Untold Secrets Unveiled: Lieutenant Meehan & Easy Company's Fate After the Chilling Plane Crash

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 C-47 plane wreckage, along with the remains of Lt. Meehan, remained undiscovered until the 1950s, leaving the crash victims classified as missing in action for an extended period.

Currently, Lt. Meehan and his fellow paratroopers find their resting place at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, while memorials commemorating them exist in Chestnut Hill and Beauzeville-au-Plain.

Band of Brothers episode 2, “Day of Days”, depicts Lieutenant Meehan's plane going down in France. However, the real-life story does not end there. HBO's highly popular miniseries, based on Stephen Ambrose's non-fiction bestseller, meticulously retells the journey of Easy Company. Throughout their journey, the Company experiences various tragic losses, one of which is the early loss of their commander, Jack Meehan, portrayed by Jason O'Mara in Band of Brothers.

At the time of his death, Lieutenant Meehan, only 22 years old, had recently taken over as commander of Easy Company after the transfer of Captain Herbert Sobel, portrayed controversially by David Schwimmer in the series. While the show does an exceptional job of showcasing the wartime experiences of Easy Company's members, it provides little information about what happened to them afterward. In Band of Brothers, after Dick Winters assumes command of Easy Company, little is revealed about Meehan and the other passengers on his plane. Their remains were not discovered and laid to rest until several years later.

Lt. Thomas Meehan & Easy Company's Crashed Plane Wasn't Recovered Until Years After WW2 Ended

How Lt. Meehan & The Other Soldiers Were Honored After Their Deaths In WW2

Lt. Meehan's C-47 aircraft met with a devastating blow when it was struck by an artillery shell, resulting in its crash over France. This tragic incident marked one of the first significant casualties endured by Easy Company in the acclaimed series, Band of Brothers. Lt. Meehan, along with the entire headquarters group of Easy Company, the aircrew, and multiple paratroopers lost their lives in this unfortunate event. The C-47 was just one among the 127 aircraft that were lost during the D-Day landings. The wreckage of the plane, which went down near the village of Beuzeville-au-Plain, remained undiscovered until the 1950s. Throughout the years preceding the revelation of the crash site, Lt. Meehan and the other victims were officially reported as missing in action.

After the crash site was discovered, Lt. Meehan’s remains were brought back to the United States in 1952. He, along with his aircrew and fellow paratroopers, now rests at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri. In Chestnut Hill, Thomas Meehan’s hometown, there stands a monument honoring the 81 local men who lost their lives in the War. Constructed in 1948 through donations from the community residents, this memorial proudly showcases Thomas Meehan from Band of Brothers.

In 2000, the church of Beauzeville-au-Plan in the town where the wreckage of the C-47 was found, dedicated another memorial to honor Meehan and the other victims of the crash. The memorial includes a plaque providing additional information about the incident, such as the presence of 17 paratroopers on board and a description of the forced landing. Notably, the plaque acknowledges Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for their production of Band of Brothers, which recounts the tale of Meehan and the other crash victims.