Soldier. Born in Mississippi, the seventh child of rural farmers, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1942. Shortly after completing his paratrooper training he was assigned to Company E of the 101st Airborne Division, a unit better known as the famed Easy Company. Following his division's assignment to the European Theatre in 1944, he deployed to England where he trained for the upcoming Operation Overlord, commonly referred to as "D-Day." On June 6, 1944, he was dropped into Normandy during the opening maneuvers of the assault on Hitler's Fortress Europa. During the battle, he and his fellow mortar crew provided much needed cover for infantry as they attempted to establish a beachhead on the coast. After days of fierce fighting, the 101st and allied units were rewarded with a unified landing site which provided the launch point for Allie's push inland. Freeman's second combat jump came in September when Easy Company was selected for deployment in Operation Market Garden. Intended to liberate the Netherlands from Axis control, the operation stalled along the Rhine River. In December of 1944, he participated in another pivotal battle of the Second World War when his unit formed part of the defense for the Belgian town of Bastogne. The small village became the focal point of the German Ardennes Offensive, better known to history as the Battle of the Bulge. Due to the tenacity of the troops along the salient, the offensive, Germany's last in the war, failed to break through the allied lines. Though wounded during the battle, he recovered enough to rejoin Easy Company and help with the Allied forces push into Germany during the final months of the war. When the Nazi government fell in May of 1945 he was stationed near Hitler's personal retreat in the German Alps. For his service in the war he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, France's highest military honor. After the conclusion of hostilities, he returned states side and used his GI Bill benefits to gain employment with the U.S. Postal Service. Freeman was influential in the production of the HBO television series Band of Brothers, in which he provided first hand accounts of the major engagements Easy Company endured along the European front. At the time of his death he was the final original member of Easy Company and the Band of Brothers.