Now that you've finished this, I can relate this story. The story about Spiers killing the prisoners is true. It was confirmed in an interview with Dick Winters. The guy doing the interview asked Dick about this, and Dick told him about it. He said that Steven Ambrose(the authoer of the book, Band of Brothers) called him one day and told him they had a problem. Lawyers from Simon and Shuster (the publishing company for the book) called him and were worried about potential lawsuits from some of the stories that were in the book. The Spiers story was one of them, the portrayal of Nix drinking too much was another. Dick told him not to worry about it, he would handle it. He said he wasn't worried about Nix, he knew that wouldn't be an issue, but the Spiers story was something else. Dick said he called Spiers and said 'hey Sparky, you know those rumors that were floating around, about D-Day, were they true?' He said Spiers said 'oh yeah Dick, they're true'. He told Speirs about the phone call from Ambrose and the Lawyers concerns and Spiers said don't worry about it. He would write them and letter and tell them what happened. Apparently he did just that, and Dick said it was never an issue after that, because it was true. The interview with Winters is out there on youtube, which is where I got this info from. I may have paraphrased a little. The other amazing thing about this series, is the relationships that formed between the actors, and the men they got to meet. The actors still have get togethers in honor of the men and this show. They're very close to this day. I've seen many interviews with the actors, and the stories they would tell about meeting their man, or their families, it's just unreal. To a man, they will defend the men of easy company, to this day. And this doesn't have to be the end of your journey with easy company. You can find all these interviews on youtube. There's an 7 or 9 set of videos from the 20th anniversary of the series. It was held at the WWII museum in New Orleans. A lot of the show runners where there, a lot of the actors were there. The lady that did most of the interviews you see of the men, was there, and she got to know them and their families well, and had some great stories to tell. Some of the family members are there on the podium too, telling stories about their fathers. Just search for "Band of Brothers" 20th Anniversary Symposium. The National WWII Museum is honored to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the “Band of Brothers” miniseries premiere by hosting a daylong Symposium in New Orleans on Saturday, August 13, 2022. I've watched the whole thing, I highly recommend it. Also, Ron Livingston, the guy who played Nix, did a video diary of the actors boot camp that is well worth watching. I don't know if you want to react to it, but even if you just watch it on you own time, you would enjoy the shit out of it. I've never seen anyone do a reaction to it, I think it would be popular and funny as hell.
Amazing comment man appreciate you typing so much! That background knowledge is awesome, I’m glad the actors are still close. I’ve been told we need to react to a documentary now which those interviews come from, so we’ll def do that. All of the additional stuff you mention I think I’ll watch on my own time, but maybe we’ll throw on to the documentary vid. Thanks again man!
@@ItzWilson2 I agree about the Livingston video. It is the story of the “boot camp” training which the cast went through before filming. It shows them getting to know their own characters and to bond with the other cast members, as well as get some physical experience. It is funny and also very meaningful.
Such an amazingly well acted written and made show. And it was an absolute pleasure reliving this show again through your reactions. Thanks for taking this journey and sharing it every week.
Spandau prison, where speirs went back to in Germany to be governor, was the prison they housed the seven top nazi's convicted at Nuremberg. I bet he loved every second of it.
Amazing to think that Hermann Goering committed suicide at Spandau Prison just before he was sentenced at Nuremberg. The same Goering who had the most amazing wine cellar Nixon ever saw. ;)
I remember reading that a former prisoner in Spandau hated a particular commander, as that commander was strict as anything. That commander was said to be Speirs, apparently inflicting his own particular brand of discipline.
It's so good to see a younger generation showing such respect and admiration for our greatest generation. What those men did in the 1940s saved the world from tyranny. Great reaction, guys.
How could you not, I can’t even fathom the bravery that was required of these men (my age and younger). You HAVE to keep them alive even after they’re gone as THE example
This episode was filmed in Switzerland, not Austria. The production company went to Sell Am See, Austria, to see if they could film there, but there weren't enough places left that looked sufficiently authentic for 1945. So they looked elsewhere. They found the location in the Interlaken region in Switzerland. One of the most stunning regions in the Alps. The hotel they're at is the Grand Hotel Giesbach near Interlaken, overlooking Lake Brienz.
