Clifford Carwood Lipton
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army

Clifford Carwood Lipton was born on 30 January 1920 in Huntington, WV.

Lipton's father was killed in an automobile accident when he was ten. His mother was involved in the same accident and was paralyzed. Since Carwood was the eldest child, she told him to be the "man of the family." After completing one year at Huntington's Marshall University, he left school due to financial troubles at home and went to work in war-related production. 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, Lipton enlisted and joined the paratroops on 15 August 1942 at Fort Thomas (Newport), KY.

Military Service

Lipton shot through the ranks of the company eventually becoming company First Sergeant after the Acting Company First Sergeant, James Diel, was given a battlefield commission and transferred within the 506th PIR. Lipton was always keeping the men's spirits high, and pushed them to their full potentials. This was recognized by the officers of Easy Company, the 101st Airborne Division and the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Lipton was the jumpmaster of one of the C-47 Skytrains that the paratroopers used to jump into Normandy. He jumped into Normandy and was able to rendezvous with First Lieutenant Richard Winters and several other men from the 101st, and two more from the 82nd Airborne Division. They were later joined by several more Easy Company members, and worked their way just south of their objective of Carentan.

During the Normandy invasion, Lipton was hit by German 88 shrapnel. A medic patched him up and Lipton resumed fighting. Lipton was teamed with Sergeant Mike Ranney during the Brécourt Manor Assault, where Easy Company was assigned the task of destroying four 105 mm howitzers (originally thought to be 88 mm) that were firing down on Utah Beach. Lipton and Ranney climbed up a tree and shot some Germans from a distance. Easy Company managed to destroy the four howitzers, and Lipton was awarded the Bronze Star.

Lipton was involved in the assault on Carentan and was injured by shrapnel in the face and groin. He was awarded the Purple Heart. Lipton was out of Easy Company for a few days and then returned to duty.

Around the time Operation Market Garden was scheduled to begin, Easy Company's slowly depleting ranks became a problem, and were refilled by replacement soldiers. Carwood Lipton is remembered by many of the replacement veterans as being one of the very few men who immediately accepted them as true soldiers. He helped the replacements along in Operation Market Garden. Lipton was with Easy when they liberated Eindhoven, and was part of an advanced scout team that scouted the bridge ahead of the rest of the Company.

A small team of scouts were on the crossroads in the Netherlands when a member of their squad was badly wounded by a German Model 24 Stielhandgranate and Easy was called to action. They were assigned the task of destroying any remaining Germans at the crossroads. Lipton was not among the original assault team of around ten men, but joined up the next morning with Easy, bringing the rest of the company. Easy Company managed to destroy over two companies of SS situated at the Crossroads due to launching a surprise attack on their position.

Operation Pegasus was a small operation where Easy Company was to cross the river on boats supplied by Royal Canadian Engineers, and bring back over 140 British Paratroopers who were trapped when they pulled back from Arnhem. Lipton and First Lieutenant Heyliger oversaw the Operation to success.

During an artillery barrage in the woods near Foy, Lipton confessed about laughing as he saw the shells burst, reminding him of his childhood on the 4th of July with fireworks. Lipton said he wouldn't have laughed if he knew what happened to Joe Toye, who was wounded, losing his right leg. Under the new command of First Lieutenant Norman Dike, Lipton gave the men hope in the Ardennes Forest overlooking Foy, and became the de facto commanding officer due to Dike's incompetent leadership.

After Easy Company's assault on the town of Foy, Lipton was told he would be awarded a battlefield commission as a Second Lieutenant. Carwood Lipton received his official commission in Haguenau. He later witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust at Landsberg, where he and the rest of Easy Company liberated the camp.

Lipton assisted Easy in the capture of the Nazis' symbolic home, Berchtesgaden. While there, he became acquainted with Ferdinand Porsche (partially responsible for the Panther and Tiger tanks), who could speak English very well. They ate their meals together while Porsche was at the POW camp L.A.G.A.R.

Lipton remained with Easy until the end of the war, up until Easy Company was disbanded (after the official surrender of the Japanese and the Germans). He remained in the Army Reserve through the Korean War, but was not deployed overseas again.

Medals and Awards

Bronze Star Medal (2 Awards)
Presidential Unit Citation (2 Awards)
Good Conduct Medal
American Defense Service Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Service Stars and Arrow Device
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Croix de guerre with Palm
French Liberation Medal
Belgian World War II Service Medal

Badges

Combat Infantryman Badge
Parachutist Badge with 2 Jump Stars

Civilian Life

Upon Lipton's return to the U.S., he enrolled at Marshall University and completed his final three years graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Engineering. With his degree in Engineering, Lipton got a job with Owens Illinois Inc., a manufacturer of glass products and plastics packaging. He rapidly advanced in the company and by 1952 he had become Chief Operator.

In 1966, he moved to Bridgeton, NJ, where he became an Administrative Manager and, in 1971, he and his wife moved to London where he was the Director of Manufacturing for eight different glass companies in England and Scotland for several years. In 1982, he moved to Toledo, OH, and retired a year later from his post as Director of International Development.

Lipton spent his retirement years in the town of Southern Pines, NC.

In the Media

Carwood Lipton appeared on two separate television shows, providing his own commentary in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers and the inspirational true story of Easy Company, We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company.

Death and Burial

First Lieutenant Clifford Carwood Lipton died on 16 December 2001 of pulmonary fibrosis in Southern Pines, NC. He is buried at Woodmere Memorial Park in Huntington, WV.

He is survived by his wife, Marie, and his three sons; Clifford Carwood III, Thomas, Robert Dulaine, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.