Lester Hashey

Lester A. “Les” Hashey (February 23, 1925 – December 11, 2002) was an American Army non-commissioned officer and World War II veteran. He served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and later remained in the U.S. Army for 20 years, retiring as a First Sergeant in 1963.

Born in Bangor, Maine, Hashey left his job at a shipyard on his 18th birthday and enlisted in the Army with the goal of becoming a paratrooper. After completing basic and airborne training, he was assigned to an airborne artillery unit and deployed to Europe in 1944. He arrived in Scotland on D-Day, June 6, 1944, having missed the initial airborne assault into Normandy.