via the Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) -- Lynn D. "Buck" Compton, a veteran whose World War II exploits were depicted in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died, his family said. [...]
In January, nearly 200 guests, including actors from the miniseries, attended his 90th birthday party, the Skagit Valley Herald reported.
"To us he wasn't really a war hero, he was just a hero, period," Tracy Compton told the Herald.
Lynn Compton also is remembered for his legal career in California. He headed the team that prosecuted Sirhan B. Sirhan for the slaying of Robert F. Kennedy and was appointed to the 2nd District Court of Appeal in 1970 by Gov. Ronald Reagan. He retired from the bench in 1990.
I'm not going to wax nostalgic about the passing of a mythical "greatest generation," but I will say Compton was a truly great American who served the nation throughout his entire life.
It's unfortunate that we learn of the great deeds of men like him only after someone in Hollywood can market it. We have only ourselves to blame for that.