Grand Hotel Geisbach - Swiss Alps was a stand in for the Grand Hotel-Zell Am See, Austria where Easy actually stayed, No filming took place in Austria.
The series is arguably the best so far. Every detail has purpose. The flow is masterful. I watched the original release on HBO, waiting a week for each one.
The scenes set in Germany and Austria were actually shot in Switzerland, in and near the village of Brienz in the Bernese Oberland, and at the nearby Hotel Giessbach.
You can look up Harry and Kitty's wedding announcement. She really wore the parachute silk dress. Dick Winters was an usher - Harry wanted him as a groomsman, but he wasn't Catholic. You guys did a great job reacting. I've seen lots of these, but you're one of the best. You may want to check out The Pacific.
Wow thanks that means a lot! The Pacific is certainly in the pipeline, and I’ll definitely be looking up their wedding, love that Winters was in it in some form haha
You absolutely wouldn't want to be on Spiers bad side. I don't know the history of this scene, but narrative wise I took the fact that he didn't kill him because the Sergeant survived. I love the lottery scene for Shift, when you see they only put his name in the helmet. This was because you got points for service time, and getting injured. Shifty saved a lot of lives, and was there for every battle, but he never got injured. So he would be significantly short in points. Just so you know this is what got points for: - One point for each month in service in the Army - One additional point for each month in service overseas - Five points for each campaign - Five points for a medal for merit or valor (Silver Star for example) - Five points for a purple heart (awarded to all soldiers who were wounded in action) - Twelve points for each dependent child up to three dependent children
You’re right if he hadn’t survived that would’ve gone differently haha and I did not even notice they only put his name in the helmet 😂 that’s great. Thanks for breaking down the points I didn’t know how they utilized them!
There are a variety of short videos here on YT showing some of the real guys featured in Band of Brothers. A simple search on their last names will send you down another rabbit hole that you'll find both interesting and sobering.
Something that comes up in the last episode that is not fully explained is the Adjusted Service Rating Score...which is what the "points" they keep referring to is about. The Army needed a system to prioritize the people that were deployed overseas, and decide in what order folks would get to go home, since not everyone could go home at the same time. The system heavily prioritized people with children under the age of 18 to get them home as soon as possible, and focused on medals awarded and time in service overseas as other criteria.
Winters -- "No, but I served with a company of heroes" Guys watching -- [Rub eyes as if they are tired in an effort to pretend his words didn't bring a tear to your eyes]
Like every episode of Band of Brothers, there are fictional elements, omissions, and embellishments in episode 10 but I will only highlight a few: 1) Contrary to what is shown in Band of Brothers, Berchtesgaden was captured in the afternoon of May 4, 1945 by the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division with the French 2nd Armored Division arriving later that afternoon and the 101st arriving in the morning of May 5. 2) Members of the 7th Infantry Regiment and the French 2nd Armored Division claim to have reached the Eagle's Nest hours before members of the 101st, and many historians accept these claims (e.g., National WW2 Museum). 3) There is no evidence that members of Easy Company killed an unnamed commandant of unnamed concentration camp. What is shown in Band of Brothers is strikingly similar to the killing of Franz Ziereis who had been commandant of Mauthausen. Like the commandant in Band of Brothers, Franz Ziereis was hiding out in a mountain cabin when U.S. soldiers, who had been given a tip, went to the cabin to arrest him. Franz Ziereis was shot three times trying to escape.
