#ronald c. speirs

[yourspeirs]

Happy Birthday

Ronald Charles Speirs was born on April 20, 1920 and would've turned 104 today. Rest easy.

[a-gassy-antelope]

[bleedingcoffee42]

[ww2yaoi]

sorry I’m just a sucker for the trope where the strong rugged man who’s overly competent and constantly in control in his professional life is more submissive in bed and gives the whole facade up for a little while because that’s the one place he can feel vulnerable and indulge in someone else taking the reigns to the point where it’s cathartic and um yeah that’s about it. post

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

it's unjustifiably stupid but man, I have always wanted a WWII or Vietnam era/style parachute rig.

[balladofthe101st]

The way I bellowed POWERS like speirs but a bad impression of him

Serial number 13066266 Sargeant Darell C. Poweeeerrrrss ✨

[rockpaperscissuhs]

Band of Brothers Birthdays

January

1 John S. Zielinski Jr. (b. 1925)

21 Richard D. “Dick” Winters (b. 1918)

26 Herbert M. Sobel (b. 1912)

30 Clifford Carwood "Lip" Lipton (b. 1920)

31 Warren H. “Skip” Muck (b. 1922) & Robert B. Brewer (b. 1924)

February

8 Clarence R. Hester (b. 1916)

18 Thomas A. Peacock (b. 1920)

23 Lester A. “Les” Hashey (b. 1925)

March

1 Charles E. “Chuck” Grant (b. 1922)

2 Colonel Robert L. “Bob” Strayer (b. 1910)

4 Wayne “Skinny” Sisk (b. 1922)

10 Frank J. Perconte (b. 1917)

13 Darrell C. “Shifty” Powers (b. 1923)

14 Joseph J. “Joe” Toye (b. 1919)

24 John D. “Cowboy” Halls (b. 1922)

26 George Lavenson (b. 1917) & George H. Smith Jr. (1922)

27 Gerald J. Loraine (b. 1913)

April

3 Colonel Robert F. “Bob” Sink (b. 1905) & Patrick S. “Patty” O’Keefe (b. 1926)

5 John T. “Johnny” Julian (b. 1924)

10 Renée B. E. Lemaire (b. 1914)

11 James W. Miller (b. 1924)

15 Walter S. “Smokey” Gordon Jr. (b. 1920)

20 Ronald C. “Sparky” Speirs (b. 1920)

23 Alton M. More (b. 1920)

27 Earl E. “One Lung” McClung (b. 1923) & Henry S. “Hank” Jones Jr. (b. 1924)

28 William J. “Wild Bill” Guarnere (b. 1923)

May

12 John W. “Johnny” Martin (b. 1922)

16 Edward J. “Babe” Heffron (b. 1923)

17 Joseph D. “Joe” Liebgott (b. 1915)

19 Norman S. Dike Jr. (b. 1918) & Cleveland O. Petty (b. 1924)

25 Albert L. "Al" Mampre (b. 1922)

June

2 David K. "Web" Webster (b. 1922)

6 Augusta M. Chiwy ("Anna") (b. 1921)

13 Edward D. Shames (b. 1922)

17 George Luz (b. 1921)

18 Roy W. Cobb (b. 1914)

23 Frederick T. “Moose” Heyliger (b. 1916)

25 Albert Blithe (b. 1923)

28 Donald B. "Hoob" Hoobler (b. 1922)

July

2 Gen. Anthony C. "Nuts" McAuliffe (b. 1898)

7 Francis J. “Frank” Mellet (b. 1920)

8 Thomas Meehan III (b. 1921)

9 John A. Janovec (b. 1925)

10 Robert E. “Popeye” Wynn (b. 1921)

16 William S. Evans (b. 1910)

20 James H. “Moe” Alley Jr. (b. 1922)

23 Burton P. “Pat” Christenson (b. 1922)

29 Eugene E. Jackson (b. 1922)

31 Donald G. "Don" Malarkey (b. 1921)

August

3 Edward J. “Ed” Tipper (b. 1921)

10 Allen E. Vest (b. 1924)

15 Kenneth J. Webb (b. 1920)

18 Jack E. Foley (b. 1922)

26 Floyd M. “Tab” Talbert (b. 1923) & General Maxwell D. Taylor (b. 1901)

29 Joseph A. Lesniewski (b. 1920)

31 Alex M. Penkala Jr. (b. 1924)

September

3 William H. Dukeman Jr. (b. 1921)

11 Harold D. Webb (b. 1925)

12 Major Oliver M. Horton (b. 1912)

27 Harry F. Welsh (b. 1918)

30 Lewis “Nix” Nixon III (b. 1918)

October

5 Joseph “Joe” Ramirez (b. 1921) & Ralph F. “Doc” Spina (b. 1919) & Terrence C. "Salty" Harris (b. 1920)

