Does anyone know if Joe Liebgott ever attended any of the Easy Company reunions?  Or if he is still alive?

Here is a post by "polyglotz" from the HBO message boards from last November.  

"I did a little bit of poking around in old city directories and it turns out that Liebgott lived in Oakland, CA, just across the bay from San Francisco, before the war and was a barber there. He may or may not have commuted to SF and hacked a cab there, but he was apparently never a San Francisco resident. He lived with his parents Joseph Sr (also a barber) and Mary.

I found a listing in a people-finder database for a Joe Liebgott now living in rural California. Since Liebgott is not that common a name I thought I'd take a chance and call him, and, yes, Joe Liebgott was his father and he's Joseph Liebgott III! He said had come back from the war and lived in California all the time until he died about six years ago. He had had eight kids, so the "houseful of little Liebgotts" part of Joe's wish on the truck had come true (I didn't have the nerve to ask about the other half of the wish). There were kids running around in the background of the phone conversation, too. Joseph III was aware of the HBO series, called it "Band of Brothers" before I mentioned the name, but doesn't get HBO and hasn't seen his sister's tapes of the series yet. He said that as far as he knew no one from the Unit or the series had ever contacted the family and that at any rate his dad had never liked to talk about the war; when he came back the war was over and that was that. One of Joseph III's brothers has some of Joe's patches and "a book" but that's about it. Also, Joseph III said he had never hear of his father being a cabbie--he was a barber.

I didn't want to intrude further but I did ask him if I could pass his name and address on to KidNap, as Unit Historian, since there are people out there who would be interested in learning more about what Joe did after the war, and he said sure, he'd be glad to hear from him."

Jake Powers (KidNapEasyWhite) of e506th.com has never posted the results of any contact with the Liebgott family, so we really don't know much more than the above information.  

There's been no further news about Liebgott.  I read somewhere that it was Bill Guarnere who reached him a long time ago about attending a reunion, but I'm not certain that's the case.  Maybe Gene or Gino can ask.   BK

I will ask my dad about Liebgott this weekend. Stay tuned. Gene

You know, I noticed that it was Liebgott shaving heads to make "Mohawks" while E-Company was staging at Uppottery in episode 1. I guess he was applying his barber skills even then.

Hello all.  I would like to add my thoughts about Liebgott here and I find him a sensitive, normal man placed in extraordinary circumstances.  He displays wonderful emotion and reaction when the slave labor camp is found by Easy Co.  When Col. SInk orders the laborers and Jewish folk found in the concentration camp to be detained until medical personnel can evaluate and treat the prisoners and when Liebgott has to translate the news to the prisoners detained, he sits in the truck and sheds tears.  I can hear the heartache in his voice.  To have freedom delivered and yet be denied some things was very to understand for all the men.. I would have done the same thing, give all the food you can, water, blankets and support.  As hard as he was for prisoners of war, Liebgott is a compassionate man..

I spoke to my dad this weekend about leibgott and he are his thoughts. He told me he was a great soldier and a very nice man. After the war was over my dad and many others tried to contact him to no avail. They simply did not know where he was. As the years passed I guess he faded away. I know he has children and to my knowledge they do not want to be bothered. Thanks Gene.

Thanks for the info about Liebgott, Gene.  And add me to the list of those wishing your father a very happy (belated) birthday, and hoping for many more to come!

Tony

Congrats, Sgt. ToeKnee!

LOL  Thank you Captain Paul, Sir!

It's been a long and slow, but enjoyable, climb out of the enlisted ranks.

Tony

Congrats sgt.ToeKnee!  I can barely keep up with who is being promoted anymore. Sue

Congrats fellow sgt. Toeknee. Now I can't order you around anymore

Oh yes you can Lt Daffie!  Congrats!

Donna

HA  Didn't see that.
Okay then, but not today because we have a big festive day in Holland. It's Queensday. Where we celebrate the birthday of our queen....or actually our queen mother.
So today I will be nice to all the buck privates and sergeants.
Please be nice to me as well all you captains and of course majors

Of course we will Daffie! And Happy Queens Day!

Donna

I read in the TV Guide that Liebgott did not want to be bothered with the making of the series.  His father said that his son had a breakdown after the war & he wanted no part in any reunion & to leave his son alone.  It is sad to know what happens to people after the war but I am sure that Liebgott is not the only person after the war who did not want to think or remember what they went thru during those hard times.

