D-Day vets extoll American leadership.

Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard

America possesses its own brand of leadership, and it's the same today as it was behind enemy lines on D-Day six decades ago.

The American way is commanding, yet informal, said Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton, who dropped with a 40-man platoon into the French countryside.

American leadership is collective, yet respectful of the individual. It's well-drilled but relies on creativity from each man.

"The American soldiers - the citizen soldiers like we were - are resourceful people," he said. "They aren't the type of people who would have to be led by the nose to do everything. We have initiative and that shows through in the military situation."

Compton and Sgt. Don Malarkey, members of a military unit whose wartime heroics were immortalized in the book and miniseries "Band of Brothers," appeared at the Eugene Country Club on Tuesday at a $20 per person fundraising event for the Oregon Republican Party.

The two are barnstorming the state - though a little slower than they used to - with stops in Wilsonville and Salem. They speak in conjunction with Oregon Republican Party Chairman Vance Day, who gives form and summary to the leadership lessons.

"We do it for anybody who asks us," Compton said in an interview. "It just happens that nobody asks us except the Boy Scouts and the Republicans. The Democrats are not particularly interested."

Compton and Malarkey were both members of E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and they jumped into the French countryside behind enemy lines on June 6, 1944, as the Allies invaded Normandy.

They were two of a dozen men who took out a German fortress - filled with 50 soldiers - whose guns were trained on Utah Beach.

Compton won a Silver Star and Malarkey took home a Bronze Star and other citations.

In the fierce fighting, the men had little but their own ingenuity to tell them what to do, but they were prepared.

"Paratroopers were trained to come out of the sky and to function on what you carried with you. You didn't sit down on the ground and start crying, `I want cars. I want trucks. I want artillery behind me. I want interference ahead of me so I don't have so much to do,' '' Malarkey said.

"Our transportation was our legs. We were in marvelous condition - prepared to do anything - and we could operate individually or collectively with the unit, whatever was required," he said.

Although Compton and Malarkey are clearly proud of their service, they don't necessarily buy the concept of World War II veterans as the "greatest" generation.

The troops in Iraq are of the same mettle, they said.

"They know what the mission is. They believe in the mission. They don't have to take a back seat to anybody," Compton said.

As for civilian leadership, that's less easy for the men to assess.

If any blame is to be laid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, for instance, it's at the feet of state and local government, Compton said.

And that would seem to mean the local electorate was ultimately responsible. However, Compton doubts voters could tell just how well a politician would perform in a crisis.

"I have no magic ability to say this guy will be good in the middle of a number four hurricane," he said.

"Some people rise up in incisive situations, and I don't know if you can always anticipate that."

Malarkey, now 84, graduated from the University of Oregon. He lives in Salem.

During the 1950s, he served as a Clatsop County commissioner. He's an enthusiastic Ducks fan.

Compton, now 83, has been a California detective, prosecutor and judge.

As a prosecutor, he convicted Sirhan Sirhan in the death of Robert F. Kennedy. He lives in Burlington, Wash.