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Lynn D. "Buck" Compton (born December 31, 1921)[2] is a retired California Court of Appeals judge who served as the lead prosecutor in Sirhan Sirhan's trial for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. From 1946-1951, Compton served with the Los Angeles Police Department. During World War II, he was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. Compton was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Neal McDonough.

edit] Youth

Compton was a star athlete at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a catcher on the university's baseball team alongside Jackie Robinson.[3] He majored in Physical Education, with a minor in Education.[3] He also played with the UCLA football team in the 1943 Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 1943; in which the Georgia Bulldogs beat the UCLA Bruins by a score of 9-0.[4]

edit] Military service

At UCLA, Compton also participated in ROTC under Cadet Commander John Singlaub.[5][6] In December 1943, he joined the Army and was assigned to Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division prior to Operation Overlord.[7] During the company's action at Brécourt Manor, Compton and others, under the leadership of Lieutenant Richard Winters, assaulted a German battery of four 105mms firing on Utah Beach, disabling the guns and routing the enemy.[8] Compton was awarded the Silver Star for his action in disabling the guns.[9] Episode two ("Day of Days") of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers depicts this assault.

Later in 1944, Compton was shot in the posterior while participating in Operation Market Garden,[10] the Allies' ill-fated attempt to seize a number of bridges in Holland and cross the Rhine River into Germany. After a partial recovery, he returned to Easy Company in time for the month-long siege in the frozen Ardennes that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. In January 1945,[11] Compton left Easy Company for another assignment.

According to Band of Brothers, though ostensibly evacuated for severe trench foot, his transfer was due in part to combat fatigue, culminating when Compton witnessed two of his closest friends, Joseph Toye and William Guarnere, being badly maimed by artillery fire resulting in each losing their right leg.[12]

edit] Accoutrements

edit] Later years

In 1946, he turned down an offer to play minor league baseball, choosing instead to concentrate on a career in law.[13] Compton married Donna Newman in October 1947 and the couple adopted two children.[14] He attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and became a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department in the Central Burglary Division.[15] He joined the District Attorney's office in 1951 as a deputy district attorney, and was promoted in 1964 to chief deputy district attorney.[16]

During his time with the District Attorney's office, he successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy.[17] In 1970, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal.[18] He retired from the bench in 1990[19] and now resides in the state of Washington. In 1994, Buck's wife died.[20]

Compton's memoirs, entitled Call of Duty: My Life before, during and after the Band of Brothers and written with Marcus Brotherton, were published by Berkeley Publishing on May 6, 2008. Compton has two children, and four grandchildren.[20]



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