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Carwood Lipton

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C. Carwood Lipton
First Lieutenant Carwood Lipton in Dress Uniform
Nickname(s)"Lip"
Born(1920-01-30)January 30, 1920
Huntington, West Virginia
DiedDecember 16, 2001(2001-12-16) (aged 81)
Southern Pines, North Carolina
Allegiance United States
Service / branchUnited States Army seal United States Army
Years of service1942–1945
Rank First Lieutenant[1]
UnitEasy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
Battles / warsWorld War II
Awards Bronze Star (2)
Purple Heart (3)
Other workGlass-making Executive

First Lieutenant Clifford Carwood Lipton (January 30, 1920 – December 16, 2001)[2] was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Lipton was portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. On the battlefields of Europe, he was promoted to Company First Sergeant and ultimately was awarded a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. He said "it was the greatest honor ever awarded" to him. He eventually earned a promotion to First Lieutenant before leaving the Army. Lipton was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us.[3]

Youth

Carwood Lipton was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. His father was killed in an automobile accident when he was ten[4] and his mother was involved in the same accident and was paralyzed. Since Carwood was the eldest child, she told him to be the "man of the family".[4] After completing one year at Huntington's Marshall University,[5] he left school due to financial troubles at home and went to work in war-related production.[4] After reading an article in Life Magazine on the difficulty of paratrooper training, and how the Airborne was one of the most highly trained branches of the Army,[4] Lipton enlisted and joined the paratroops on 15 August 1942 at Fort Thomas (Newport), Kentucky.[5]

Military service

Carwood Lipton rose through the ranks of the company, eventually becoming Company First Sergeant after the acting Company First Sergeant, James Diel, was given a battlefield commission and transferred within the 506th PIR. Lipton was always keeping the men's spirits high, pushing them to their full potential. This was recognized by the officers of Easy Company. He was also known as "The Man".

Carwood Lipton was the jumpmaster of one of the C-47 Skytrains that the paratroopers used to jump into Normandy. Lipton jumped into Normandy and was able to rendezvous with then First Lieutenant Richard Winters and several other men from the 101st, and two more from the 82nd Airborne Division. They were later reunited with several more Easy Company members and worked their way just south of their objective of Carentan.

During the Invasion of Normandy, Lipton was hit by German 88mm shrapnel,[6] but a medic patched him up and Lipton resumed fighting.[6] Lipton was teamed with Sergeant Mike Ranney during the Brécourt Manor Assault, where Easy Company was assigned the task of destroying four 105mm howitzers (originally thought to be 88mm) that were firing down on Utah Beach.[7] Lipton and Ranney climbed up a tree and sniped some Germans from a distance. Lipton used an M1 Carbine he had picked up after his jump to kill a German soldier from the tree.[7] Easy Company managed to destroy the four howitzers, and Lipton was awarded the Bronze Star[8] as a result of this action. Lipton was also involved in the assault on Carentan and was injured by shrapnel in the face and groin,[9][10] receiving the Purple Heart as a result.

Easy Company's slowly-depleting ranks became a problem during the run-up to Operation Market Garden, with the vacancies being filled by replacement soldiers. Lipton is remembered by many of the "replacement" veterans as being one of the very few men who immediately accepted them as true soldiers. Lipton was with Easy Company when they liberated Eindhoven and was part of an advanced scout team that scouted the route (bridge) ahead of the rest of the Company.

A small team of scouts was on "The Crossroads" in the Netherlands when a private of their squad was badly wounded by a German hand grenade and Easy Company was called to action. They were assigned the task of destroying any remaining German resistance at The Crossroads. Lipton was not among the original assault team of around ten men, but joined up the next morning with the rest of the Company. Easy Company managed to destroy over two Companies of SS situated at The Crossroads as a result of their surprise attack on the German position.

Operation Pegasus was a small operation where Easy Company was to cross the river on boats supplied by Royal Canadian Engineers and bring back over 140 British Paratroopers who were trapped when they pulled back from Arnhem. Lipton and First Lieutenant Frederick Heyliger oversaw the Operation.

