The Liberators by Gil Cohen

OPEN EDITION
Non-limited, unnumbered, signed by Easy Company paratroopers Buck Compton, Forrest Guth, Earl McClung and Shifty Powers. Includes jump wings.

"The Liberators" is hand-signed by a collection of Easy Company paratrooper heroes! 

BUCK COMPTON
Buck Compton was born in Los Angeles in 1921. While studying at UCLA from 1939 to 1943, he lettered on the football and baseball teams. Compton was on the UCLA team that played in the 1943 Rose Bowl. He participated in ROTC for four years then left his studies to attend Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in May 1943.

Compton joined Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in England in December 1943. He participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. He received the Silver Star and Bronze Star awards for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty.

Compton remained in the active reserves from 1946 to 1966 and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He completed a degree in law, and subsequently served as an LAPD detective, as a Deputy DA, and as Chief Deputy DA for LA County. In 1968, Compton handled the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Compton as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, a post from which he retired in 1990.

FORREST GUTH
Forrest Guth was born in the Pennsylvania German area of the Lehigh Valley. After high school, he worked for Bethlehem Steel making armor plating. Despite being deferred from military service, he volunteered for the elite Army Paratroops. Guth trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and made 5 parachute jumps, earning his wings.

On D-Day, Guth parachuted into Normandy with Company E. After the Normandy campaign, Guth participated in the invasion of Holland, where he injured his back during the jump, due to a defective parachute.

After recuperating, Guth rejoined the company prior to the Battle of the Bulge. He served in that campaign as well as the push into Germany, where Guth served an important role as a translator, during E-Company's famous engagement when a special patrol crossed the river in the town of Hagenau, where they captured prisoners.

After the war, Guth studied education at Millersville University and then New York University, where he earned his masters. He then became a high school teacher, dedicating himself to educating and serving others.

EARL MCCLUNG
Earl McClung was born on April 27, 1923 at the Colville Indian Reservation in Inchelium, Washington. While in his senior year of high school, on Feb 15, 1943, McClung was drafted into the U.S. Army. He underwent infantry basic training at Camp Walters, Texas, and volunteered for Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

McClung joined Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina before shipping out to England. He participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations as a scout in the Third Platoon. He received two Bronze Star awards for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty.

McClung left the service in 1947 and worked for the Postal Service, for 17 years. He then worked for 13-years as a game warden on the Collvile Indian Reservation, a post from which he retired in 1988.

SHIFTY POWERS
Shifty Powers was born on March 13, 1923 in Clinchco, Virginia. Following high school, Powers underwent vocational training as a machinist at Norfolk Naval Yard.

Not wanting to "miss the war," in August 1942, at age 19, Powers, along with his friend, Robert "Popeye" Wynn, volunteered for the paratroops. Powers and Wynn became original members of Easy Company, 506th P.I.R. and underwent basic training with the unit at Camp Toccoa, Georgia.

As a member of Easy Company, and often times, a platoon scout, Powers participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. He received two Bronze Star awards for valor and was never wounded during his service.

Powers left the service in October 1945, after 3 years of duty. He made his post-war career as a machinist.