Band of Brothers Episode 7 'The Breaking Point' REACTION!!
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- Опубликовано: 12 июн 2021
- Easy Company remains in the Ardennes Forest preparing for an inevitable attack on German forces in the town of Foy. However, morale is low due to cold weather, constant shelling, poor leadership, and numerous casualties. Here's our reaction to episode 7 of Band of Brothers.
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Please watch "we stand alone together". Is the full interview of the war veterans. Is after episode 10
a very good show to watch from a medical pint is MASH. first watch the movie then the TV show i know you may be familar to it given your age range
Probably not for a reaction video because nobody's heard of it, but considering your respect for medics, you really should watch "The Last Full Measure" (2019) based on the true story of Medal of Honor recipient Air Force pararescueman Airman William Pitsenbarger. When the 1st Infantry Division was surrounded and taking heavy casualties, and area was under so much fire that Army medivac couldn't get through, Pitsenbarger's Aerospace Rescue and Recovery copter went in to fly out as many of the wounded as they could. When he saw that one of the badly wounded men they were evacuating was the division's medic, Pitsenbarger lowered himself to the jungle floor to help the soldiers. When his copter was full, and he was ordered to get out, he sent up another wounded man in his place and stayed behind with the besieged division. He picked up a rifle and assisted in the fight to defend the position, and throughout the day and night, he treated the wounded and repeatedly went out beyond the defensive perimeter to bring back wounded soldiers and to get weapons and ammunition from the dead despite being wounded three times himself. He was finally stopped by a sniper bullet to the head. It took more than thirty years for him to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
You just got to see the legend that is Ronald Spears.
There will be many comments giving you the real story of Lt. Dike, so I just want to put it into perspective using an example another unfair depiction of a combat leader in which the author explained why he showed the leader in a factually inaccurate negative light. Journalist Evan Wright whose book was turned into the HBO mini-series "Generation Kill" said he felt bad about the unfair and unflattering way the book and show depicted the First Reconnaissance Battalion commanding officer Lt. Col. Stephen Ferrando. Wright said that, in retrospect, every marine who served under Ferrando now says that he was a good leader and that many of his unpopular decisions were later shown to be right. However, even though Wright respected and liked Col. Ferrando, he was dedicated to showing a "grunt's eye view" of how the war looked and felt to the men fighting it while they were fighting it, so if they honestly had a negative perception at the time of what their commanding officer was doing, he felt obligated to depict that negative perception even if it their perception was factually incorrect.
When you know what’s coming, “SPIERS!! Get yourself over here!” is perhaps the greatest moment in cinema ever.
I love that moment, it so brilliant how he totally ignores the general to do what he can do to save his men. What an episode.
@@natecloe8535 John Basilone.
Yeah, "Take that attack on in". That's all that Spiers had to hear. That was all the direction he needed. He instinctively knew what needed to be done and had the courage to do it.
I choke up every time
The bypassing of HIS own CO, Sink, to “..SPEIRS!” is the excellent setup for that awesome moment.
Every German gangsta until Winters yelled "Speirs".
In case of emergency, break glass, release Speirs.
If Stormbreaker had a proper name, it’d be Speirs.
When Winters shouts "SPEIRS!" I get chills every time. You know shit is about to go down. Speirs is so god damn cool.
@@Strider91 Wow!
I get goosebumps at that moment as well. Not just because we know what Speirs was about to do, but because I really felt Winters’ emotions. He was desperate to run out and try to save his men but was ordered back. It must be so damn hard to see these men risking their lives but you’re given protection and told to hold back and let someone else go instead.
and how he talks over his superior - I know you mean well sir but I have shit to do - urgency!
@@Strider91 Thankfully he was there though. Speirs, like everyone else, probably saw the whole situation unfolding from his own platoon’s position. Easy Company was falling into disarray and they needed to reorganize themselves back onto the offensive before the battalion’s whole mission fell apart before it even really began. They were getting slaughtered and were on the verge of routing; they needed someone to lead them by example right then and there more than ever before. And, just as Speirs had previously told Blithe, he had already resolved himself of death to make him the perfect one capable of functioning in such a role, just as a true soldier is meant to function.
@@MrJH101 well said
Reminding Shifty Powers to not miss is like reminding water to be wet.
In reality, the distance to the sniper was a little less than twice what was shown. After the battle, Popeye Wynn and another E Co. soldier went looking for the sniper. They found him. Shifty had put the bullet right in the middle of the sniper’s forehead.
Popeye said, “you know, it just doesn’t pay to be shooting at Shifty when he’s holding a rifle.”
Shifty Powers seems like such a gentle soul, and the actor playing him portrayed that very well, in a very limited amount of screen time.
R.I.P. " Shifty " Powers.
There's another famous Bastogne story about Shifty where he noticed an odd tree a mile away that wasn't there the day before. They found out it was German artillery (or was it AA gun emplacement) that was camouflaged. Lipton managed to get permission to fire artillery at it, and the German's abandoned the place right after.
I mean... who sees an out of place tree in a forest?
@@clockwork204 The guy that spent his youth living and hunting in the country. ;) Cool thing is, modern snipers are trained to notice things exactly like that. This man had that natural talent before the military was officially training snipers. What an amazing man.
The Spears run to contact "I" Company really happened, those interviewed said the distance was further and he was under heavier fire than what was portrayed on the show.
My favorite scene of the entire series.
It’s spelled, “SPEIRS!” on all-caps. We definitely need more books and interviews to source from to put it all together. Fascinating!
Well i heard from other interviews there were even more tanks. And he heard it from another guy who said there were even elephants. Those Carthaginians man they're something else!
To me that felt like a MOH action, even though he survived.
I'm told it was Speirs that ran and got 2nd Armored to come help them in Carentan
Note: When this was filming, many of the actors met their IRL counter parts. Some of them became friends. The actor who played Muck actually contacted his living relatives to learn more about him and included the story of him swimming across the Niagara Falls, which wasn't in the original script.
Muck spoilers
@@blefyplayswowable HE DIED! 🤦🏻♀️
@@blefyplayswowable He died in this episode....hopefully you've already watched he show...if not...it's kinda spoiled already by the editing....
Across the river, not the falls. Good to know his contact with the family added that to the series.
@adam loring omg
This episode is another highlight of television history.
One of my favourite episodes of television. Speirs is one of those rare soldiers who just has no fear, no concern for anything but achieving his objective. I presume they will watch The Pacific next and meet the other ultimate badass soldier!
@@ciaranconlon84 I hope so. I hope they come into it with no preconceived notions or at least be in the moment, you know? Like all the other reactions of shows or films that have just come out. It’s challenge to do one that a whole bunch of people talk about for two decades. And then another from a decade ago.
