Buck Compton

[nozenfordaddy]

Disclaimer: This journal is intended for roleplaying purposes at hearts_andminds. Band of Brothers, Lynn ‘Buck’ Compton and Neal McDonough are NOT mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

Name: Lynn ‘Buck’ Compton

Character Fandom: Band of Brothers, mini series and book

Canonical Point of Entry: The Breaking Point, after Toye and Guarnere are injured.

Physical Description: Buck is about 6 feet tall two hundred fifteen pounds, with pale blond hair that he keeps perpetually short both because of regulations and ease of wear. He has a tattoo on his left forearm, a star with the tips filled in, and a name spelled out one letter per point - Jerry. He wears his father's wedding band on his right hand.

His eyes are crystal blue and his smile tends to be wide and open marred slightly by a scar on the left side of his lower lip. The expression of one makes him seem very old and the lightness of the other makes him seem very young. He carries himself with the physical ease of someone with natural athletic ability and not fear that his body won’t do anything he asks of it.

Background: Buck was born on the last day of the year 1921, the only child of Jonathan a disciplined and formal man and a small delicate blonde who Buck called ‘Buddy’ rather than mother. He grew up in the Bunker hill neighborhood in downtown LA at the top of angels flight. At the age of eight he began acting bit parts and as an extra in movies to help support his family, he continued until junior high when he became a golf caddy.

While in grammar school he chose his nickname ‘Buck’ drawing inspiration from the L.A. Angels catcher James ‘Truck’ Hannah, and informed his friends that was all he would answer to – everyone agreed except his mother.

He graduated from public high school in Los Angeles and attended UCLA in the fall of 1939 where he majored in Physical Education with a minor in Education. He confronted his father over his secret drinking not long after which Jonathan Compton killed himself, apparently unable to live with his son’s disdain. Helping support his mother he continued school and lettered two years in football and three years in baseball and was captain of the baseball team where he played catcher. He played guard on the Rose Bowl team in 1943 and was a member of the advanced ROTC program

World War II disrupted his studies at UCLA with a single year to go; he was graduated from the school’s ROTC program and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was assigned to Fort Benning with the hard duty of training officer teaching soldiers how to identify enemy air craft and playing baseball. Knowing his commander blocked transfer requests from ball players he volunteered for the paratroopers as the only way to see action.

He joined Easy Company in England and became the assistant platoon commander for second platoon under Dick Winters. He parachuted into Normandy during the early hours of D-Day, was part of the assault group that destroyed the German artillery during the battle at Brecourt Manor, fought on the line at Carentan, helped liberate Holland during Operation Market Garden, and fought in the freezing cold of the Battle of Bastogne.

He was injured in Holland, shot in the butt, an Easy Company tradition – larger and heavier than many of the men he told his platoon to leave him. They didn’t listen and he found himself carried on a makeshift stretcher and then over the hood of a jeep back to the aid station. Always a quiet man his injury made him serious and he rejoined the company just prior to being deployed in Bastogne.

January 3, 1945 the enemy began bombardment of the woods outside Bastogne during the worst of it his platoon was hit hard and he saw men he respected, and considered friends badly injured, nearly killed. It was his breaking point.

Personality: Buck is strong and loyal, especially to the members of his platoon, whom he would defend with his life. He is a natural born soldier but does not relish war, nor is he a strict disciplinarian leading through friendship more than anything else. In fact he is more one of the guys than leader, though if asked his men would all say he was a natural at both. He is extremely competitive and loves sports, games of chance (except poker) and women, all kinds.