
[edit] References
- Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, Stephen Ambrose, Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-7434-6411-7
