Fayetteville Rolls Out Red Carpet For Upcoming HBO Mini-Series

Band of Brothers

." One episode of the World War II series will be shown at the

Airborne and Special Operations Museum

, three weeks before you can watch it at home.

World War II veteran Carwood Lipton remembers the war in detail, especially D-Day.

"Thirteen of us knocked out a battery of 405 mm guns that were firing on Utah Beach," he says.

It was the first of many heroic combat missions for E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Lipton, a Southern Pines resident, helped author Stephen Ambrose document the company's accounts in a book called "Band of Brothers."

Now at 81, Lipton will see his story and those of his fellow soldiers in a 10-part mini-series on HBO. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are the executive producers. Actor Donnie Wahlberg plays Lipton.

"Band of Brothers" is about an Army unit that parachuted behind Nazi lines, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and eventually captured Hitler's moutaintop resort known as the Eagle's Nest. It emphasizes the bonds these brave men still have today.

It was a project the Airborne and Special Operations Museum wanted to be a part of. Working with the Pentagon, Time Warner and HBO, they landed a premiere, one of three in different military cities.

"It's a story about paratroopers. There's no better place than here," says Patrick Tremblay of the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.

The premiere will be held Aug. 17 for invited guests only. On Aug. 18, HBO will be set up at the museum with Bands of Brothers exhibits. You can watch the first part on HBO Sept. 9.