Robert Brewer

Robert Burnham "Bob" Brewer (31 January 1924 – 5 December 1996) was a United States Army officer during World War II, assigned to E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Brewer was portrayed, without credit by Canadian actor Brandon Firla, in one episode of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Early life Robert Burnham Brewer was born on 31 January 1924 in Fresno, California.

Career Brewer was a Boy Scout. As a student at the Harvard School in Los Angeles, Brewer excelled in sports and enrolled in ROTC training. In 1942, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and volunteered for duty with the newly forming airborne divisions. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Brewer was the assistant Platoon Leader of the Second Battalion's 81mm mortar platoon when he parachuted into Normandy on D-Day. Following the Division's return for rest and refitting in England, he was reassigned to the 1st Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion as assistant platoon leader. The round hit him in the throat below the jawline, knocking him down. Some of his men ran to his assistance but concluded he was too seriously wounded to survive, and left him to be cared for by the platoon medics. He and medic Albert Mampre, who was shot while helping him, were eventually helped by local farmer, who stenched the flow of blood and dressed Brewer's wound. They were eventually evacuated to an aid station. Brewer rejoined E Company at the end of the war after he had recovered. During training with the CIA, he ran into Amos Taylor, who had joined the CIA after the war as well, and the two became close friends. Following his service in Vietnam, Brewer spent a tour in Northern Thailand, helping the Thai government defeat a Communist insurgency, and aiding its efforts to eradicate opium production in the Golden Triangle area of Burma (Myanmar), Laos, and Thailand. He retired from government service in 1973.

Later life and death In retirement, Brewer and his family moved to La Cañada, California, to enroll his son in a preparatory school run by an old friend. He taught courses at the school and worked with Explorer Scouts. After his son graduated and entered college, Brewer and his wife moved to Reno, Nevada, close to a family-owned property where he had spent enjoyable summers as a boy.

On 5 December 1996, Brewer died in California of lung cancer, leaving his wife Ruth, and five children, Mary Elizabeth, Robert Burnham, Nathan Hale, Virginia Ruth, and Wheaton Hale Brewer.