Soldier Edward “Babe” Heffron
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
South Philly-born Edward “Babe” Heffron had a job and a painful disability that affected his hands; either one of those would have been enough to exempt him from military service, but he enlisted in the Army anyway on Nov. 7, 1942. His career as a machine gunner and paratrooper with the legendary Easy Company was distinguished; he came home with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after fighting in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. After the war, Heffron worked for decades as a cargo checker on the Philly waterfront. Heffron died Dec. 2 at age 90. His life story was dramatized in Stephen Ambrose’s 1992 book Band of Brothers and the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name, leading to many public speaking appearances at which Heffron charmed audiences with his humor and humility.
