Albert Mampre
Albert Mampre | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Al, PPP |
Born |
Oak Park, Illinois, United States | May 25, 1922
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1942-1945 |
Rank | Staff Sergeant |
Unit |
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division |
Battles/wars | |
Relations |
Virginia (wife) Virginia Mampre (daughter) Susan Wright (daughter) Elizabeth Celebucki (daughter) |
Staff Sergeant Albert Mampre (born May 25, 1922) was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Mampre's life story was featured in the 2009 book We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from Band of Brothers
Youth
Mampre was born in Oak Park, Illinois to an Armenian family. His family was Episcopalian, so Mampre thought of going into the ministry. He went to Methodist school, then to Ohio Northern University, and later to Hardin-Simmons in Texas.[1]
Military service
Mampre enlisted in Dallas in 1942 and volunteered to be a paratrooper.[1] He was sent to Toccoa, Georgia for training. The first day in Toccoa Mampre befriended Ed Pepping, who became a medic for Easy Company.[2] During training, one of the jobs for the medics was to make medical checks in the community in the Deep South.[3] Right before D-Day, he was in the hospital due to an infection in his neck and missed the jump.
Mampre made his first combat jump for Operation Market Garden on September 17, 1944. During the jump another trooper came through his chute, so he landed hard with the other man on top of his chest.[4] Mampre was in pain but kept going. When Lieutenant Bob Brewer was hit outside Eindhoven, Mampre came forward to help and got shot in his leg. Some Dutchmen helped by evacuating the two to an aid station. Despite his wound, Mampre donated blood in the aid station[4] Mampre rejoined Easy Company in Mourmelon, right before the unit was sent to Bastogne. He was put in regimental headquarters.[5] In Berchtesgaden, Mampre worked in the medical headquarters set up in a hotel.[6]
Later years
Mampre came home in September 1945. He married Virginia on November 17, 1945.[7] Mampre did not go into the ministry. Instead he studied psychology in University of Chicago.[7] He worked as a psychologist until his retirement in 1978.
Band of Brothers
The scene where Brewer was shot and a medic was trying to save him was reproduced in the fourth episode, Replacements, of the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. It is unclear, however, if that medic was intended to be Mampre, as his character was never mentioned in the miniseries and his name does not appear in the cast list.[8]
References
Bibliography
- Brotherton, Marcus (2009). We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from Band of Brothers). Berkley Trade. ISBN 0425234193.