You can actually look up a video of the angle of the shot that Shifty Powers took. It's an expert shot even with modern firearms. The fact that he did it back then, when the sniper knew their position while standing straight up is insane. Idk how Easy company got anything done in the war not being held back by the sheer weight of their balls
Link?
@@l4tix search shifty sniper angle on foy
Shifty was an outdoorsman and a hunter before the war and was considered the best shot in easy company. His outdoorsman and observation skills were also incredible. One story in the "Band of Brothers" book that didn't appear in the show was while in Bastogne, he noticed a tree nearly mile away across the line that hadn't been knocked down the day before and reported it to his superiors. It was found to be camouflage for a German artillery piece and was taken out before it could be used against the American line.
@@ghostlightplays Shifty was a complete fuckin badass and a model soldier who's story became my favorite in the series besides Bull and Guarnere. He was an absolute unit. Did the kind of shit you would see in a video game.
"Mortars and grenades on that building till it's gone." Now that's how you sum up wrecking shit. :)
military house renovation, now just waiting for the new tenant
The best leaders know to keep things simple and straight to the point
Well put
Fun fact: when Lip and Popeye (I think!!) went to check on the sniper that Shifty shot, the bullet wound was *right in the middle of his forehead,* which prompted one of them to say "It just doesn't pay to be shooting at Shifty when he's got a rifle in his hands."
This is a little late, but apparently Shifty was aiming at the German snipers breath.
I always love how Winters just basically stole Speirs from Dog Company -- and how Speirs literally just was the first officer of appropriate rank he happened to see upon looking around for *someone* to relieve Dike (not that there probably were many). I also love the detail of Speirs being vaguely terrifying in every context except around Lipton as they actually did have something of an unlikely bromance.
As for stories of the actors and the men they played, one of my favourites is the one about Shane Taylor, who plays Doc Roe, and Doc's daughter Maxine. IIRC there was a bus full of the cast members + the real men and their families, and she called out "DOC!". Taylor immediately looked up and she knew she'd found the one playing her father -- and then they hugged and cried. Which just says a lot about everyone involved.
Well considering the actor bootcamp they went through; having to use their character names to talk to everyone else it makes sense that "Doc" got his and only his attention.
@Anal Farmer the characters that either had black marks or were disliked by the people these stories come from were perhaps unfairly hit by the TV and movie tactic of over emphasizing their flaws to get the reaction the writers want. Cobb is another one. Most of the guys liked him, but he _was_ dishonorably discharged so he gets some bad treatment to set it up later.
In the end of the next episode, if you look closely, in the background when they pull out you can see Cobb is in jeep with MPs.
The story of Speirs shooting a drunk Sargeant was true.
Dog Company on D-day was ordered to secure the town of Ste. Come du Mont. But they were ordered to hold position while their artillery hit the enemy position.
One sargeant who was clearly intoxicated wanted to charge the enemy and disobey orders. Twice, Speirs ordered the man to stand down and report to the rear for being too intoxicated to perform his duty. On the third time, the Sargeant picked up his weapon and got ready to aim it at Speirs. Speirs shot the man in self defense.
He reported the incident to his captain, Jerre Gross who after conducting an investigation, deemed it as an incident of justified self defense. Captain Gross was KIA one day later so that's why the incident kinda got set aside and forgotten about. Of course, the rest of the companies in 101st heard about it and it spread like wildfire.
O.K....but what happened to Captain Gross ?!?👀👀👀👀
And he really did shoot those German POW’s…There’s an interview with Winters confirming it.
@@ryanhampson673 They were ordered unofficially that on D-Day until the rest of the Army came ashore they couldn't take prisoners. Not enough men, resources, time, etc. It was very unfortunate.
Getting shelled by artillery is one of the worst experiences for a soldier. During the shelling at Anzio, a Sergeant was heard saying this prayer, "Dear God come save us. Don't send Jesus, come yourself, this is no place for a child."
the worst image I ever had to look at, and that still haunts me to this day, is the picture of a friend's helmet, with his blood still in it. Split apart and shattered from the shrapnel of an RPG that had penetrated his RG-31's armor and killed him during a night time ambush.
RIP Sgt Ryan C. Adams
KIA 02 Oct 2009
Afghanistan
951st En Co (SAPPER)
Wisconsin National Guard
GLYASDW
William, I’m so truly sorry about the loss of your friend, Sgt Ryan C. Adams. So heartbreaking
RIP Sgt Adams, massive respect to you both. Be well brother
RIP my brother Ryan. Prayers to you brother William.
I don't know what to say. How could I, but to say I'm so sorry for you loss. Thank you for your service.
God Bless you and Sgt.Adams brother
"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it." - Ronald W. Speirs
Effective in command and relentless in combat. That man was born for war. He may not be the most ethical officer, but when the job needs to be done efficiently, Speirs was the man for it.
Too bad he never actually said anything like that IRL.
@@Darnaguen whether it's fact, or not, Speirs was the man they needed after Winters was promoted, and after they lost Compton.
Church! That man practiced what he preached!
@@Darnaguen I'd follow him into battle. What about you?
This is how good a shot Shifty was...
Back in episode 6 when Easy Company was fighting in the Ardennes forest, Shifty spotted some german artillery observers had set up a lookout post to spot artillery on them.
How?
The germans were hiding behind a fake tree and Shifty could tell it hadnt been there before.
He notified Lipton and who saw that they were moving in some artillery guns which confirmed Shifty's report. And they were able to relay the coordinates to their own artillery and dropped ordnance on them despite them also having a shortage of ammo.
I swear Shifty is an underrated hero in this series
No doubt Shifty was a damn good shot, but your comment is fucking stupid. What does noticing a fake tree have to do with how good a shot you are? Why not type out some of his other battles so it's actually relevant?
@@the_bee_is_me Actually it does tie in in a way, not directly with his shooting ability but with the sniper mindset of always making a mental map of the current battlefield and noting all kinds of landmarks, potential cover and concealment, good sniping spots and so on until you can picture it all in your head. There's actually WWII training video for German snipers here on RUclips that covers this (along with much else I'm sure, I haven't seen all of it), and I'd assume American snipers/sharpshooters would have the same training. It certainly appears Shifty took these lessons to heart, judging by this story.
@@mwilsonUT Oh I agree Easy Company knew, I just don't think that they gave him enough credit in the book or in the tv series
I will always 👍 this amazing fact share of the great Shifty Powers! Everytime!
One of my friends met Bill Guarnere (one of the guys who’s leg was blown off) at a WW2 historical event about ten years ago. As he tells it, he saw Sgt Guarnere struggling to open a fence to get somewhere, so my friend asked “do you need a hand?” To which Guarnere replied “no, I need a fuckin’ leg.”
