Compton was born in Los Angeles, California. Early on, he gave himself the nickname "Buck" due to feeling that Lynn was a name better suited to a girl.[4] His mother Ethel worked for movie studios and a young Compton worked as an extra in films. He was thrown off the set of Modern Times after angering the film's star Charlie Chaplin.[4] He was an athlete at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), being named an all-conference catcher and All-American selection in 1942.[5][6] Among his baseball teammates was Jackie Robinson.[7] Compton was later inducted into the UCLA Baseball Hall of Fame.[6] He majored in physical education, with a minor in education.[7] He joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity in 1940. He also started at guard with the UCLA football team in the 1943 Rose Bowl game on January 1, 1943.[8]
Later in 1944, Compton was shot through the buttocks while participating in Operation Market Garden,[15] the Allies' ill-fated attempt to seize a number of bridges in the Netherlands and cross the Rhine River into Nazi Germany. The bullet traveled sideways, through one side of the buttocks and out the other side. After a partial recovery, he returned to Easy Company in time for the siege in the frozen Ardennes; the Battle of the Bulge.
During the battle, Compton was evacuated for severe trench foot. Stephen E. Ambrose concluded that Compton had been "unnerved" by witnessing two of his closest friends, Joe Toye and William Guarnere, badly wounded by German artillery.[16] Compton wrote in his autobiography, "...although I was affected by the horrors of Bastogne, I do not believe I was clinically shell shocked, as the series portrays me. In real life, while I was hollering for the medic, trying to figure out what to do, I remember two distinct thoughts: How are we going to help the wounded guys?...Maybe this is the time the Germans are really going to get us all."[17] In December 1945 he was discharged from service and returned home to California.[18]
In 1946, Compton returned to UCLA to complete his degree; he turned down an offer to play minor league baseball, choosing instead to concentrate on his continued public service aspirations.[12] Compton married Donna Newman in October 1947 and the couple adopted two daughters.[20]
Compton became employed as a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1946, also attending Loyola Law School. Compton quickly rose the LAPD ranks, becoming a detective in the Central Burglary Division.[21] He left the LAPD for the District Attorney's office in 1951, serving as a deputy district attorney. In 1964, LA District Attorney Evelle J. Younger appointed Compton to the position of chief deputy district attorney.[22]
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. A celebration of Compton's 90th birthday was held in January 2012 with nearly 200 in attendance including Band of Brothers actors Michael Cudlitz, James Madio, Neal McDonough, and Richard Speight, Jr. McDonough developed a friendship with Compton while making the miniseries and kept in touch afterwards. McDonough's son Morgan is nicknamed "Little Buck" in honor of Compton.[26]
In January 2012, Compton suffered a heart attack. On February 25, 2012, he died at a daughter's home in Burlington, Washington. His wife Donna died previously in 1994.[27]
Today, Loyola Law School honors Compton with the Lynn D. "Buck" Compton Veterans Law Association, promoting "social interaction amongst military and Coast Guard veterans, active duty, National Guard, and reserve personnel at Loyola Law School while encouraging public interest in, and pro bono work on, issues relating to the welfare of military personnel and veterans."[28]