6 Leo D. Boyle (b. 1913)

10 William F. “Bill” Kiehn (b. 1921)

15 Antonio C. “Tony” Garcia (b. 1924)

17 Eugene G. "Doc" Roe (b. 1922)

21 Lt. Cl. David T. Dobie (b. 1912)

28 Herbert J. Suerth Jr. (b. 1924)

31 Robert "Bob" van Klinken (b. 1919)

November

11 Myron N. “Mike” Ranney (b. 1922)

20 Denver “Bull” Randleman (b. 1920)

December

12 John “Jack” McGrath (b. 1919)

31 Lynn D. “Buck” Compton (b. 1921)

Unknown Date

Joseph P. Domingus

Richard J. Hughes (b. 1925)

Maj. Louis Kent

Father John Mahoney

George C. Rice

SOURCES

Military History Fandom Wiki

Band of Brothers Fandom Wiki

Traces of War

Find a Grave

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

Leader. Killer. Bloody. Brave. These were the words used—often with affection—to describe Ronald C. Speirs as he was known and remembered by those who served in his ranks.

Speirs’s reputation preceded him. One generally did not stand in his way or dare defy his authority.

Popular imagination suggests some men were hesitant to even look him in the eye for fear of reprisal. At the same time, Speirs did not always exude doom and gloom. Select contemporaries lovingly referred to him as “Sparky,” a decidedly less sinister sobriquet. The nickname, as especially seen in postwar correspondence, was one he privately fancied.

~ Jared Frederick & Eric Dorr

[lewis-winters]

REASONS TO CONSIDER

ronald speirs:

probably has kleptomania, or at the very least, sticky fingers

participates in/facilitates his own myth-making by fueling crazy rumors surrounding him and his ethics

"the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead"

runs head first into a german base crawling with german soldiers who want him dead

and then does it again

apparently thinks about the ancient roman empire, constantly-- and not even in a gay way (i.e. whatever fruity shit they got going on in the senate)

barely flinches when bombs are falling around him

forces a german doctor to perform brain surgery at gun point

first instinct when forced to give up a car he looted "fair and square" is to destroy said car and drive it off a cliff

refuses to go back to europe for fear that they'll try him for war crimes

carwood lipton:

married him

screenshots c/o of @lyselkatzfandomluvs

[akane171]

Ronald C. Speirs was in two moods in the 7th ep

BONUS

[shoshiwrites]

Band of Brothers Ages: IRL vs. Actors

Did you know that according to a 1947 study, almost half the men who served in WWII were still under age 26 by the end of the war?

What this is : A (very long) post comparing the ages of the actors in Band of Brothers vs. the IRL figures they are portraying.

Background: Did I need to do this? No. Did anyone ask for this? Also no. Did I do it anyway? Yes.

Disclaimers: This is SUPER approximate for the most part. I based IRL ages off of D-Day unless otherwise noted, and actor ages off of January 1, 2000, the year filming took place (the latter is where the most variation will be because I didn't try to figure out what month filming started). I also didn't fact-check birthdays beyond googling. Most are sourced from the Band of Brothers and Military Wikis on fandom.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

I broke them up into rough categories, which are, again, approximate. I know I often forget how young the real life people were here, and this was a good reminder of that. I also found it interesting to see which actors were actually younger than their roles!

