Albert Blithe – Master Sergeant, United States Army

Master Sergeant Albert Blithe

June 25, 1923-December 17, 1967
“I’m a paratrooper . . . that’s my job.”

Private Albert Blithe was one of the Easy Company paratroopers featured in Episode 3 Carentan of the HBO Band of Brothers mini-series. In that episode, Blithe is first struck with a temporary case of hysterical blindness and then severely wounded in the neck. Fellow Easy Company Currahee veterans had thought that Blithe did not recover from his neck wound and had died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1948.

After viewing the mini-series, relatives of Albert Blithe have come forward with information and documentation that Blithe was wounded in the right shoulder, recovered from his wounds, attended the 1st Annual Reunion of the 101st Airborne Division Association, and subsequently went on to have an outstanding Army career (including over 600 parachute jumps and a MAAG assignment in Taiwan).

Blithe died in 1967 while on active duty in Germany, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

ALBERT BLITHE

• MSGT USA
• VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
• DATE OF BIRTH: 06/25/1923
• DATE OF DEATH: 12/17/1967
• DATE OF INTERMENT: 12/28/1967
• BURIED AT: SECTION 31  SITE 7672
  ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

ALBERT BLITHE

MSGT USA
DATE OF BIRTH: 06/25/1923
DATE OF DEATH: 12/17/1967
BURIED AT: SECTION 31  SITE 7672
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard