His wife Donna preceded him in death in 1994.

On 25 February 2012, he died at one of his daughters' home in Washington. In January 2012, Compton suffered a heart attack. He retired from the bench in 1990 and resided in the state of Washington until his death. In 1970, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. ĭuring his time with the District Attorney's office, he successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. He left the LAPD for the District Attorney's office in 1951 as a deputy district attorney, and was promoted in 1964 to chief deputy district attorney. He attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1946 and became a detective in the Central Burglary Division. Compton married Donna Newman in October 1947 and the couple adopted two children. In 1946, he turned down an offer to play minor league baseball, choosing instead to concentrate on a career in law.

Buck was awarded a Silver Star for these actions.Ĭompton fought through the rest of the Normandy Campaign and returned to Aldbourne, where he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and made commander of 2nd Platoon.Ĭompton fought at the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. The attack ended in success, with only 4 dead and 6 wounded. Bob Brewer (of HQ Company), who ducked into a hole along with Compton. As the soldier ran away, Compton killed him with a grenade to the head. Guarnere, who shot one German service member, prompting the other to flee. After throwing grenades into a trench, he tried to shoot a German service member, only to discover that the pin had broken. He lost his Carbine during the jump, but was able to acquire one from the injured Lieutenant McMillan of D Company.Īfter meeting up at his DZ, Compton was assigned to participate in the Brecourt Manor Assault, led by Lieutenant Winters. Richard Winters, who advised him not to get too familiar with the enlisted men, as a leader should never allow himself to be in a position where he could take anything from those under him.Ĭompton participated in Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944 in Normandy, France. He got along well with the enlisted men and hung out with them more than he did with the officers.

He was given the duty of assistant platoon leader of 2nd Platoon. He went through jump school at Benning, qualified, and completed training at Camp Mackall with the 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division.Ĭompton was then transferred to Easy Company, part of the 506th PIR in the 101st Airborne, at Aldbourne, England. However, he wanted to get to the war soon, and signed up for the Paratroopers, which was one of the two ways a member of the regimental baseball team could be transferred (the other was to attend flight training). He originally instructed flight classes, but was then assigned to the Regiment's baseball team. After graduating from OCS in 1943, he was assigned to the 176th Infantry Regiment, which was operating at Benning. When World War II broke out, Compton had been in ROTC, and after the Rose Bowl, was sent to Columbus, Georgia where he went through OCS at Fort Benning. He still played in football, and participated in the Rose Bowl in his Senior year. He late moved to baseball in his junior year, and became a catcher for the baseball team, playing alongside Jackie Robinson. At UCLA, he played football most of his college years.

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