After Easy Company's assault on the town of Foy, Lipton was told he would be awarded a battlefield commission as a Second Lieutenant,[11] receiving his official commission in Haguenau. Lipton later witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust at Kaufering concentration camp.

Lipton assisted Easy Company in the capture of Hitler's "Eagles' Nest" winter retreat at Berchtesgaden. While there, Lipton became acquainted with Ferdinand Porsche (partially responsible for the Panther and Tiger tanks), who spoke English very well.[12] They ate their meals together while Porsche was in a POW camp. Lipton remained with Easy Company through the end of the war, until the unit was disbanded after the official surrender of the Japanese forces.[13] He remained in the Army Reserve through to the Korean War, but was not deployed overseas again.[14]

Medals and Decorations

1st Lt Carwood Lipton's medals and decorations included :

Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Arrowhead
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Badge Combat Infantryman Badge
1st row Bronze Star Medal w/ 1 OLC Purple Heart with 2 oak leaf clusters Army Good Conduct Medal
2nd row American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 service stars and 1 arrow-device World War II Victory Medal
Unit Award Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 oak leaf cluster

Later years

Upon Lipton's return to the United States, he enrolled at Marshall University and completed his final three years graduating with a degree in Engineering.[15] Fresh with his degree, Lipton got a job with Owens Illinois Inc., a manufacturer of glass products and plastics packaging.[15] He rapidly advanced in the company and by 1952 had become Chief Operator.[16]

In 1966, Lipton moved to Bridgeton, New Jersey, where he became an Administrative Manager.[16] In 1967, O-I purchased a 50% interest in Giralt Laporta, a Madrid glass container company, and Lipton became general manager of the company.[17] In 1971, he and his wife moved to London, where he was the Director of Manufacturing for eight different glass companies in England and Scotland for several years.[16] In 1982, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, and retired a year later from his post as Director of International Development.[16] Lipton spent his retirement years in the town of Southern Pines, North Carolina.[15]

C. Carwood Lipton died on 16 December 2001 of pulmonary fibrosis in Southern Pines, North Carolina.[15] He is survived by his wife Marie and his three sons; Clifford Carwood III, Thomas, Michael, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.[15]

In the media

Lipton appeared on two television shows, providing commentary in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers and an accompanying documentary, We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company.

References

  1. ^ "Clifford Carwood Lipton (1920 - 2001) - Find A Grave Photos".
  2. ^ "RootsWeb: Database Index".
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ a b c d Alexander, p.88.
  5. ^ a b "NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)".
  6. ^ a b Winters, p.177.
  7. ^ a b Ambrose, pp.79-84.
  8. ^ Ambrose, p.85.
  9. ^ Winters, p.279.
  10. ^ Guarnere and Heffron, p.75.
  11. ^ Winters, p.201.
  12. ^ Ambrose, p.276.
  13. ^ Winters, p.25.
  14. ^ Winters, p.277.
  15. ^ a b c d e Goldstein, Richard (24 December 2001). "C. Carwood Lipton, 81, Figure in 'Band of Brothers,' Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  16. ^ a b c d Jones, Josh (26 September 2001). "Hometown Hero: Marshall alumnus Clifford Carwood Lipton inspires D-Day mini-series "Band of Brothers"". The Parthenon. Retrieved 16 January 2006.
  17. ^ [No Headline], The Daily Journal (Vinland, New Jersey) August 3, 1967, page 17, accessed November 6, 2017 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14932292/no_headline_the_daily_journal/

Bibliography

  • Winters, Richard D.; Cole C. Kingseed (2006). Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-425-20813-3.
  • Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-6411-6.
  • Alexander, Larry (2005). Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers. NAL Caliber. ISBN 0-451-21510-9.
  • Guarnere, William J.; Edward J. Heffron (2007). Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story. with Robyn Post. Berkley Caliber. ISBN 978-0-425-21970-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  • Brotherton, Marcus (2010). A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us. Berkley Caliber. ISBN 978-0-425-23420-4.
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