Dude kept his sense of humor til the day he died in 2014.
Christ, I don't know if I'd have been able to prevent myself from laughing out of black humor.
Fun Fact- Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton played baseball at UCLA with Jackie Robinson before the war
@@mrkrinkle72 spoilers. Let em finish the series first.
@@catherinelw9365 spoilers. Let em finish the series first. Only few episodes left.
Fun?
@@mrlol2238 it’s baseball before the war. It’s fair.
He finished his law degree at Loyola and eventually became chief deputy district attorney, he reorganized the Los Angeles DA's office, creating a system still in place today, and headed the team that successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. He earned a bronze star, silver star and purple heart in combat.
That “artery twisted on a stick” isn’t an artery but rather just a bloody cloth, as the medic was applying a tourniquet above the area of the wound to prevent the soldier from bleeding out. Very painful and the soldier’s artery very well might have been hit, but that’s not what was getting twisted there
That would be one very elastic artery. They have to see the rest of the series ASAP and The Pacific and follow up films Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags of our Fathers, and other films recommended like Black Hawk Down, The Great Raid, etc .... for reasons.
@@genghisgalahad8465 don't forget Generation Kill
@@tamberlame27 Generation Kill is easily my favorite of these series.
@@tamberlame27 I see that recommended often. Is it fictional? Or same historical format?
@@genghisgalahad8465 similar to BoB and The Pacific. It is about the 2003 invasion of Iraq and follows the Marine Recon. It is really good!
It is based off a book written by the reporter embedded with the unit.
It’s hard to believe things actually happened this way. Spiers didn’t just do this Hollywood heroic scene. It wasn’t just depicted this way or made up or something. He actually did that. In real life, during this battle, lol wtf!! Crazy to think about.
Shifty really made that shot, too. You can still go to the town and stand where he stood, it was an incredible shot. Shifty was just a poor kid from VA, learned to shoot like that fending off starvation, you miss you don’t eat, but he saved more than a few lives with his amazing skills, as a shooter and a scout, dude had eagle eyes, he could spot the smallest movement in thick woods. He was a slight man, really humble, but a total badass, love Shifty.
The distance he ran to meet up with I Company was actually a lot longer in real life, and he was under more fire than what they showed.
The real life story is even more unbelievable than what they showed in the the TV show.
@@albinorhino6 lol gotta love it.
@@redstateforever R.I.P. " Shifty " Powers.
My Grandfather is 85 soon to be 86 and he is a Veteran of the Vietnam War, and what Nikki said is so true. To this day he has never really talked about his time over there. He will make small mentions here and there, but rarely does he go into detail. When he came back and got back to Civilian life he wasn't the nicest of guys, had his issues with Alcohol and was kinda violent. In short, my Grandfather had PTSD when he returned and back and knowing what I know now about PTSD, I have forgiven a lot of his past actions. Sure I can't forget them, but on the other hand I understand him a lot better. If that makes any sense.
My grandad was the same, though he was a WW2 vet taken pow by the Japanese. No one except my grandma knew about it for four decades, but it messed him up. Drinking problems, aloofness, an early retirement because if PTSD and health issues.
My father would be 71 next month, and he was also a Vietnam veteran. He was surprisingly very open about lots of his experience in Vietnam, though I’m sure there’s some things he didn’t mention. When I was young I remember him being pretty mean at times, and he was an alcoholic up until the day he died. His later years though we were extremely close. He still drank way too much and smoked way too many cigarettes but he wasn’t nearly as full of hate and aggression as he was when I was younger. I know not a day went by though that he didn’t have some thought of the war.
I had 3 uncles who fought in that bloody war. Ditto!
Sometime later, maybe in a year or two, I'd rewatch the episodes. There are a lot things you notice when you rewatch the show. You see the little moments of Lipton in the previous episodes, you see some of the characters doing things you missed before.
Yes! This series is a rare one that really demands a rewatch.
One of the things that made Foy so devastating for the 101st was that the forest was farmed regularly for lumber so trees were planted in rows creating easy sight lines for the Germans to spot down and no cover for men or movement.
This is a series I watched when it came out originally in the UK and it had an amazing affect on me, I think I’ve seen it every year since, which is bizarre that a programme can remain pertinent for so long and for so many times watching. It should be used educationally to show what these amazing real people did for their country for my country and for the entire free world! It’s an amazing piece of tv, from an amazing writer, director and producers and the acting and retelling of these stories is amazing!
You are possibly correct!
Yeah I'm one of them people that watch this show every year. 20 years now. I was 14 when this came out. Been watching this every year since.
Me too, lol. A cousin worked for Warner Bros., she got me this awesome DVD set several years ago. My son totally stole it when he left for college, and I couldn’t even really be mad, he loves it too. It’s the best, no other series has topped BoB for me.
Same! I received the original DVD set as a Christmas gift, and now it's tradition for me to watch the series every year during the holidays.
I watched each episode live. I had a satellite with HBO lol. Year later i got them on dvd for Christmas.
And The Pacific?
@@genghisgalahad8465 Yeah i watched those live on HBO to. And i watch that every year to. And Generation Kill. I also watch alot of war movies every year to. Always around Remembrances Days.
The story about Spiers running across the battlefield and back seems too crazy to be true but that just makes it even more incredible. Legend
I'm one of those that watch Band of Brothers on a semi-annual basis (about every 6 months, I watch it and at times have watched it, only to start all over with episode 1 the day after finishing it).
Of the 10 episodes, this one and Crossroad are my favorites. One because it highlights Winters and this one because of Speirs. The scene of him running through the German lines, only to turn around and come back, is probably my favorite scene of the entire series.
In my time in the Army, I had officers like Winters and I had officers like Dike. It's just one of those things. You take the good with the bad. But in most cases, the NCO's were pretty good.
It’s one of those shows/movies were you look up a single clip and suddenly find yourself having rewatched the whole thing. I find I do this with BoB and Goodfellas
Out of all the moments in this particular episode: I always love the "Carthaginian prisoner" story; how the story gets told, and re-told from people who were 'there' but really weren't. The story grew so much that it made the person at the center of the story the meanest toughest SOB in the legion when in fact it could've been something entirely different, but who knows? really.
I have a funny feeling many years from now our story will get the same treatment how "This person was (X) many years ago" and "how this person did (x) many years ago" but the only people who actually know, are the people who were really there.
Stories like that or are told in a way or re-told however you want to put it; helps boost confidence & morale not just in a solider but in a person as well. Yeah, the particular character in that scene that was in a few episodes ago might've done something bad, but don't forget though: Who was really there? was it him? was it the other soldiers? we will never know because the story has been told, and re-told countless times
But the show, allthough not showing it on camera, basically next to confirmed that the story about Spiers WAS true and that he DID kill the POW's.