Check it all out under the cut ⬇️

~10+ years older

Dale Dye (55) as Col. Robert F. Sink (39) (~16 years)

Michael Cudlitz (35) as Denver "Bull" Randleman (23) (~12)

Marc Warren (32) as Albert Blithe (20) (~12)

Rocky Marshall (33) as Earl J. McClung (21) (~12)

Frank John Hughes (32) as William J. Guarnere (21) (~11)

Neal McDonough (33) as Lynn D. (Buck) Compton (22) (~11)

Dexter Fletcher (33) as John W. Martin (22) (~11)

~5+ years older

Simon Schatzberger (32) as Joseph A. Lesniewski (23) (~9)

Richard Speight Jr. (30) Warren H. (Skip) Muck (22) (~8)

Jason O'Mara (30) as Thomas Meehan (22) (~8)

Ron Livingston (32) as Lewis Nixon (25) (~7)

Donnie Wahlberg (30) as C. Carwood Lipton (24) (~6)

Matthew Settle (30) as Ronald C. Speirs (24) (~6)

Nolan Hemmings (28) as Charles E. "Chuck" Grant (22) (~6)

Douglas Spain (25) as Antonio C. Garcia (19) (~6)

George Calil (26) as James H. "Mo" Alley Jr. (21) (~5)

Rick Gomez (27) as George Luz (22) (~5 year)

Scott Grimes (28) as Donald G. Malarkey (23) (~5)

Stephen Graham (26) as Myron "Mike" Ranney (21) (~5)

~less than 5 years older

Shane Taylor (25) as Eugene G. Roe (21) (~4)

Tim Matthews (23) as Alex M. Penkala Jr. (19) (~4)

Matthew Leitch (24) as Floyd M. "Tab" Talbert (20) (~4)

Peter O'Meara (30) as Norman S. Dike Jr. (26) (~4)

Tom Hardy (22) as John A. Janovec (18) (~4)

Rick Warden (28) as Harry F. Welsh (25) (~3)

Kirk Acevedo (28) as Joseph D. Toye (25) (~3)

Eion Bailey (25) as David Kenyon Webster (22) (~3)

Craig Heaney (26) as Roy W. Cobb (29) (~3)

Damian Lewis (28) as Richard D. Winters (26) (~2)

Robin Laing as Edward J. "Babe" Heffron (~2, 21/23)

Ben Caplan (26) as Walter S. "Smokey" Gordon Jr. (24) (~2)

David Schwimmer (32) as Herbert M. Sobel (33) (~1 year)

Michael Fassbender (22) as Burton P. "Pat" Christenson (21) (~1)

Colin Hanks (22) as Lt. Henry Jones (21) (~1) (age around Bastogne)

Bart Ruspoli (23) as Edward J. Tipper (22) (~1)

~Same age

Peter Youngblood Hills as Darrell C. "Shifty" Powers (21)

Mark Huberman as Lester "Les" Hashey (19)

Younger

Lucie Jeanne (23) as Renée Lemaire (30) (age around Bastogne) (~7)

Ross McCall (23) as Joseph D. Liebgott (29) (~6)

Simon Pegg (29) as William S. Evans (~33) (~4)

Philip Barantini (19) as Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk (22) (~3)

James Madio (24) as Frank J. Perconte (27) (~3)

Stephen McCole (25) as Frederick "Moose" Heyliger (27) (~2)

Matt Hickey (~16) as Patrick S. O'Keefe (18) (~2)

Incomplete/not found

Phil McKee as Maj. Robert L. Strayer (34)

Rene L. Moreno as Joseph Ramirez (30)

Doug Allen as Alton M. More (24)

David Nicolle as Lt. Thomas A. Peacock (24)

Rebecca Okot as Anna (Augusta Chiwy) (24) (age around Bastogne)

