Staff Sergeant Earl Tex Hale

 

Staff Sergeant Earl “Tex” Hale 39393613 US Army Airborne. Sergeant Hale was a Toccoa Man and he originally started out as a communicator in 2nd Battalion HQ Company. After landing in Normandy, he quickly attached himself to several passing Easy Company men. Hale was transferred to Easy Company soon after the company returned from Normandy. He jumped into Holland with HQ Platoon of Easy Company. In March 1945 Hale was brought in to be the platoon sergeants for first platoon the majority of the men in first platoon were not happy about this because Sgt. Johnny Martin got passed over. 

On January 15, 1945  2 days before his 30th birthday Hale “was one of the first into Rachamps. He and Liebgott ducked into a barn, where they surprised and made prisoners of six SS officers. Hale lined them up nose to nose and told them that if he and Liebgott got killed they were going to take the Germans with them. Hale covered them with his Tommy-gun to make the point.

A shell exploded outside. Hale was standing by the door. He got hit by a piece of shrapnel and went down. An SS officer pulled his knife from his boot and slashed Hale’s throat. He failed to cut an artery or sever the windpipe, but did cut the esophagus. Blood gushed out. Liebgott shot the officer who did the cutting, then the others. Medic Roe got sulfa powder on Hale’s wound. A jeep evacuated him to Luxembourg, where an amazed doctor patched him up, leaving a crooked esophagus. Because of Hale’s condition, the doctor gave him a medical order stating that he did not have to wear a necktie. (Later, Hale was stopped by an irate General Patton who chewed him out for not wearing his necktie. Hale triumphantly produced his slip of paper, leaving Patton for once speechless.)”

When Sergeant Hale, “had his Bronze Star presented to him by General Eisenhower. Ike wanted to know why he was not wearing a tie. Hale explained. When General Taylor confirmed Hale’s story, Ike gave his big laugh and said Hale was the only man in the entire European Theater of Operations to pull this one off.”

1- Photo from the Private collection of Timothy A. Malone

2- Stephen Ambrose Band of brothers

3-  Teun Van Doorn Photographs of documents.