@@Quotenwagnerianer That's true it wasn't shown on camera. But- as the show pointed out over the course of any sort of "Spiers POW" story each solider was telling it differently, heck one of the soldiers said it wasn't Spiers who fired the shots but another solider. And then you get to Fassbender's character telling it differently; all of this accumulates to Spiers telling the story about the Carthaginian Prisoners how soldiers heard it from one guy who told it this way, and then another guy who told it another way.
Stories and rumors can change the original story so much; That the original story was lost. Yes, Malarkey did see something; and the way he looked at Speirs afterwards might of confirmed it, but that was just Malarkey alone and no one else got to see the what really happened except for him.
@@Indiana_Minotaur Well the guy's name is Malarkey. You can't give credit to anything he says anyway. ;)
I'll just say this... If I'm remembering correctly, in Winter's book he basically admits that Spiers committed a bunch of war crimes. At the time he was more worried about having a competent commander, but later in life he really regretted not reigning him in/stopping him. Now, this has been quite a few years since I read it, so I may not be remembering it correctly.
You are correct however the two events talked about are true and Speirs admitted they were true to winters when he asked:
1. The German prisoners are true. He along with two others executed 20 German POWs.
However, to note this wasn’t just them doing it out of contention or hate but out of orders.
The commander of the 101st airborne gave strict orders to his men to not take any prisoners until contact had been made with beach side troops. This was due to several of its own factors:
- The airborne troops had been dropped with limited supplies enough for 3 days of combat + ration. This supply was also a personal supply big enough to feed anyone but themselves for 3 days. As such taking several dozen prisoners would mean having to use said limited food supplies to keep those prisoners fed until a link could be created with the beach - note nobody knew if said would happen or how long it would take.
- the second major factor was personnel. Even before the bad jump every trooper was going to be needed for their objectives. As such having to leave a guard for prisoners - and a good size one at that so the prisoners don’t escape/overwhelm the guards - you’d be losing a massive source of manpower in completing your objectives which are crucial to helping the beach invasion and saving allied lives.
- there was nowhere to keep the prisoners. Due to the conditions that the paratroopers would be expected to keep moving and move upon their objectives, taking “bases” to keep prisoners was a “non-debate” idea. Even when they did secure farms and areas to create group up points/command headquarters they were not expected to be permanent locations but short time areas.
And having to either drag prisoners along with you - who will not be too kind in not making noise and alerting their own friends to you to kill you and save them - or leaving them in the arena - to be come upon by friendly troops who would rearm them and use their knowledge to hunt you (i.e. the saving private Ryan situation) - holding them anywhere would be an impossibility to their mission as such they were a major liability.
Taking these factors into account and smaller ones on just how bad the drop went and how little knowledge they had, and the orders given, their was reason said men were executed. As such you can see it as Spiers following order he was given by a higher commander.
2. The second incident with the sergeant did again happen.
While out one night on scouting, Spiers found that one of his sergeants was very very drunk and walking around with his sidearm in his hands.
When Spiers demanded the man give over his weapon and to surrender himself to him, the man refused and Spiers fearing that said man who was drunk, angry and holding a loaded firearm, shot the man without hesitation.
He didn’t even cover this action up or not report it, instead he took care to carry the body back, make sure the men in his patrol were good and then gave a full report in writing to his superior officer on the full nights situation. Said commander then responded “if I was there I would have shot him before asking”.
"Hey, you got a Luger? I’m dying to get my hands on a real Luger." - Hoobler in the first episode, Curahee
I'm pretty sure the actors got a chance to interact with the real life men that they were portraying. I hope you two watch the documentary after you watch the 10 episodes. I absolutely love this miniseries! I never clicked on a video so fast in my life when I seen this pop up on my homepage. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of your reactions.
You’re right. The surviving men of Easy Company got to come and meet the actors on the set and tell their story and what they wanted to make clear in their acting roles
The look on Nikki's face when Steven says what are the chances Speirs shoots him.
I'd agree, in a combat environment the role of medic is both vital and difficult... But, spare a thought for recovery mechanics - these guys are the medics for the armoured corps. If a tank or APC gets hit, then they are expected to dash out and return with the vehicle (plus crew) when possible.
We had our commanders CVRT get hit and lose a track during a scrap over a bridge back in 03. Then - while under accurate mortar fire - the craziest bunch of bastards outside of Oddball in Kelly's Heroes come charging through the incoming rounds, buckle the CVRT to their own tank, and drag it out of the battle. We bought those lads a few beers back in Germany when all the shenanigans were over.
The mechanics in Engineer route clearance units are the same sort of stupidly brave. Barely armored and unarmed recovery vehicles rolling in to pull a blown up MRAP out of the crater an IED made under it while being shot at sometimes even before EOD would clear the site of secondaries.
When our Buffalo got hit, they hooked up to it and when they raised it's front wheels up so they could tow it, the front wheels of THEIR vehicle came up off the ground, so we hooked the tow bars of an MRAP to the front of the recovery vehicle and had a 3-part monstrosity rolling down the trail till we got to a FOB so a heavier tow vehicle could meet us there
I know. I was a sapper with the British army. (Armoured Combat Engineer Regt) Had a few squeaky arse moments clearing mines out in Bosnia.
I know. I was a sapper with the British army. (Armoured Combat Engineer Regt) Had a few squeaky arse moments clearing mines out in Bosnia.
I know. I was a sapper with the British army. (Armoured Combat Engineer Regt) Had a few squeaky arse moments clearing mines out in Bosnia.
I know. I was a sapper with the British army. (Armoured Combat Engineer Regt) Had a few squeaky arse moments clearing mines out in Bosnia.
Important to note that this show is based on memories and interviews -- Dike was actually awarded several medals for valorous service (including a Bronze Star for pulling three wounded Easy men out of an exposed position while under "intense" fire at Bastogne) and it seems that he stopped advancing because he got hit in the right shoulder, not because he was incompetent or a coward.
Right apparently the only two accounts given to Ambrose while writing Band of Brothers about what exactly happened during Dike's assault on Foy were given by Winters and I believe Malarkey, neither of whom were present to witness what actually happened to Dike. Turns out Dike was shot and had to be taken to the rear. The book and the movie do a real disservice to Dike painting him as some sort of nervous coward which doesn't seem to be at all accurate.
I feel bad for looking forward to this.
It’s a beautifully written episode but such a tragedy to watch, don’t feel bad. Feel grateful that they gave their lives and blood for us. How I feel every-time I watch this show.
