Allegiance United States Name Alton More | Rank Private Years of service 1942-1945 | |
Born April 23, 1920
Casper, Wyoming, United States ( 1920-04-23 ) Battles/wars World War II
Battle of Normandy
Operation Market Garden
Battle of the Bulge Died July 31, 1958, Wyoming, United States Battles and wars Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, World War II | ||
Service/branch United States Army | ||
Private Alton More (April 23, 1920 - July 31, 1958) was a soldier with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. More was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Doug Allen.
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Youth
More was born in April 23, 1920 in Casper, Wyoming. His father was a pipe fitter for the Standard Oil Refinery in Casper. He had two brothers, Roland and Delbert and two sisters, Elizabeth and Edith. Alton and his wife, Erma Jean Barnhill were married in Thurston County, Olympia, Washington on June 3, 1943. Their daughter was born after Easy Company was sent to England. They had three children, Janet, Ronald, and Sharon.
Military service
More volunteered for paratroopers during World War II. He joined Easy Company at Fort Bragg.
More jumped into Normandy on D-Day. On June 10, 1944, More invited Donald Malarkey to loot the bags of their fallen comrades in Sainte-Mère-Église. During the looting, More broke down, cried and told Malarkey 'We gotta get the hell out of here' when he found a pair of pink baby bootees in one of those bags. Before Easy Company departed back to England, More was able to find two boxes of canned food from the main supply depot, and shared them with his comrades. They became sick because they were not used to the food.
The day before Easy Company made the trip across the Channel, More found an army motorcycle and sidecar from the main motor pool near Utah Beach. He was able to sneak the vehicle on the ship. When the ship arrived Southampton, More and Malarkey rode the cycle back to Aldbourne when the others traveled by train. The motorcycle was later confiscated by Captain Herbert Sobel when they left England for Operation Market Garden.
More was with Easy Company when it reached Hitler's Eagle's Nest. He obtained two of Hitler's photo albums which showed Hitler's meeting with foreign delegations. More was threatened a court-martial by an officer who demanded the albums. Major Richard D. Winters helped More by making him his jeep driver. More turned one of the seat cushions of the jeep into a carrying case for the albums so he could carry them with him all the time.
Later life
More returned to Casper, Wyoming after the war, with Hitler's photo albums. He was killed in a car accident on July 31, 1958. Alton More was killed when his car hit a horse at approximately 9:00pm when he was returning from a sales call in Western Wyoming.