Alex Sabga-Brady as Francis J. Mellet (23)

Mark Lawrence as William H. Dukeman Jr. (22)

Nicholas Aaron as Robert E. (Popeye) Wynn (22)

Peter McCabe as Donald B. Hoobler (21)

Marcos D'Cruze as Joseph P. Domingus (not found)

[blurredcolour]

Band of Brothers Masterlist

Richard "Dick" Winters

Your Arms Pull Me In Like The Tide Pulls Me Under

[Series | Complete]

Take These Broken Wings

[One-shot]

Lewis "Lew/Nix" Nixon

Lavender's Blue, Lavender's Green

[One-shot]

I Wish You Love

[Series | Complete]

Ronald "Ron" Speirs

In The Bleak Mid-Winter

[One-shot]

C. Carwood "Lip" Lipton

It's Better This Way

[Mini-series | Complete]

Eugene "Doc" Roe

We'll Meet Again | Born to Be Yours

[One-shot] [Sequel]

>>> return to main masterlist

[yourspeirs]

my favorite shot of my favorite character in one of my favorite episodes of my favorite series.

Also, happy birthday Ronald C. Speirs! He was born on April 20, 1920 and shared the same birthdate with Hitler.

[bleedingcoffee42]

Cleadith C. Smith (1922-1945) of West Virginia was killed in Belgium Jan 2, 1945.

This is the Sgt. Smith that is referred to in several letters by Ronald Speirs, i.e. the 'Sgt that died in my arms'. (Also meantioned in Fierce Valor.)

He is listed as a Corporal on official documents, but as a Sergeant on his obituary. His headstone marker lists him as a member of Dog company, 506 PIR.

His Bronze Star, Purple Heart and personal effects are viewable here.

His gravesite here.

Ron Speirs's mentions of him here.

It is possible Smith received a promotion and wrote home about it, but paperwork was never officially done. (Or he could have been demoted as well) In the grouping of his medals there is a photograph of a German officer and his wife that he took off the man after he killed him, sent that back home with a note about the wife probably needing a new man. Seems like a kid that would have gotten along well with Sparky.

[ww2yaoi]

growing increasingly attached to ronald c. speirs… that’s homedawg

[softguarnere]

listen . i cannot stop thinking about Speirs referring to his wife as “my fair lady” because of Fierce Valor and . Anything with soft! Speirs / maybe even post-war sweetness with Ron like I need it and you just write soft!Speirs so well ..

Anywhere You Go (Let Me Go Too)

Ron Speirs x reader

A/N: Lex, the way I am sitting here smiling and blushing 😭🙈 I am so obsessed with the way that you write Speirs, so you saying that I write soft!Speirs well is pretty much the ultimate compliment 💖 Thank you for trusting me to write this, and I hope you like it 💕🕊️ (As usual, this is written for the fictional depiction from the show - no disrespect to the real life veterans!)

Warnings: mentions of war, alcohol, and of blood

Casual is not a word that anyone would use to describe Ronald Speirs. Cold is the more likely word choice of those who have only worked with him, or caught whispers of the rumors that trail behind him. Careful would probably be the most accurate word. Everything that he does is deliberate. If life is a game of checkers, then Ron is playing chess, because he always seems to be at least two steps ahead of everyone else, like he has considered every possibility and is already planning his next move.

But this, you think to yourself as you watch him come into the room, is probably as close to casual as he can get.

And that's because he's a little bit drunk.

Ron had entered the room slowly, and now that the door is shut, he stands facing it, leaning against it with a sigh. Then he turns to you with a smile on his face that makes you wonder how anyone could think that any of the rumors about him could possibly be true. Especially now, when he comes over to the bed and flops down onto his stomach, looking up at you with wide eyes and a goofy grin.

"Good evening," he says with a curt nod. He obviously seems to think that he's being serious, but it makes you laugh.