Awesome job guys. You should react to the documentary “We Stand Alone Together: Easy Company” right after you finish the series. This will give you the full interviews and footage.
Been waiting for this one, solely based off LT Spiers’ run……
As far as weak leaders faltering in combat, that's something we still deal with today. I've spent over 21 years of my life in the US Infantry. I've deployed for over 56 months in support of combat operations abroad with the bulk being in Iraq (to include the initial invasion). I've led men in combat for the last 15 plus years, and I've been extremely lucky in some regards, because luck always has a part to play.
On average, it takes roughly 2 and a half to 3 years for a Platoon/Company to mesh together into a solid and competent fighting unit. That time is spent starting at the lowest group element (team size of 4) on up thru squad, section, platoon, company, and battalion. If you're really lucky you may actually get to do a brigade or division training event prior to moving to your certification at the National Training Center (NTC). This is what certifies a unit to move forward into real world operations around the globe. It's rare for people to fail this, even if there are glaring problems with the Battalion and Brigade. But still, that's three years of training spent molding soldiers, NCOs, and officers into competent leaders. And we still have a few that crumble under the stress when rounds start coming in.
Compare that to the fact that the average US soldier had only 8 weeks of training at the start of WWII and the fact that by the end it had dropped to 3 weeks for a lot, you see the issues. From 1944-1970 the US learned an important fact. We could no longer sit by and rely on a draft system to effectively combat our ideals abroad. We needed a dedicated force, who trained consistently, to meet our intent. Hence why full active duty is a thing now. The losses of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam (where the average life span for a Marine LT in the jungle was about two months) was a costly lesson for us as a whole.
So while part of me despises the fact that LT Dykes weakness left good men to pay the price, it's also understandable. Not everyone is cut out for the life and being thrown into that much of 'the suck' so quickly, it's perfectly understandable. Hell, I lived in a fox hole for six weeks in the southern area of Iraq (near An'Najaf) and I can tell you I want zero part of trench warfare with a near peer enemy. That's some scary shit.
In the series, Lieutenant Dike is portrayed as being incompetent, but in real life he performed many acts of heroics. For example, Dike was awarded a Bronze Star for his action at Uden, Holland, with the 101st Airborne Division between 23 and 25 September 1944, in which he “organized and led scattered groups of parachutists in the successful defense of an important road junction on the vital Eindhoven-Arnhem Supply Route against superior and repeated attacks, while completely surrounded." Dike was awarded a second Bronze Star for his action at Bastogne, in which "he personally removed from an exposed position, in full enemy view, three wounded members of his company, while under intense small arms fire" on 3 January 1945. During the assault on Foy, Dike had ordered a platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town. During their charge, he abandoned the mission and ordered the men to take cover with him.
Dike's sergeants informed him they were going to get killed because they were bracketed. At the same time, Captain Richard Winters, former commander of Easy Company and the Battalion's X.O., tried radioing Dike to tell him the same thing. Having no idea how to control the situation, Dike froze. "He fell apart," as Carwood Lipton at that time the company's first sergeant, later put it. Dike told First Squad to go on a flanking mission and for everyone else to provide suppressing fire, despite there being no adequate cover and they would be cut off from the company. He was relieved of command during the attack by Lt. Ronald Speirs, then moved on to become an aide to Gen. Maxwell Taylor, 101st Airborne Division. Foot Note:- Dike later went on to serve in the Korean War becoming a lieutenant colonel until resigning in 1957.
Incredible how the actors are portraying the men all full of piss and vinegar during training to their first combat and seeing some of their friends killed to the rigors of the mental and physical stress wearing them down. Your reactions to this series are so good I know the rest of the series will hit home (and I haven’t even watched this episode yet.) Great job.
The scene where Buck Compton finds Guarnere and Toye with their legs blown off? Buck Compton dropped his helmet on seeing them. Back in 1989 I completed an oral history with my dad regarding his experiences as an Army infantry company commander during World War II in New Guinea and the Philippines. Dad said---again, he told me this more than ten years before the Band of Brothers series was produced---that when a guy would "crack" mentally, he would often just stand there, immobile, and drop his helmet. He said that dropping a helmet was a curious thing, and a simple thing, but it happened. And every infantry soldier in the company was aware of that little gesture. He also said that every soldier had a breaking point, some could take the stress more or less than others. He likened it to bottles; some guys were just born with larger "bottles" than others for being able to carry the stress. When a guy did crack, no one bore him any ill will; no one considered him anything else than a brave and loyal comrade whose "time" had come just as surely as getting felled by a Japanese bullet or artillery fragment.. Anyway, I was amazed when, years after my dad's passing in 1992, I was watching Band of Brothers and saw Buck Compton.........stand immobile and drop his helmet. Little things like that make BoB such a compelling, realistic series.
By far the best television series I’ve ever seen. I watch it front to back every Memorial Day and I tear up every time.
This episode was physically hard to watch, and I almost never say that about anything else but this episode was *different*
Episode 7 is tough, but it’s not the toughest.
@@albinorhino6 so much truth
I watch this series 2 maybe 3 times a year. This should been shown in every school across America.
Spiers the legend.
And it really happened! What a man!
@@NastyHudson If I were a German soldier and seeing him do that, I’d just stand in awe
@@ProfessionalTroll420 what can you do when a man has such giant diamond nuts but stand in awe
I know its 'sappy' and a little ridiculous as we have never met and probably never will but I love the pair of you for your honest souls and the heartfelt purity of your emotions. This series hits me hard every time I watch it and watching it along with you makes it all the more meaningful.
And, on less intense matters, with regard to life and death at least, Nikki is truly lovely, both in terms of those wonderful eyes and, more importantly, that wonderful heart. I am happy, Steven, that you have found such a kindred soul - treasure her, for such are rare. I had a similar good fortune to have found such a soul but cancer stole my wife from me and, like those men in their foxholes, I have never recovered from losing her. So don't let a day go by when the petty things of the everyday get in the way of the love you share.
Arguably my favorite episode. From the shocking scene with Luz, to Spiers being the ultimate badass, to the final scene in the church. Just an amazing episode.
Norman Dike was awarded a Bronze Star for his action at Uden, Holland, with the 101st Airborne Division between 23 and 25 September 1944, in which he “organized and led scattered groups of parachutists in the successful defense of an important road junction on the vital Eindhoven (sic)-Arnhem Supply Route against superior and repeated attacks, while completely surrounded."
Dike was awarded a second Bronze Star for his action at Bastogne, in which "he personally removed from an exposed position, in full enemy view, three wounded members of his company, while under intense small arms fire" on 3 January 1945.
