Original Item: Only One Available. This is a truly remarkable piece of history! It is not just any ordinary patch, but a genuine World War Two 101st Airborne Division White Tongue Path, which belonged to the legendary Band of Brother's William J. “Wild Bill” Guarnere Jr! This incredible patch was given by Guarnere to the collector who attended the event.

It is accompanied by an “Official Atlantic League Baseball" by Rawlings, which has been signed by both William J. “Wild Bill” Guarnere and Edward James "Babe" Heffron. The fascinating pair came to us from an individual who had the honor of meeting the two veterans after a Lancaster Barnstormers baseball game in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 2011. It was at this baseball game that they hosted an unforgettable event later that evening called “Hang Tough: A Tribute to Dick Winters and the Men of Easy Company”.

Accompanying both the baseball, patch and other documents is a signed and notarized letter attesting to the authenticity of all the pieces and that the patch was given to the collector by Guarnere himself.

On a memorable Monday evening of June 6, 2011, the Lancaster Barnstormers baseball club organized an event that was nothing short of a tribute of the highest order. Titled "Hang Tough: A Tribute to Major Dick Winters and the Men of Easy Company", this event was a heartfelt homage to the brave soldiers who fought for E "Easy" Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division during WWII.

The pregame ceremony was attended by original veterans of Easy Company, who had been a part of this elite division. The ceremony also saw the presence of cast members from HBO's critically acclaimed series, "Band of Brothers". The entire event was a culmination of a variety of WWII and Easy Company memorabilia, including uniforms, medals, and weapons that were put up for auction.

This event became an unforgettable night, as people from all walks of life came together to remember and honor the brave soldiers who fought to protect our freedom.

The shoulder sleeve insignia is a rare and unique white tongue variant of the famous "Screaming Eagle" patch. This highly sought-after patch features a black twill background, making it quite distinct from other variations. It is in excellent condition, which adds to its desirability, but it is extremely difficult to find. One of the most intriguing aspects of this patch is that it does not glow under a black-light. This fact indicates that it was produced before 1945, which makes it a true collector's item. In an attempt to provide visual evidence of its authenticity, we tried to take a picture of the patch on a white backdrop with a black-light, but the difficulty of the task made it impossible to get usable images. Nonetheless, we can assure you that this is an authentic patch that was owned by none other than "Wild Bill" himself.

This exceptional pair of items is linked to one of the most distinguished Airborne Divisions of WWII, and bears the signatures of two world-renowned members of the esteemed "Easy Company". Items such as these two and their history is something only heard of in dreams! We are honored to bring this dream to reality by offering you the opportunity to own and display them!

Comes more than ready for display.

E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)
E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the phonetic alphabet used during World War II. The experiences of its members during that war are the subject of the 1992 book Band of Brothers by historian Stephen Ambrose and the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name.

Easy Company was activated in 1942 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, as a part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was an experimental airborne unit consisting of volunteers trained to jump from C-47 transport planes into hostile territory. The company consisted of a headquarters section and three platoons. Each platoon consisted of two 12-man rifle squads (later changed to three) with a machine gun team and a 6-man mortar squad. Easy Company's initial commander was 1st Lieutenant Herbert Sobel, with 2nd Lt. Clarence Hester serving as his executive officer. Lts. Salve H. Matheson, Richard Winters, and Walter Moore were the original leaders of the three platoons. Lewis Nixon would eventually join Easy Company as an assistant to Winters in 2nd Platoon.

The cadre of drill instructors assigned to train Easy Company consisted of 1/Sgt. Harvey H. Morehead and S/Sgts. Stedman, Ford, and Kudla. After Easy Company had completed jump training in Fort Benning, the cadre was reassigned and replaced by enlisted men from the original group of privates, including 1/Sgt. Sergeant William Evans, S/Sgts. James Diel, Terrence Harris, and Myron Ranney, and Sgts. Leo Boyle, Bill Guarnere, Carwood Lipton, John Martin, Robert Rader, and Amos Taylor.

Under the command of Sobel, the men of Easy Company were pushed to its limits during the training phase of the unit to weed out unfit soldiers. The men would run up the nearby Currahee Mountain three to four times a week, completing the six mile round trip in fifty minutes. They would also endure a grueling obstacle course on a daily basis, as well as frequent calisthenics drills and night marches. While the men detested their commander for his harsh and unforgiving attitude, many veterans have attributed Sobel's training methods to their soldiering abilities and perseverance on the battlefield.

After the initial training phase was completed, Easy Company participated in a well-publicized 115-mile march to Atlanta, Georgia, along with the rest of the 2nd Battalion. Their final destination was Fort Benning, where the unit underwent jump training. The initial stage of parachute school (physical training) was skipped when it was realized that the Toccoa men were in much better physical condition than the jump training instructors. After spending a few weeks familiarizing themselves with the equipment and jumping off towers of varying height, the men entered the final stage of parachute school. Those who successfully made the five jumps from a C-47 would become qualified Army parachutists.

In March of 1943, the company would relocate to Camp MacKall for advanced field training exercises before shipping out to Aldbourne, England in September for the planned invasion of Europe. Prior to the invasion, Sobel was relieved from duty and reassigned to Chilton Foliat as a result of a court-martial fiasco involving his then X.O. Richard Winters and an ensuing NCO mutiny. To restore order in Easy Company, Col. Robert Sink gave command of Easy Company to 1st Lt. Thomas Meehan while transferring two of the company's platoon sergeants out of the company.

The company would participated in Operation Overlord, but 1st Lt. Meehan and most of the headquarters section were killed when their C-47 was downed. With most of the company scattered throughout the Cotentin Peninsula, many would form ad hoc units with paratroopers from other outfits until they could reorganize with Easy Company. 1st Lt. Winters assumed command of the men and would participate in the assault on Brécourt Manor, the Battle of Carentan, and the Battle of Bloody Gulch before being pulled off the line. Winters would be promoted to captain and became the official commander of Easy Company after the death of Meehan had been confirmed. He would lead the unit until Holland, where he would be promoted to executive officer of 2nd Battalion.

1st Lt. Norman Dike was assigned to lead Easy Company during the unit's time in Bastogne, but was relieved of command and replaced by 1st Lt. Ronald Speirs during the Battle for Foy. Speirs would remain in this position for the rest of the war until the unit's deactivation.