Well, you said that you wanted the story, here is what I have been able to find out in my research, the Private that shot Sergeant Grant was in fact a replacement in I company from the 506 PIR of the 101st Airborne Division, now BEFORE he shot and killed the German officer, German Enlisted man and British Officer at that checkpoint, he had already shot and killed an American officer, a Canadian Officer and a Canadian Enlisted man at a different checkpoint, he then shot Sergeant Grant, When he was found by Sergeant Randleman and Sergeant Malarkey, he was raping a young Austrian girl, as you already know, Sergeant grant did survive, and died peacefully in his home in 1976, however, none of his memories from anything before he woke up after his brain surgery ever returned, so he did not remember any of his childhood, combat or being shot, the Private was beaten up pretty badly by the men of Easy company, and then turned over to the ?MP's, were he was transported back to the United States and held in confinement at Fort Leavenworth Kansas till his court martial in 1946, he was found guilty of 6 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted murder, and 1 count of aggravated rape, the Army hanged him in late 1946, he was given a dishonorable discharge and his remains were released to his family. NOW as far as the points go, We were still fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, and the military was planning "OPERATION DOWNFALL" which was the invasion of mainland Japan, which was tentatively planed for mid to late March of 1946, and IF it would have happened it would have been about 5 times larger than D-day was, the U.S. alone was going to be landing 5,000,000 Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, the British was going to land with about 1,000,000, Canadians, Australian, French, and Soviet forces were going to make up the rest of the 12,000,000 or so that was going to take part in the invasion, THANKFULLY the Japanese surrendered putting an end to the war after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which then made the points system un needed.
Amazing comment thank you for the history behind that officer, even more crazier IRL than depicted in the show wow. And I had no clue operation downfall was a thing, super interesting and thank god it didn’t end up happening like you said haha
In today's society there are people called influencers. As a kid in the 50's and 60's, these men were my influencers. One of my regrets is I did not appreciate them as much as I should have.
Please react to the 'We Stand Alone, Together' documentary, where the E company veteran interviews at the start of the episodes, came from
Oh we’ll definitely have to do that!
Now that you've finished this, I can relate this story.
The story about Spiers killing the prisoners is true. It was confirmed in an interview with Dick Winters. The guy doing the interview asked Dick about this, and Dick told him about it. He said that Steven Ambrose(the authoer of the book, Band of Brothers) called him one day and told him they had a problem. Lawyers from Simon and Shuster (the publishing company for the book) called him and were worried about potential lawsuits from some of the stories that were in the book. The Spiers story was one of them, the portrayal of Nix drinking too much was another.
Dick told him not to worry about it, he would handle it. He said he wasn't worried about Nix, he knew that wouldn't be an issue, but the Spiers story was something else. Dick said he called Spiers and said 'hey Sparky, you know those rumors that were floating around, about D-Day, were they true?' He said Spiers said 'oh yeah Dick, they're true'. He told Speirs about the phone call from Ambrose and the Lawyers concerns and Spiers said don't worry about it. He would write them and letter and tell them what happened. Apparently he did just that, and Dick said it was never an issue after that, because it was true.
The interview with Winters is out there on youtube, which is where I got this info from. I may have paraphrased a little.
The other amazing thing about this series, is the relationships that formed between the actors, and the men they got to meet. The actors still have get togethers in honor of the men and this show. They're very close to this day. I've seen many interviews with the actors, and the stories they would tell about meeting their man, or their families, it's just unreal. To a man, they will defend the men of easy company, to this day. And this doesn't have to be the end of your journey with easy company. You can find all these interviews on youtube. There's an 7 or 9 set of videos from the 20th anniversary of the series. It was held at the WWII museum in New Orleans. A lot of the show runners where there, a lot of the actors were there. The lady that did most of the interviews you see of the men, was there, and she got to know them and their families well, and had some great stories to tell. Some of the family members are there on the podium too, telling stories about their fathers.
Just search for "Band of Brothers" 20th Anniversary Symposium. The National WWII Museum is honored to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the “Band of Brothers” miniseries premiere by hosting a daylong Symposium in New Orleans on Saturday, August 13, 2022.
I've watched the whole thing, I highly recommend it.
Also, Ron Livingston, the guy who played Nix, did a video diary of the actors boot camp that is well worth watching. I don't know if you want to react to it, but even if you just watch it on you own time, you would enjoy the shit out of it. I've never seen anyone do a reaction to it, I think it would be popular and funny as hell.
Amazing comment man appreciate you typing so much! That background knowledge is awesome, I’m glad the actors are still close. I’ve been told we need to react to a documentary now which those interviews come from, so we’ll def do that. All of the additional stuff you mention I think I’ll watch on my own time, but maybe we’ll throw on to the documentary vid. Thanks again man!