Nowadays, soldiers carry multiple tourniquets on their person, with at least one first aid kit. Combat medics are now armed. We learned a lot of lessons from those days.
Medics are armed but only to protect themselves and their patients.
Unqualified "Officers" have been in armies since the first army set foot on a battlefield. Officers used to be the nobility or the rich. They were deemed able to lead because of their class, not their ability. Commissions were bought, not earned. And those very few that managed to earn their commissions on the battlefield were never treated as equals because they were always of a lower class. There are some horrible stories in history of armies sent to their deaths by these people.
Nothing has really changed, there will always be those that "know somebody". All we can hope is that there isn't a war while these people are skating through their military career on their way to bigger and better things.
I have a feeling you would like Bernard Cornwell's "Richard Sharpe" books. BTW: Is your avatar the Wheel of Chaos?
JAMES
@@Eoraptor1 I may or may not have read all the Sharpe Books and own the Sharpe DVD's starring a certain Sean Bean :) I may or may not have done the same with C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower books and shows. And I may or may not be a fan of W.E.B. Griffin who wrote some really amazing fictional books on WWII-Vietnam.
@@sepulchreknight "Bloody, fighting, 95th. First in the Field, and the last out of it..."
JAMES
My Grandpa, Dad, Brother & Nephew all served… so grateful for all of our soldiers doctors, Nurses & families who sacrifice everything to keep us safe… I read about a Nurse who trained her dogs to bark when the Gestapo were close as she helped smuggle children to safety… I watched a video clip of this brave gentleman who saved around 200 children & his notebooks with the children’s names were found in the attic by his grandkids… so they tell him they were invited to a banquet for survivors, after dinner, theses adults stood up one by one… they were a majority of the children he saved…. What a hero ❤️
Hearing you two appreciate the medic story, you definitely need to react to Hacksaw Ridge!
Dawes was on a different level than the rest of us.
Dyk was responsible for his mens commandations. Winters ask Dyk for the medic to get proper awards & medals for in actions under fire. In an interview Winters is upset that he didn't receive what he deserved. Dyk must of forgot. I feel sorry for Dyks family. He is a perfect example of nepotism. And why it does more harm than good.
I watched this series over a year because I couldn't let my heart strings handle my ancestors stories! I thank you both for this channel ❣️❤️
I think you guys would truly enjoy "Generation Kill." It's not as epic or sentimental as "Band of Brothers" but it's also very illuminating and incredibly enjoyable. Maybe next year or the year after it would make a good watch leading up to memorial day :)
Just to tie a few things together.
The song the girls choir sings is from the late 1800s, Plaisir d’Amour. It was very popular back in the day and has been covered by artists like Joan Baez. It went through a transformation in the 60s. The key was changed to fit a baritone voice. The bridge was rewritten. That song became one of the best loved songs Elvis ever did. Falling in Love With You has a link to BOB.
Wow! Never knew about this
Medic, Corpsman, Doc. They are the closest thing to a doctor most troops have. Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Chaplain, Mother, Father. Even in peacetime, when the troops get a break, Doc is still at work. Checking feet, checking hydration status patching up blisters. They're the ones the troops go to when they get a dear John letter. And they do it carrying everything the troops carry PLUS their medical gear & supplies.
They will be there when needed, no matter what's going on around them. Shielding the bodies of their patients with their own. Death may come but that bastard won't get his fill without a fight.
Proud to say I walked that path for 10 years Navy Corpsman 86-96
The air of mystery surrounding Speirs caused a few headaches during the fact-checking process for Ambrose's book. The stories about Speirs include him shooting one of his own men for being drunk, and handing out cigarettes to 20 German prisoners of war before shooting them all dead. Simon and Schuster's legal team was concerned that these stories, if published, could open them up to a libel lawsuit. To allay those fears, Major Dick Winters personally got in contact with Speirs to explain that the tales were going to be included in the book and ask if he had any objections. Speirs was unconcerned, and freely admitted they were true (or at least, some version of them was). As he said to his stepson when concern was expressed that the stories might reflect badly on him: "I'm eighty-one years old, what can they do to me now?"
Some of the stories about Ronald Speirs were indeed exaggerated. The German prisoners, for example, were shot not out of sadism but simply because on D-Day the US troops were ordered not to take any prisoners; there wasn't yet any established infrastructure within which to hold them, and letting them go would have meant letting them carry strategic information back to the German army. According to a letter that Winters wrote to Ambrose, the story about Speirs shooting his subordinate was also "glamorized." He shot the sergeant not for being drunk, but for twice disobeying an order to halt his men's advance into a town that was about to be hit with artillery shelling. When the sergeant tried again to push his men forward, "Speirs shot him," Winters wrote. "[And] in doing so he probably saved the lives of the rest of the squad." -
I happened to read one of these books by Stephen Ambrose, which had the part about Spears, where he ran across to the German side. He makes the comment about how freaked-out they were . And then he does it again , coming back ?!! I read this about 15yrs ago, where my time was under very close management. Also I hadn't seen "The Band of Brothers" yet? So it was great to see the whole thing play full circle!!! By the way , you guy's are one of the best things in this whole, so called, Free World!!
I'll never forget hiking through Foy, Noville and visiting the cemetary at Recogne on Christmas Eve. The entire area was filled with beautiful, quiet peace. Thanks, guys.
I love the look on Christensen's face when Spiers offers him a smoke.
You just know Spiers was within earshot of their whole conversation and wanted to mess with them a little bit.
Christensen played by a young Michael Fassbender
I had a friend who was a volunteer firefighter, a cop, and a paramedic and an Army reservist. He was the happiest, most upbeat person until he got sent overseas. He came back with full blown PTSD, a shell of a man. He saved so many lives over there but he couldn't get over the ones he lost. He took to drinking and eventually died of a seizure. Such a sad end for such a great man. I wish there was more we could do to help soldiers with PTSD.
One thing to note here particularly about Dike is that he wasn't as bad as he was portrayed in this episode. He did make some poor decisions and was not very well liked by Easy company but that was largely due to him not coming from within Easy. The reality was that Dike came into Easy company with a Bronze Star for some action he saw in Holland. He then earned a second Bronze Star in the assault on Foy for his holding of a very bad position on the initial assault. During the battle the reason that Dike stopped commanding is because he was wounded in the shoulder, and not because he was afraid. Finally and most surprisingly, he did not die in his assault on Foy. He survived and later served in the Korean war. His family was not happy at all with his portrayal in the book or the series.
