Spina, Ralph Francis “Doc”, born born 05-10-1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
“Doc” Spina married his wife Agnes Adele, born Mergell, Spina.( 1926-2014) 
in 1943.Spina enlisted in the US Army 
on 09-03-1943, and volunteered for the Airborne. Ralph joined Easy Company, 506th PIR, 2nd Battalion. 
under command of Lietenant Colonel Sobel Sr, Herbert Maxwell. 
Despite his harsh tactics, Sobel proved effective in training an excellent company of highly disciplined paratroopers. However, by the time Easy Company had transferred to
, North Carolina, in February 1943, Sobel’s shortcomings as a field commander became apparent. The officers in Easy Company nicknamed Sobel “the Black Swan,” and the enlisted men frequently referred to him as a “fucking Jew” when he was out of earshot
During exercises, Sobel’s lack of spatial awareness, physicality, and smart decision making made his men concerned about his ability to lead them in battle. “I am going into combat with this man. He’ll get us all killed,” Major Richard “Dick” Winters 
next commander recalled thinking. The Easy Company was formed in 1942 and was first deployed during the Normandy landings. Its first real combat action was in the early morning of D-Day, when it had to neutralize a German battery of four 105mm guns aimed at Utah Beach.
The company then led the Battle of Carentan, took part in Operation Market Garden, liberating my hometown Eindhoven, 
held its ground during the Battle of Bastogne, led the counteroffensive during the Battle of the Bulge, fought in the Rhineland campaign and captured Hitler’s Kehlsteinhaus.
The last surviving member of the Company, Private Bradford Clark “Brad”,Freeman
died on 03-07-2022 at the age of 97.
In 1942, Easy Company jump trains at Camp Toccoa 
under First Lieutenant Herbert Sobel, a strict disciplinarian who goes out of his way to find fault with his men. The company is shipped to England in September 1943, and as training progresses, Sobel’s inadequacy as a leader in the field becomes evident. Now-Captain Sobel fabricates a dispute with Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Winters, and gives him the option of accepting unwarranted punishment, or trial by court martial. Winters surprises Sobel by rejecting the punishment and chooses the court martial. These factors lead Easy’s non-commissioned officers to resign en masse. Colonel Robert Frederick Sink, 
the regiment’s commander, reassigns Sobel to command a parachuting school for non-infantry personnel. With new leadership, Easy Company prepares for Operation Overlord.
After the Normandy campaign and remained with the unit until the end of the war. One memorable incident was during the Battle of the Bulge when he and Babe Heffron
headed back to Bastogne to get medical supplies. As they made their way back to the line they wandered across a German held area and Babe fell into a foxhole. The two had to hightail it out of there pretty quickly as the German started firing at them. Luckily, they got away to laugh about the incident later. Any time Spina would see Babe after the war he would jokingly ask “How’s Hinkel?” Spina is pictured sitting on the left beside fellow medic Roe Sr, Eugene Gilbert “Doc” or “Bud”
on the right while in Berchtesgaden in the summer of 1945. Thankfully, their days of combat were over by then. After the war, Spina returned home to his wife Agnes and their baby daughter. Ralph Spina passed away in 2007, aged 87.Spina was portrayed by Tony Devlin in Band of Brothers.Happy Birthday, Doc ????
On 08-05-1945, the American 1st Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment arrived in Berchtesgaden. It was led by Company C. The 3rd Battalion of the 506th came into the town by a different route and suffered casualties in a skirmish with crews operating two German 8mm guns. This unit took over guarding the place from the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division 
under command of Major General John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniiel 
and the French 2nd Armored Division. 
under command of General Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque 
Two days later, following extensive looting and exploring, a film crew arrived to record the happenings for those at home. Watch the footage of the 101st Airborne Division, 
Screaming Eagles in Hitler’s mountain retreat. These are soldiers who fought their way there crossing the beaches at Normandy, The Netherlands, Bastogne, and the Third Reich itself are exploring the Obersaltzberg, which at the southern tip of Germany, overlooks Berchtesgaden. The only place Hitler said he felt at home, his Berghof, was located here.
Death and burial ground of Spina, Ralph Francis “Doc”.
Ralph Francis Doc” Spina, 87, passed away Sunday, 12-08-2007 in the Nursing Home and is buried at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park, Colleyville, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. 5725 Colleyville Blvd, Colleyville, TX 76034.
Funeral: 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Chapel, 5725 Colleyville Blvd., Colleyville. Interment: Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park, with military honors. Visitation: The family will receive friends 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Mr. Spina had been a Fort Worth resident since 1954, and was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served in World War II as a paratrooper and medic in the 101st Airborne Infantry, Unit 506. He was portrayed in the Emmy Award-winning film, “Band of Brothers” by actor Tony Devlin.
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