@@ItzWilson2 I agree about the Livingston video. It is the story of the “boot camp” training which the cast went through before filming. It shows them getting to know their own characters and to bond with the other cast members, as well as get some physical experience. It is funny and also very meaningful.
Such an amazingly well acted written and made show. And it was an absolute pleasure reliving this show again through your reactions. Thanks for taking this journey and sharing it every week.
Couldn’t agree more man it was a pleasure having you! Thanks for the support as always 👍🏻
Spandau prison, where speirs went back to in Germany to be governor, was the prison they housed the seven top nazi's convicted at Nuremberg. I bet he loved every second of it.
Hahaha I’d bet my life savings in agreement
Amazing to think that Hermann Goering committed suicide at Spandau Prison just before he was sentenced at Nuremberg. The same Goering who had the most amazing wine cellar Nixon ever saw. ;)
I remember reading that a former prisoner in Spandau hated a particular commander, as that commander was strict as anything. That commander was said to be Speirs, apparently inflicting his own particular brand of discipline.
It's so good to see a younger generation showing such respect and admiration for our greatest generation. What those men did in the 1940s saved the world from tyranny. Great reaction, guys.
How could you not, I can’t even fathom the bravery that was required of these men (my age and younger). You HAVE to keep them alive even after they’re gone as THE example
This episode was filmed in Switzerland, not Austria. The production company went to Sell Am See, Austria, to see if they could film there, but there weren't enough places left that looked sufficiently authentic for 1945. So they looked elsewhere. They found the location in the Interlaken region in Switzerland. One of the most stunning regions in the Alps. The hotel they're at is the Grand Hotel Giesbach near Interlaken, overlooking Lake Brienz.
Grand Hotel Geisbach - Swiss Alps was a stand in for the Grand Hotel-Zell Am See, Austria where Easy actually stayed, No filming took place in Austria.
The series is arguably the best so far. Every detail has purpose. The flow is masterful.
I watched the original release on HBO, waiting a week for each one.
We did week by week for the most part too! Feel your pain but happy to have lived with the show for a couple months
@@ItzWilson2 Fair enough, but we didn't have a choice! 🙂
Nice to see the youth appreciating true history. keep up the good work guys.
You have to! Thank you
The scenes set in Germany and Austria were actually shot in Switzerland, in and near the village of Brienz in the Bernese Oberland, and at the nearby Hotel Giessbach.
Band of Brothers = Greatest thing ever put on television, bar none, period!
Good job guys! Serving in the military was the best 27 years of my life!
Thank you for your service!
You can look up Harry and Kitty's wedding announcement. She really wore the parachute silk dress. Dick Winters was an usher - Harry wanted him as a groomsman, but he wasn't Catholic. You guys did a great job reacting. I've seen lots of these, but you're one of the best. You may want to check out The Pacific.
Wow thanks that means a lot! The Pacific is certainly in the pipeline, and I’ll definitely be looking up their wedding, love that Winters was in it in some form haha
You absolutely wouldn't want to be on Spiers bad side. I don't know the history of this scene, but narrative wise I took the fact that he didn't kill him because the Sergeant survived.
I love the lottery scene for Shift, when you see they only put his name in the helmet. This was because you got points for service time, and getting injured. Shifty saved a lot of lives, and was there for every battle, but he never got injured. So he would be significantly short in points.
Just so you know this is what got points for:
- One point for each month in service in the Army
- One additional point for each month in service overseas
- Five points for each campaign
- Five points for a medal for merit or valor (Silver Star for example)
- Five points for a purple heart (awarded to all soldiers who were wounded in action)
- Twelve points for each dependent child up to three dependent children
You’re right if he hadn’t survived that would’ve gone differently haha and I did not even notice they only put his name in the helmet 😂 that’s great. Thanks for breaking down the points I didn’t know how they utilized them!
Good news! Sgt. Grant, the soldier shot in the head, survived. He owned a tobacco shop in San Francisco and died in the 1980s.
