Summary
- Lt. Meehan’s plane crash in Band of Brothers episode 2 was a major loss for Easy Company and one of the first deaths depicted in the series.
- The wreckage of the crashed C-47 plane, including Lt. Meehan’s remains, was not discovered until the 1950s and the crash victims were listed as missing in action for years.
- Lt. Meehan and his fellow paratroopers are now buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and there are memorials honoring them in both Chestnut Hill and Beauzeville-au-Plain.
Band of Brothers episode 2, “Day of Days”, shows Lieutenant Meehan’s plane going down over France, but that’s not the end of the real-life story. HBO’s hugely popular miniseries Band of Brothers diligently recreates the journey of Easy Company as reported in Stephen Ambrose’s non-fiction bestseller of the same name. The Company saw numerous tragic losses across its journey; one of the earliest calamities was the loss of Company commander Jack Meehan, played in the Band of Brothers cast by Jason O’Mara.
At the time of his death, the 22-year-old Meehan had only recently taken charge of Easy Company after the transfer of the Company’s original commanding officer, Captain Herbert Sobel (controversially depicted by David Schwimmer in Band of Brothers). While the series does an excellent job of depicting the wartime careers of Easy Company’s members in rich detail, the series offers little clarity on what happened to the men afterward. After Dick Winters is given charge of Easy Company in Band of Brothers, but not much is revealed about the status of Meehan and the rest of his plane, as the crash victims weren’t discovered and interred until years later.
Lt. Thomas Meehan & Easy Company’s Crashed Plane Wasn’t Recovered Until Years After WW2 Ended
Following a direct hit from an artillery shell, Lt. Meehan’s C-47 plane went down over France, making what happened to him of the first major Easy Company deaths in Band of Brothers. Meehan, the aircrew, Easy Company’s entire headquarters group, and several other paratroopers were killed when the plane went down. The C-47 was one of 127 aircraft to have been lost during the D-Day landings. The plane, which crashed near the village of Beuzeville-au-Plain, wasn’t recovered until the 1950s. For the years between the crash and the wreckage’s discovery, Meehan and the rest of the crash victims were listed as missing in action.
How Lt. Meehan & The Other Soldiers Were Honored After Their Deaths In WW2
Lt. Meehan’s remains were returned to the United States in 1952, soon after the discovery of the crash site. Meehan, the aircrew, and his fellow paratroopers are now buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri. There is also a monument in Thomas Meehan’s home community of Chestnut Hill commemorating the 81 area men who died in the War. The memorial, which was built in 1948 off voluntary donations from the community residents, prominently features Band of Brothers’ Thomas Meehan.
In 2000, another memorial was dedicated to Meehan and the other crash victims by the church of Beauzeville-au-Plan, the town where the C-47’s wreckage was discovered. At the memorial, a plaque gives further details about the crash, including a confirmation that there were 17 paratroopers on board, and an account of the forced landing. The plaque makes special mention of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for producing Band of Brothers and telling the story of Meehan and the other crash victims.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
