Carwood Lipton

Biography

Clifford Carwood “Lip” Lipton (January 30, 1920 – December 16, 2001) was an American Army officer and World War II veteran. He served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, rising from private to company first sergeant before receiving a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant. Born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Lipton enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1942 and volunteered for the airborne forces. He trained with Easy Company at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and later at Camp Mackall and Fort Benning before deploying to England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe. Lipton parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and participated in the Battle of Normandy. He was wounded during the fighting at Carentan and later returned to Easy Company. He subsequently participated in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. During the final months of the war, he received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and later advanced to first lieutenant. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts. Lipton was among the original Easy Company veterans interviewed by historian Stephen E. Ambrose for his 1992 book Band of Brothers. He also appeared as himself in the HBO documentary We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company and provided commentary for the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He was portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg in the series. Lipton suggested the title Band of Brothers, taken from a speech in William Shakespeare's Henry V. After the war, Lipton completed his engineering degree at Marshall University and began a career with Owens-Illinois, a manufacturer of glass products and plastics packaging. He rose through the company and eventually became an international executive, working in the United States, England and Scotland. He retired in 1983 and spent his final years in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Lipton died on December 16, 2001, at the age of 81, in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He was buried at Woodmere Memorial Park in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia.