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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A member of the "Band of Brothers" who fought in some of World War II's fiercest European battles, Ed Mauser shunned the limelight and kept his service with the Army unit a secret, even from some of his family.

His role came to light only after a friend loaned him a copy of the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," said his daughter, Laurie Fowler of Omaha. Mauser, who died Friday, told his family that some of the things in the miniseries, like the locations of buildings, weren't quite what he remembered from being there in person.

"He said, 'I know all those places,'" Fowler said.

But before that, "he never talked about it for years and years and years," said Terry Zahn, president of the Midwest chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association. He met Mauser during a 2009 Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II memorial.

Mauser, 94, was the oldest living member of Easy Company, which is often better known now as the "Band of Brothers."