Lester Hashey

Born 23 Feb 1925 · Bangor, Maine, USA

Lester A. “Les” Hashey (February 23, 1925 – December 11, 2002) was an American Army non-commissioned officer and World War II veteran. He served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and later remained in the U.S. Army for 20 years, retiring as a First Sergeant in 1963.

Born in Bangor, Maine, Hashey left his job at a shipyard on his 18th birthday and enlisted in the Army with the goal of becoming a paratrooper. After completing basic and airborne training, he was assigned to an airborne artillery unit and deployed to Europe in 1944. He arrived in Scotland on D-Day, June 6, 1944, having missed the initial airborne assault into Normandy.

When the 101st Airborne returned from Normandy, Hashey joined Easy Company and was assigned to Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman’s squad. He subsequently participated in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge. On January 14, 1945, while fighting near Bastogne, he was seriously wounded when shrapnel struck his shoulder and punctured his lung, ending his combat service.

After recovering, Hashey served with a Military Police unit in Belgium before returning to the United States. He reenlisted and later served as a driver for the Army Finance Corps in France, Holland and Belgium before being assigned to Berlin. He also served with the 501st Army Security Agency …