| Albert Blithe | |
| Nickname: | Al |
| Birth Date: | 25 June 1923 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Death Place: | Wiesbaden, West Germany |
| Placeofburial: | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance: | United States |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1942–1967 |
| Rank: | Master Sergeant |
| Unit: | Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team |
| Battles: | |
| Awards: | Silver Star Bronze Star Medal (3) Purple Heart (3)[1] |
| Relations: | Kay Blithe (wife)Gordon Blithe (son) |
Albert Blithe (June 25, 1923 – December 17, 1967)[2] [3] was an American career soldier who served as a private first class with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He served again with the Airborne during the Korean War and was twice decorated for gallantry. He eventually rose to the rank of Master Sergeant in the Army. His life story was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us by Marcus Brotherton.[4]
Blithe was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[5] After completing three years of high school, he enlisted for the paratroopers on August 18, 1942, in his hometown.[5]
Blithe trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, in August 1942 under Captain Herbert Sobel. Blithe jumped with the rest of Easy Company into occupied France as part of the massive Airborne invasion; however, when he landed, he found himself lost. Blithe was joined by a number of other paratroopers who were also part of the mis-drops. They teamed up together and found the rest of Easy Company.
As portrayed in Band of Brothers by Marc Warren, Blithe was struck with a temporary case of hysterical blindness following the fierce fight to capture Carentan.[6] He recovered and was part of a patrol investigating a farmhouse a few days later, where he was shot in the collar bone by a sniper. He recovered from the wound[7] and was awarded a Purple Heart on June 25, 1944. The series inaccurately states that he never recovered from the wounds he received, and died in 1948.[8]
Due to his wound, on October 1, 1944, he was sent home and never returned to the European Theater of Operations.[2]
Blithe was released from the Army Hospital October 8, 1945, which has been verified by his discharge paperwork at the end of World War II. He attended the first annual reunion of the 101st Airborne Division Association. He returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and started a career with Westinghouse Electric.
Blithe also served in Korea with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for jumping behind enemy lines surrounded by a Chinese battalion.[9] He was later assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taiwan. He never retired from military service.
On December 10, 1967, while on active duty in Germany, Blithe felt nauseated when he returned from a weekend at Bastogne, Belgium, where he had taken part in the ceremonies commemorating the Battle of the Bulge. On December 11, 1967, Blithe was taken to the emergency department at Wiesbaden Hospital, Germany, where he was admitted with a diagnosis of a perforated ulcer. He died in the intensive care unit on December 17 after surgery, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.
Blithe was portrayed by actor Marc Warren in the popular HBO series Band of Brothers. In the end screen of episode 3 "Carentan", it is said that Blithe "never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy" and that he died in 1948. This was a false death claim as none of the other veterans from Easy Company found out what happened to him, and believed he died in 1948 from his wound. Stephen Ambrose, who collected the veteran's memories, regarded this as factual information, and wrote that in his book "Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest (1992)". The Blithe family later refuted this which led to corrections in the subsequent editions of that same book.[10] The series, and resulting DVDs or Blu-Ray discs do not have these changes, and still present the false death claim.