A lot of the issues with Dike seemed to stem from Winters himself. He didn't have a flattering view of Dike (some people just don't mesh)... this filtered to down to the rest of Easy who took their cue from Winters
The show does Dike dirty. I'm sure the three men he pulled to cover at Bastogne while under intense enemy fire and being completely exposed was glad he was around. He got a Bronze Star for that, as well as another one for organizing some paratroopers during Market Garden and holding an important road. Just like the other replacements, the men just didn't like him because he wasn't one of "them". His freeze up was also due to the fact that he'd been shot twice and was going into shock. He was a fine officer and like Speirs, fought in Korea and retired as a Lt Col.
Just FYI, just as Easy Company has had reunions since the war, the actors actually have an annual reunion now after this series. And yes, some of them did get advice from the real soldiers and actually became life long friends with them. Not going to say which ones though. You'll have to watch interviews with the actors after you finish the show.
What I found particularly interesting was how the writers, directors, and actors were able to capture the sense of increasing fatigue and war-weariness as Easy Company progressed through the war. I thought they did a great job! Great reaction videos!
Luz screaming about Muck and Penkala will *always* get me. And to make matters worse, they didn't even know they were dead men; they just wanted to make sure that their friend got to a safe place on time.
That scene always makes me fully sob. It was so sudden and so heartbreaking. The loss of a comrade is one thing. But Muck and Penkala were Malarkey's best friends. In my opinion, that trio, along with Luz, were my favorites. ❤😢
When the medic in last episode ran and you could bullets "whistling" by that's usually an indicator, that they are subsonic and within 4-5 feet of hitting you.
My grandfather was in WW2. He always protect me from everything so he didn't tell me about his struggles ever. I heard them in his funeral from his best friend when he kept a speetch. He told that every night when my grandfather went to sleep the war started again in his dreams, he was back in the battleflield. So basicly he didn't get out from the war ever. But he was really happy when he woke up and the war was gone again for the day. I really miss him..
Speirs talking to Lipton at the end always gets me. Always.
May the world never forget
In the wood behind this monument, on 18 December 1944 "E" Company of the 506th P.I.R. 101st Airborne division U.S. army dug their foxholes in the Bois Jacques Woods as part of the defence perimeter of Bastogne City that was soon to be surrounded by several enemy divisions. The circumstances were dreadful with constant mortar, rocket and artillery fire, snow fall, temperatures below -28 Celsius at night with little food and ammunition. The field hospital had been captured so little medical help was available. On December 24th the "E" company position was attacked at dawn by about 45 enemy soldiers. The attack failed and "E" company held their position with 1 casualty against 23 of the enemy. The position of "E" company was twice bombed and strafed by American P-47's. During the periods of January 9th an January 13th "E" company suffered its most casualties ending with the attack and capture of Foy on January 13th. 8 were killed in Foy and 6 earlier. During the whole period 32 were wounded and another 21 were evacuated with cold weather illnesses. In many units involved in the defence of Bastogne the casualties were even greater. This monument is dedicated to all that fought and is symbolic of what happened to other units during the Battle of the Bulge.
Airborne Always, Men of E company
that is the text on the monument at foy
when muck and pinkula got a direct hit into their foxhole later on don malarkey stated the they were literally vaporised...absolutely nothing left of them at all.
Pardon me if someone already said this or you know about it already but I just wanted to type it out anyway.
They were getting shelled, then a brief lull, then shelling again. This is an artillery tactic. The tactic is basically just this:
1: Shell an enemy position for a little while
2: Cease fire for several minutes
3: Resume shelling the position.
During the lull the enemy may come out of their holes to assist the wounded, only to get slaughtered by the second wave of shells.
It was a very popular strategy during the first world war
Buck getting trauma from being wounded in Holland is... really relatable and hits a bit close to home with me.
I was sent on medical leave away from my squad when I was in the Airforce. I was too sick to perform my duties so they were giving me time to recover before I could rejoin with my comrades and friends. The hospital... even though it wasn't a time of war... had me seeing some of the saddest and most horrifying cases I'd ever seen.
The people in the hospital were either being waited for their discharge to be sent home, or waiting a long time with nothing to do until like me, they could rejoin their units. But the depression, sadness and plenty of those poor folks were... bordering on major depression and it wasn't a happy place to really be, you know?
So what Buck saw when he was wounded basically set him towards the edge. Not his fault of course. But sometimes, when you see the worst of what someone's mind can go through psychologically, there aren't any words for that feeling. It just cuts deep in your heart and soul.
Thank you for your service. Have you seen The Pacific? They have scenes across multiple episodes that deal with this in great detail and show exactly what you're describing. Leckie has some things to deal with.
Speirs be like "Guten Tag, meine Herren" "Auf Wiedersehen, meine Herren! " :D Balls of steel
Lt. Dyke is one of the more controversial aspects of this, beyond the Blithe mistake. Some veterans refused to discuss him, as their hatred for his leadership was so severe based on what they saw, and survived through Bastogne and after the fact.. Others took a softer tone with him, especially here in his final battle as he was in fact wounded through the shoulder on the initial movement, and thus suffering from shock. Some call him misrepresented, but it is hard to call him that, I don't know if that is the right word for the overall picture of Dyke. He was not a great leader to be sure, be it inexperience, or poor skills, but the final assault where he froze, is for sure misrepresented, as it left out the wound and shock.
But, a large majority of the veterans did not speak highly of him, especially considering some of the leaders they had, Sobel in training,(he was an ass, but he made Easy, even the vets from Toccoa said so) Winters and Speirs in combat, even Heyleger for limited as he was there. Dyke and his flaws gets so coloured by the greatness of the others
it also leaves out the fact that Dike had been awarded the Bronze star for his efforts during the drop into the Netherlands where he gathered scattered Paratroopers and held an vital suply line against repeated more well equipped men. As well as his efforts duiring Bastogne where he rescued 3 men pulling them from their foxhole with no cover to save them whilst in full view of the enemy which he was also awarded a bronze star for.
@@tonyharrison2112 But that I can understand more. At least the Holland bit, Dike was not really part of the company yet, and there was no need to show that, when so many others stories needed telling, or were being over looked, like Liesnewski for example. To pick one.
As for the Bastogne one, again, it is going off of the veterans stories, and memories, and those are not positive, at least the positive ones are few and far between.
I was an Army medic in Sadr City Iraq during the surge. We (the medics) were definitely in the fight. I can't even fathom what Doc Rowe went through and saw without being armed...his only defense being a white piece of cloth on his shoulder. Absolutely incredible courage.
26:43 Ronald Speirs: The Real Life Captain America
This was probably the best showing of the psychological effects of a combat zone on camera. In most war/combat movies you only get the stories that are of great feats of bravery. In reality it is just people doing what they can to survive to the next day. Even the portrayal of the officer everyone is angry at is more common than naught when people see combat for the first time. It is a little dramatized in this but its something that is hard to train out of people you just have to experience it and see if you rise to the situation. Good episode.
