Cleveland O. Petty (19 May 1924-6 March 1961) WWII 101st Airborne Div, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Easy Company "Band of Brothers"
Biography[]
Husband of Helen. Father of Bonnie Sue. Son of Frank Marion Petty & Georgia Ann (Hardwick) Petty. Brother of Margaret & Lonnie.
Petty, who went by his middle name O’Neill, joined Easy at Ft. Bragg. Assigned to 2nd Platoon, he made the jump into Normandy and took part in the action at Brecourt, as he manned one of the two machine guns that covered the advance of the Winters and Compton teams that took the guns. He was pinged by a piece of shrapnel at Brecourt but remained with Easy until he was hit again at Bloody Gulch outside of Carentan. He healed up quickly and returned to Easy. O'Neill was part of the Holland mission where he jumped as part of Buck Compton’s Stick. He survived Easy’s time on the Island. O'Neill was there again when the whole 101st was sent to hold the critical crossroad town of Bastogne during the German’s surprise Ardennes offensive. He was eventually pulled off the line due to trench foot.
Received a Bronze Star for his part in the Brecourt Manor Assault on June 6, 1944. He manned a machine gun with Joseph Liebgott.