More Than a Band of Brothers: Easy Company Families Carry WWII Legacy Forward

More than 80 years after their fathers and grandfathers parachuted into Nazi-occupied France, the families of Easy Company are still getting together.

The men who fought in World War II are mostly gone, but the friendships they formed have survived for generations.

On Oct. 22-23, 2026, children and grandchildren of the legendary Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, reunited at Fort Campbell to share stories, reconnect with old friends and meet the Soldiers carrying on their families' military legacy.

For Chris Langlois, grandson of Eugene "Doc" Roe, the company's World War II medic, keeping those friendships alive has become a family tradition.

"After the end of the war, they started having their reunions in 1946, one year after the end of the war," Langlois said. "They had it every year."

As the veterans grew older, the annual gatherings eventually came to an end. The men held their last official reunion in 2012, but their children and grandchildren weren't ready to say goodbye.

"Us kids have become so close. We said, 'There's no way this is ending,'" Langlois said.

The descendants took over organizing the reunions in 2013, choosing a different city each year. This year's gathering brought them to Fort Campbell, home of the Screaming Eagles.

For many, it was an opportunity to see how much the Army has changed since their loved ones fought in Europe. For others, it was a chance to better understand the men they knew simply as fathers and grandfathers.

Langlois said his grandfather rarely discussed the difficult parts of the war. In fact, his family learned much of what Roe experienced by watching HBO's "Band of Brothers," the television miniseries that brought Easy Company's story to a new generation.

"We learned about our family, really learned about what he did when we watched HBO on Sunday nights, just like the rest of America," Langlois said. "We knew very little. We didn't talk about any of the bad stuff."

For Catherine Crabb, daughter of World War II veteran Gordon Carson, the reunion was another opportunity to learn about her father's experiences. She remembered him as a cheerful man who built a good life after returning home, but she also recognized that the war never completely left him.

"He was jovial, and made a good life for himself, but I do feel though he carried the scars of what he remembered," Crabb said. "He sometimes didn't sleep well and had nightmares.”

Imagining what her father experienced parachuting into Normandy during the D-Day invasion remains difficult.

"I can't even imagine the fear and then the smarts that you had to keep about you to do what you needed to do," she said.

Her sister, Karen Wollgast, remembered accompanying their father to a reunion. She said the reunions gave the veterans something that was difficult to find elsewhere: a place where they could be understood without having to explain themselves.

"They all knew there was the same shared experience, and they just didn't have to pretend or be somebody else," Wollgast said.

Cleta Gordon, a family member of Walter Scott "Smoky" Gordon Jr., recalled a story about his determination to serve despite being colorblind and flat-footed.

"And the first jump is Normandy. That night jump. And he survived," Gordon said.

She said he later described being terrified as he parachuted into France under enemy fire, feeling shrapnel strike the bottoms of his boots. Despite those frightening memories, the families remember the friendships, humor and loyalty their loved ones carried home from the war.

During their visit to Fort Campbell, the descendants also had an opportunity to interact with today's Screaming Eagles and experience some of the training that helps prepare modern Soldiers for combat, including rappelling at The Sabalauski Air Assault School.

For Cleta Gordon, seeing the equipment, facilities and Soldiers of today's 101st Airborne Division helped connect the past with the present.

"I'm so proud of the United States and the young men and women they put forth, the legacy of the men of Easy Company," Gordon said. "Our country is so well represented by you young folks, and it gives me a lot of faith in the future of our beautiful country, for sure."

Although the veterans are no longer organizing the gatherings themselves, their families have found something worth protecting. The reunions are no longer just about remembering World War II. They're about friendships that have lasted for generations, understanding the sacrifices their loved ones made and ensuring their stories aren't forgotten.

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