Carwood Lipton
Clifford Carwood Lipton (30 January 1920 – 16 December 2001)[1] was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II.
Carwood Lipton
"Lip"
30 January 1920
Huntington, West Virginia, US
16 December 2001 (aged 81)
Southern Pines, North Carolina, US
United States
1942–1953
Bronze Star Medal (2)
Purple Heart (3)
Glass-manufacturing executive
On the battlefields of Europe, he was promoted to company first sergeant and was awarded a battlefield commission to second lieutenant. He has said "it was the greatest honor ever awarded" to him. He eventually earned a promotion to first lieutenant before leaving the army.
He was featured in the 2010 book A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us,[2] and portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
Early life[edit]
Carwood Lipton was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. When he was aged 10, his father was killed and his mother paralyzed in an automobile accident.[3] Since Carwood was the eldest child, she told him to be the "man of the family".[3] After completing one year at Marshall College in Huntington,[4] he left school due to financial troubles at home and went to work in war-related production.[3]
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,[3] Lipton enlisted in the Army on 15 August 1942, at Fort Thomas, Kentucky, volunteering for the paratroops.[4]
Later years[edit]
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.[12] Fresh with his degree, Lipton received a job with Owens Illinois Inc., a manufacturer of glass products and plastics packaging.[12] He rapidly advanced in the company and by 1952 had become chief operator.[13]
In 1966, Lipton moved to Bridgeton, New Jersey, where he became an administrative manager.[13] In 1967, Owens Illinois purchased a 50 percent interest in Giralt Laporta, a Madrid glass container company, and Lipton became general manager of the company.[14] In 1971, he and his wife moved to London, where he was the Director of Manufacturing for eight glass companies in England and Scotland for several years.[13] In 1982, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, and retired a year later from his post as Director of International Development.[13] Lipton spent his retirement years in the town of Southern Pines, North Carolina.[12]
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.
Carwood Lipton died on 16 December 2001, of pulmonary fibrosis in Southern Pines, North Carolina.[12] He was survived by his wife Marie, three sons from his first marriage to Jo Anne who died in 1975, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.[12]