"To you as well." You scoot over a bit from where you have been sitting to make more room for him, but he seems content to stay where he is - half on the bed, and half off. He hums when you reach out and run a hand through his hair, sinking into the bed and your touch. "I thought you didn't drink?"

He huffs - maybe a laugh, maybe a sigh. "The other officers convinced me to have some. To celebrate."

"Nixon?"

". . . Harry and Lip were drinking, too."

"Ah." You click your tongue. "Peer pressure."

This time there's no mistaking the laugh that bubbles up from deep within his chest. He rolls onto his side so that he can look at you better. Reaching up, he holds out his hand, and you take it, even though you have to stop carding your hands through his hair.

"I made up my mind though."

"Oh? About what?"

"After the war." He squeezes your hand. His brows furrow slightly as he thinks. "It's over now. Everyone keeps talking about what they want to do, where they're going and I -" He cuts himself off.

You squeeze his hand. What?

It's no secret that he's been conflicted. He had been planning to jump into the Pacific with Easy because they needed a leader. But now that the Japanese have surrendered . . . Winters and Nixon are going to New Jersey, Welsh is going to marry Kitty, and Ron . . .

"I don't know yet," you had told him when the news had reached Austria. "I just know that I'm done being a combat medic. Whatever comes after this . . . If I never bandage another wound again, it will be too soon."

"I don't know yet, either," Ron had said, squinting out across the sunny baseball field, watching the men and weighing his options.

Now though, drunk and trying to be sincere, he seems to have made up his mind.

"I just want to go wherever you go," he says.

Blood pumps in your ears as your heart starts to race. Did you hear him correctly? Is this because he's drunk?

Before you can order your thoughts Ron is pushing himself up so that he's sitting across from you. A pink hue has settled across his cheeks, like rosy clouds streaked across the sky at sunset; it might be from the warmth of the alcohol he has consumed, it might be because of the tender moment, or it might be both.

Now your heart is really racing. "What do you mean?" You ask over its roar.

Ron nods. "I mean that if it's what you want, I would like to be with you after the war. Wherever that might take us."

"Of course I want that." Is it even a question? "Do you?"

Ron smiles. In combat, he looks like a figure drawn with sharp edges and filled in with muted colors. But here - he looks so soft, and the colors are so warm and bright. If everyone else could see him like this . . . Ron would never let that happen, though. He has a reputation to uphold. Moments like these, glimpses of a softer man, are just for you.

"Wherever you want to go (Y/N)," Ron repeats. "Your hometown. Boston. Somewhere new. I can get my old job back. We'll have money." It sends a shiver down your spine when he promises, "I'll take care of you."

It's no secret that Ron does well in combat - like he's made for it - and that he enjoys aspects of it and the way that they give him a rush. But he is also a frank man who despises lying and always speaks his mind; he wouldn't be telling you this if he didn't mean it.

You reach out and caress his face. It's warm, and a little bit of stubble pricks your palm. He leans into it. "If you're sure. Then yes; I would go anywhere with you."

He averts his eyes quickly, his face growing warmer under your touch. Yes, you confirm, he's definitely a little drunk.

He reaches into his pocket and removes something, then holds out his hand to you. When you remove your hand from his face and place it on his palm, he slides a glittering bracelet over your wrist. "I thought of you when I saw this."

This whole war you have seen each other covered in blood and grime and uniforms - yet he thought of you when he saw something so beautiful.

"It's gorgeous." You hold your wrist up to the light to admire how it sparkles. "Thank you."

His smile grows wider. "Anything for my fair lady." He flops back down onto the bed, maneuvering himself so that his head is in your lap. He lets out a contented hum when you resume carding your hands through his hair. "So, where should we go first?"

"Well, we've already toured Europe," You note. "Why not just head to the States and see if we can catch a bit of rest before the next adventure?"

He nods, and it sends a thrill through your chest to think that this is real - you are together and this is happening.

"Lets go home," he agrees.

This - being here, with him - already feels like home, but you nod, knowing that home will be anywhere you go with your dashing gentleman.