Congrats Sgt. TonKnee and Lt. Daffie!!!

A hearty salute to lt.Daffie!!  :D Sue

Thank you for making my promotion possible.
After all if there weren't so many interesting lessons to learn here I would still be a buck private and dig holes for the higher ranks

O, and by the way (has nothing to do with this topic) it was queensday today and as a surprise Queen (without Freddy of course) performed in Amsterdam, and we didn't have to pay (how Dutch )

Congrats, Lt. Daffie
Sounds like Queensday was alot of fun!!!

Thanks for the congratulations, folks.  And congratulations to you, Lt. Daffie, Sir! (or is it Ma'am?)

To BoB Queen  - thanks so much for posting that info about Liebgott. He's one of my favorite characters in the show and one person whom I would really like to know more about.

Tony

No problem, ToeKnee
I just remembered the article about him & thought that you might be interested.
Melissa

I spent a lot of time with Ross MCall in New Orleans and he is one terrific character with a strong British accent. A nice side bar to the premieres. Gene.

Thanks Toeknee for the congrats. Keep up the good work and you'll be climbing the ranks very fast

Daphne

Ps: It's actually ma'am, but sir sounds tougher

Liebgott was also a character that I really loved and it was heartbreaking to see what he had to go through in "Why we fight".
By the way, are there more members of easy company that didn't want to have contact anymore with their company?
How about Lt. Speirs, he was such a very different character from the other members of easy company?

Lt Daffie,
I read a message board from Speirs's stepson that he does not believe that he was a hero & does not like to discuss the war.  But he appreciates all of the sincere messages that people have expressed about him.  He seems to be quite humble about himself.  (He is my favorite character in the series)  I believe the message came from Medic Eugene Roe's website but I can not swear to it.  I have been reading so much material on the BoB's & general WWII information that everything is coming together.  Hope this helps!!
Melissa

Thank you Bob queen. Speirs was one of my favorites too although I have many favorites in the series, but he just astonished me. Like where he run through a village packed with German soldiers to warn the other companies at the other side of the village and then run back again.
My mouth fell to my knees and my eyes almost popped out. What is it that some people can do these kind of actions? Don't they feel fear or think rationaly at that point?
I just have one word for it : Amazing. And that's for everybody in that company.

Congratulations to everyone who has promotions, Well Done

BoBQueen, thanks for the update on Liebgott,  I have experienced a similar situation regarding my uncles who served in WW2, the one who was in Europe will talk about it, the other who was in the Pacific won't and I dont push that, the third has passed away.  Thanks again.

Not surprising, Norse.  Seems to be the way of it.  The men of the ETO have been a little more forthcoming when they do decide to speak. The men of the PTO still are not.  

I know I'm always imploring people to read books, but that's where the knowledge is.  So here's another winner on the PTO and the viewpoint of the soldier on the ground.  Goodbye, Darkness by William Manchester.  Non-fiction and as raw as it gets. It was a different war in the Pacific.  Let me know what you think.  BK

Thank you Homefront, you, as always, come throught for everyone.  I have name of the book written down,  I will order it and  look forward to reading it.   I talked with my cousin, the son of the pacific theate soldier, and I understand completely just how hard it is for him recall old, terrible memories.

My dad never said one word about the war. My brother and I never knew what he did in the army. If he didn't have one leg we wouldn't have known he was even in the service. After Band of Brothers he can't hide behind his silence. Even now most of the stories I hear are from other veterans. Gene.

Gene,

I guess the veteran's all have their own way of processing what happened to them, although the most common method seems to be to keep it inside and just not talk about it unless the veteran feels compelled (as in relaying memories for a book or BoB, or in private with an old comrade).

It seems that true heros like Wild Bill had no need to brag about their actions and experiences, they lived it and knew what their contributions were. It's a great example for the rest of us.

Paul

Gene, I agree with Pauls comments,  this was proven by the men of Easy Co. who looked for and found Talbert.  He was one who did have difficulty when he returned to the States.  I am impressed with the guys when they took him under their wing and tried to help him.  Does Bill have any input about Talbert and the time spent trying to find him and help him?  I like Winters' comments about if he had to take one man into combat it would have been Talbert.  This is a very good recommendation from the head man...I am just curious...

