Antonio C. Garcia

Antonio C. Garcia
Rank	Technician 5th Grade Pvt.
Nickname	Tony

Techinician Fifth Grade Antonio C. “Tony” Garcia was a replacement for Easy Company and was put into Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman's squad. He is played in the series by actor Douglas Spain.

Biography

Earlier Life

Born on October 15th, 1924, Garcia was a native of Inez, Texas, and was a high school student in Cheyenne, Wyoming when he enlisted as a Paratrooper. He borrowed a friend's prescription medicine to cover up a heart murmur for his Army physical and was accepted for training in 1943.  

World War II

He was friends with his fellow replacements Private Lester Hashey, Private James W. Miller and Private Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, who quickly became friends with Staff Sergeant William J. "Bill" Guarnere.

With Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Garcia served during the last two years of the war and participated in some of its most bloody battles. Like many veterans, he was reluctant to talk about the horrors of combat.

He first saw combat during Operation Market Garden in the Battle of Nuenen, where Private Miller was killed by a mortar shell. He fought on "The Island", at Bastogne, and remained with Easy Company until the end of the war. He is seen in the baseball scene in part 10, "Points".

Later life

After the war, Garcias managed a department store warehouse in Colma, California for three decades. He and his wife Nancy had four children. In 1999, at the age of 74, he made a parachute jump as part of a reunion with his Easy Company comrades.  

Garcia died on 18 August 2005 at Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame after a stroke. He was 80. A memorial service was held Sept. 30 at 12:30 p.m. at St. Dominic's Catholic Church, 2390 Bush St., San Francisco.

Trivia

• Garcia was amused to find in the miniseries that his boat had capsized when crossing the German river and that his character couldn't swim, when in fact he had crossed the river safely and was an excellent swimmer.
• During the filming of the series and after it aired, Mr. Garcia became friends with Spain, who had portrayed him. Spain attended Mr. Garcia's 80th birthday party last year and visited him in the hospital after his stroke.
• Mr. Garcia enjoyed traveling across the United States with his wife. He read several books a week, largely about military history. In 1999, at the age of 74, he made a parachute jump as part of a reunion with his Easy Company comrades.
• He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Nancy, and by children Damian Garcia of Sunnyvale, Greg Garcia of South San Francisco, Stephanie Heck of San Jose, and Kelly Baskys of Boston.