Stories on the sacrifice and special bonding within military units have always inspired us.

One of the special books in our home library is “Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends”, which is about William “Wild Bill” Guarnere and Edward “Babe” Heffron, both members of the famed 101st Airborne Division. Their World War II exploits were featured in the classic 2001 TV miniseries “Band of Brothers.”Although both were born 18 days apart and grew up just blocks from each other in South Philadelphia, it was their experiences in the tightly knit 101st Airborne that bonded them together. After reconnecting at home just after the war, the two became inseparable. They were regular guests at military shows in Allentown and at the World War II Weekend at Reading Airport, which is where I got to talk with them and had them sign their book.Like others in the 101st airborne, Guarnere and Heffron never considered themselves heroes. That title was reserved for their comrades who fell in battle.“The real men, the real heroes are the fellas that are still buried over there and those that came home to be buried,” Heffron said.Guarnere, Heffron and some other veterans from Easy Company were brought to England by producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to advise on the “Band of Brothers” movie and were flown to Paris for the series premiere. Heffron recalled how Hanks once told others in the film project, “Take care of Bill and Babe. Take care of my boys from South Philly.”More than a decade after the movie, many friends and family members in their hometown followed Hanks’ advice, raising money for two statues honoring the soldiers who became best friends.Guarnere died on March 8, 2014, at age 90. On Saturday, an 8-foot bronze statue of Guarnere by sculptor Chad Fisher was unveiled at the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Park in Newtown Square. It shows a senior Guarnere, who lost a leg while trying to save a comrade during the Battle of the Bulge, in uniform, standing on one leg and crutches.Heffron, who died three months before his friend on Dec. 1, 2013, also had a statue dedicated in his honor last April at the Heffron playground near the area where Heffron grew up. It depicts Heffron as a 20-year-old soldier in uniform getting ready to ship out.Robin Laing, who portrayed Heffron in the HBO series, said the humble veteran would not like all the attention given to him but if it makes people pause and reflect, or makes the younger kids curious, then he’d be happy with that.Betsy Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Foundation, said she hoped the statue will serve as a point of inspiration for young Philadelphians, showing them that they can accomplish anything they set out to, just like Bill and Babe did. Likewise, Philadelphia Councilman James F. Kenney, who helped the family with the project, said the message of accomplishing great things can also apply to our twentysomethings today.If the mission is to educate future generations, then we’re sure both Guarnere and Heffron would be pleased with the statue projects, not to exalt themselves but to honor all of their Screaming Eagle comrades in the 101st Airborne.By JIM ZBICK |

tneditor@tnonline.com   There is a small mistake, the Philadelphia Foundation is not in charge of the funds raised for Wild Bill's statue.  The Wild Bill Guarnere Memorial Find is in charge of their own funds.