I'm curious too, Norse.  Talbert seemed like such a lovely guy in BOB and during Points I felt sad when 'Winters' narrated that they lost touch with Talbert until he came to a reunion just before he died.

Donna

I bet Talbert and all of the men of Easy Co. were happy he was able to attend the reunion before he passed away.

This might better go on the "books" thread, but BK's completely right about "Goodbye, Darkness."  Manchester is indispensable, especially in his incomplete bio of Churchill, "The Last Lion."

But, BK, I'm not sure that I've ever forgiven Manchester for his literary device in "GD."  Whatever, it's a terrific source of insight for the PTO.

Norse, I think you're right.  It must have meant a lot to him and them to see him once more before he died.

Donna

All of the men of easy were contacted or they were not able to be found. Some vets did not want to be bothered and some were not found. My dad does not elaborate on this issue as it's in the past and there is no sense in digging it up. It's just the way of life. I'm sorry I can't give more info on this. Thanks Gene.

Thank you Gene for checking into this...Your efforts are always appreciated.  Norse..

Melissa, I just came across this and found it very interesting. Do you have a web address for Eugene Roes website? I would love to take a look. And as the others stated here some of the Veterans just dont go to these reunions or talk about their time in the military. My Dad has never been to one, and really didnt start talking about his military life until my children were in high school and came home telling about a docum,entary they saw on the Korean War, and the awful conditions that the men had to endure, and his first statement was I know I was there.....Now we talk all the time and we almost met up withone of his best budies a couple years agao but fate threw a bunch of curves, and he passed a way before we got to finalize our meeting. The rest of my dads buddies are pretty much gone now so he doesnt attend reunions Thanks for this thread and my respects to the Liebgotts
Cindy

Cindy,

I'm sure Melissa doesn't mind if I pass this on to you. Eugen Roe's website can be found here :
http://www.kramerg.com/tircuit/

Thank you so very much I appreciate this I will be taking a look thanks Cindy

Thanks, sundowner, for giving Cindy the link to Doc Roe's site.
Chris & Derek did a wonderful job on the site - they are Eugene's grandsons.
Check it out, Cindy, I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Sorry I didn't respond earlier, I was busy in my foxhole...... .........
Melissa

I looked at Doc Roe's site tonight . I liked the way they had a thread for each soldier so you could read post and see pictures. A lot of family members posted there as well. I read alot of post from people that post here at WBG- WBG.com site was referenced a lot there as well.

Another excellent site. It would be nice if each member could his own site. It is great to have insight into the men before, during and after the war. This site has such great detectives.

Thank you for that on Liebgott. He was the first guy I liked from Easy Company and I'm not talking about the actor... From what I've read and heard, he was a really nice fellow with a good heart. Bless his family. I wish I got the chance to sit down and talk to him. That would be interesting. Rest in peace Joe. God bless the Liebgott family.
Hoobler and Muck fan

One of the things that draws me to BOB the most is how these guys were so totally different and yet worked so well together. I think today so many ppl look for how and why they are different from one another and use that to shy away or simple not interact. It seems these guys were so open with their differences and we're afraid to be blunt... ie: "you stupid mick" These men were such characters and my sense of it is that the HBO series as well as it was done most likely didn't quite get there!
Liebgott is a pefect example. I wish his family well and for him to rest in peace.

I really didn't know he was a barber. I always thought that he was a cab driver. But if you take a look at part 1, you can see Ross McCall as a barber on the airfield of Upottery and if you read the book you can read the same about that. Maybe that is a point which convinced people that he was a barber.

Frank

http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/index.php?showtopic=1769

Subsequent to the messages in this thread, we learned more about Joe Liebgott.

Also, run a Search on Liebgott in the Episodes Forum. We've had more discussions about him there. And elselwhere too, I suppose. BK

I've come to find over the years that every member of every company of every division tells me how close such strangers had to become in order to survive.

My grandfather served in the 292nd and talking to his former "brothers" most of them said he fit right in despite being from Michigan. Most of the members were from out east, automatically giving them common ground.

Just a quick note.

- Sam

Bumped for Joe Liebgott!