Ernie Lucavich

Pvt. Ernie Lucavich is a B.A.R. man in Able Company. He is portrayed by Roland La Starza.

Lucavich is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He is a football fan, especially of the Detroit Lions ("The Dogs of War"). Before being drafted, he worked at an automotive garage ("Robertino").

He is best friends with Sam Hanson. Though the two grew up in the same city, they met only after joining the Army ("The Dogs of War"). The two are almost always seen together, and are often patrol buddies (Conley Wright notes that they are on patrol together at every opportunity since the September 1943 landing at Salerno). Their friendship is marred only by the rare quarrel; after one such argument, Hanson went missing during a nighttime patrol and was feared dead. Lucavich felt terrible guilt, and risked the ire of Capt. Benedict by striking out on his own to find Hanson ("Ol' Buddy").

Portrayed as somewhat simple, Lucavich is a sharp observer and sometimes a creative thinker. He is the first to notice the village of Casale is devoid of children, evidence of sinister German activity in the seemingly-abandoned town ("Fury in a Quiet Village"). He is also fascinated by the cosmological model of an expanding universe ("A Taste of Peace"). His logical processes lead him to odd conclusions, such as his speculation that the war had ended but the company hadn't been notified because "they couldn't find us" ("The Dogs of War"). In childhood, he wanted to be an explorer. He abandoned the dream when he found out there was nothing left to discover (“And Cain Cried Out”).

Lucavich is seriously wounded only once, hit by German fire in the village of Teano (“To Hold Up a Mirror”). He is initially feared dead as the company evacuates a German advance, but it is later revealed that Lucavich survived. He recovers without incident.

Though physically imposing, Lucavich is at heart a sensitive person. In the episode "Robertino," Lucavich rescues the titular orphan from a mined field and becomes a reluctant caregiver until Robertino's living sister can be found. In conversation with Hanson, Lucavich discloses he had a younger brother, implied to have died in childhood. The trauma of that experience leaves Ernie reluctant to form a bond with Robertino in case the same thing happened. But by the end of the episode Lucavich warms considerably toward Robertino and presents the child with a pocket watch his garage co-workers had given him before he shipped out.

Ernie Lucavich's last appearance in the series comes in the episode "Tommy," in which he spends his downtime playing craps with other guys from Able Company. He is part of Able's northward march as the episode and the series conclude.