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) would be the logical follow up to BOB. Yeah. The movie is 75 years old and filmed in black and white. But the themes of service men returning home from war are the same. Great cast. Great music.
Excellent movie
That end scene in the convent is one of my favorites of the entire series. it is so creatively done!
Bill Guarnere passed away in 2014, 2 days after my bday. Band of Brothers is one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever created.
31:42 "How could anyone keep going?" They kept going, for each other.
26:20 that’s what makes Spiers so great, they had confidence in him
Going thru this series with you both has been great. Seen someone mention the follow up "We stand alone together". You should for sure watch that after finishing this. Gives some great details, wont say too much to spoil for you.
I LOVE this couple. Comments are "right on", accurate and priceless. Thank you for your great compassion!!!!
This series is phenomenal on so many levels… like you guys said the medics can eat every forgotten about so I just love how they touch on all layers & aspects of war… each episode is better & better & with the words before some of the episodes more is learned … I love books about WW2… survival stories, everyday heroes… one war millions of stories… I would like to recommend some books… Night by Elie Wiesel, The Great Escape, The White Rose affiliation, On Hitlers mountain & there’s another one I’ve read I cannot remember the title but it was about two women who took in babies that were left by a tree near by… I have a good friend who was a little girl in Germany during the war… her stepfather was a doctor who developed a way to temporarily paralyze people so that they would be seen as unfit by the Gestapo… when the Nazis came for him she started to scream & her Mom pinched her in an effort to make her stop screaming… another I read that they were helping friends escape, they put goods in a casket almost out the door her come the Gestapo they told them that the dead person had leprosy… also if you haven’t watched them yet… the diary of Anne Frank made in 1953 or 1954… Anne Frank’s Holocaust two of her friends/school mates are in it… just amazes me how so many put their lives at risk to help others whether they knew them or not… Schindler s List of course…
I might have said it already."Generation Kill", next. I lived that life. Early war timeframe. A little more "crass" but the best OIF series out there.
Yea I didn't expect much from Generation Kill but it was amazingly good.
Spears and Lipton are absolute beasts. That was, and still is, one of my favorite episodes. So glad you guys are watching.
A hero is someone who is tired enough, hurting enough, and mad enough, to just not give a shit what happens to them anymore. Lt. Spiers didn't give a shit!
The reason Norman Dike fell apart during the invasion of Foy was not because of inexperience, or cowardice, or incompetence. While no one's idea of a perfect officer, what you have to remember is that this story is based on the stories told by the members of Easy Company themselves, and they *_hated_* Lieutenant Dike to the point that had he gone to them and handed out a million dollars in cash, they'd think he was setting them all up for something. He literally could not do anything right in the eyes of Easy Company, even when he was doing something right.
Within minutes of beginning the invasion of Foy, Lieutenant Dike was shot twice, and his wounds were not superficial. He came very close to bleeding out from them. Within moments of being shot, he'd lost so much blood that he was pale, confused, and had trouble moving. The men of easy company chalked this up to Dike being terrified and falling apart from fear, but it wasn't that at all. Dike was wearing heavy winter clothing, and it was soaking up the blood, and no one noticed he was even injured. His wounds weren't discovered until he'd been evacuated to an aid station.
Again, he was no one's idea of a perfect officer, but he got a raw deal in this episode.
Very rare to see Steven visibly .. distraught? Yeah.. I knew BoB would do it lol.
Hooblers death from the accidental discharge from the Luger was the main reason why the germans stopped using them, unless they were in the correct holster i.e. the one the german officer had and without a round in the chamber, Hoobler chambered a round, they were prone to discharge randomly
My favorite episode ... so many heroic and defining moments in this one, it kind of encapsulates the whole depth and pitch of the series.
Not long since I watched your reaction to the John Wick films (Brilliant) - loud and GO!GO!GO!. The contrast in your responses to BoB shows what good people you really are - and how different it is when you know these things really happened, and you've heard their real voices and seen their faces at the start of each show You're great guys.
This is my favorite episode. Speirs run through Foy and his conversation with Lipton at the end. I'm crying watching it again. I love when Speirs says "you have no idea who I'm talking about..."
A must watch after the final episode is We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company. A companion documentary to 'Band of Brothers' tells the story of Easy Company with more interviews.
I like watching you two. You have real empathy for those who have served. It's not an easy job. I was there serving during Desert Storm. Saw some stuff that I wish I wouldn't have. Got a few scars from the experience. But I made it back to the world! It's been 30 years ago. I made my peace with God before I went. I'm still at peace with Him.
A really good TV show. I haven't seen her for years either, and only when you both started reacting to it.
Because of course I'm a bit divided.
My grandfathers fought on the German side and one of my grandfathers, who fought the Russians in the east for 4 years, never really processed these experiences, basically he was traumatized his whole life. My father told me that my grandfather was only able to talk about some of the terrible experiences in the war when he was drunk.
And from my family's point of view, there is at least one nice anecdote. My father is married to a Russian woman and her grandfather lived and fought where my grandfather also fought on the German side. These two men faced each other as enemies and 50 years later their descendants got married.
And therefore my comment on this episode, which went down in history as the Germans' Battle of the Bulge. From a military point of view it was completely pointless. The war was long lost. It was a completely pointless slaughter of many too mostly young men, especially on the German side, where in the end even 10 year olds had to fight. All that could have been prevented, but the German leadership under Hitler were fanatics who simply refused to admit that the war was lost and so millions of people on both sides had to die for over 1 year. Old people, women, children and of course the soldiers.
This entire second world war was a great shame and will weigh on the Germans for generations to come, and I don't want to write about war crimes at this point.
This was the hardest episode for me to watch. I still have trouble with it today, especially Muck and Penkala's deaths. In the tiniest of split seconds, two men who were yelling at Luz to get into their foxhole are gone. I really thought Luz was going to get it, being out in the open, but this showed that foxholes are no safer sometimes. When that scene comes I always grab my pillow and shriek into it. One of these days I want to visit the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg to visit their graves, and every other man who died in that forest. (Also, General Patton)
Speirs is actually Captain America.
The scene with him and Lipton is just one factor in making this my favorite episode of the series.
Donnie Wahlberg did a fantastic job. As did everyone.
Currahee!!!
The Men speaking at the beginning of each episode are the men of Easy Company, and Yes the actors got to meet some of the men they were portraying. Love how reverent you guys are about this series. I'm a Veteran and I watch this at least once a year.
You might not remember it, but Hoobler was the one who was talking about getting himself a Luger back in the very first episode, admiring the one brought back by a British serviceman.