So happy to hear that
There are a variety of short videos here on YT showing some of the real guys featured in Band of Brothers. A simple search on their last names will send you down another rabbit hole that you'll find both interesting and sobering.
I am looking forward to losing sleep doing just that 😂
Something that comes up in the last episode that is not fully explained is the Adjusted Service Rating Score...which is what the "points" they keep referring to is about. The Army needed a system to prioritize the people that were deployed overseas, and decide in what order folks would get to go home, since not everyone could go home at the same time. The system heavily prioritized people with children under the age of 18 to get them home as soon as possible, and focused on medals awarded and time in service overseas as other criteria.
Ahhh interesting, sounds like a pretty decent way to have gone about it!
Winters -- "No, but I served with a company of heroes"
Guys watching -- [Rub eyes as if they are tired in an effort to pretend his words didn't bring a tear to your eyes]
No clue what you’re talking about…😂
Like every episode of Band of Brothers, there are fictional elements, omissions, and embellishments in episode 10 but I will only highlight a few:
1) Contrary to what is shown in Band of Brothers, Berchtesgaden was captured in the afternoon of May 4, 1945 by the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division with the French 2nd Armored Division arriving later that afternoon and the 101st arriving in the morning of May 5.
2) Members of the 7th Infantry Regiment and the French 2nd Armored Division claim to have reached the Eagle's Nest hours before members of the 101st, and many historians accept these claims (e.g., National WW2 Museum).
3) There is no evidence that members of Easy Company killed an unnamed commandant of unnamed concentration camp. What is shown in Band of Brothers is strikingly similar to the killing of Franz Ziereis who had been commandant of Mauthausen. Like the commandant in Band of Brothers, Franz Ziereis was hiding out in a mountain cabin when U.S. soldiers, who had been given a tip, went to the cabin to arrest him. Franz Ziereis was shot three times trying to escape.
Malarkey was one of very few Toccoa men to never come off the line
That's why it blows my mind when viewers give Webster hell for trying to get Malarkey off the line in Ep 8.
RESPECT
Oh do some people really feel that way?? I was like let my boy have a shower and nap man he’s seen enough 😂
This was shot in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
One of the first things I learned in the Air Force was you salute the rank not man or woman.
I like that sentiment, funny how they used it here with Sobel haha
Plese, please, react to The Pacific. You will love it.
It’s definitely on our radar, lot of shows atm so may be a bit before we get there!
Please do a reaction to Band of Brothers. We Stand Alone Together.
Well, you said that you wanted the story, here is what I have been able to find out in my research, the Private that shot Sergeant Grant was in fact a replacement in I company from the 506 PIR of the 101st Airborne Division, now BEFORE he shot and killed the German officer, German Enlisted man and British Officer at that checkpoint, he had already shot and killed an American officer, a Canadian Officer and a Canadian Enlisted man at a different checkpoint, he then shot Sergeant Grant, When he was found by Sergeant Randleman and Sergeant Malarkey, he was raping a young Austrian girl, as you already know, Sergeant grant did survive, and died peacefully in his home in 1976, however, none of his memories from anything before he woke up after his brain surgery ever returned, so he did not remember any of his childhood, combat or being shot, the Private was beaten up pretty badly by the men of Easy company, and then turned over to the ?MP's, were he was transported back to the United States and held in confinement at Fort Leavenworth Kansas till his court martial in 1946, he was found guilty of 6 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted murder, and 1 count of aggravated rape, the Army hanged him in late 1946, he was given a dishonorable discharge and his remains were released to his family. NOW as far as the points go, We were still fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, and the military was planning "OPERATION DOWNFALL" which was the invasion of mainland Japan, which was tentatively planed for mid to late March of 1946, and IF it would have happened it would have been about 5 times larger than D-day was, the U.S. alone was going to be landing 5,000,000 Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, the British was going to land with about 1,000,000, Canadians, Australian, French, and Soviet forces were going to make up the rest of the 12,000,000 or so that was going to take part in the invasion, THANKFULLY the Japanese surrendered putting an end to the war after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which then made the points system un needed.
Amazing comment thank you for the history behind that officer, even more crazier IRL than depicted in the show wow. And I had no clue operation downfall was a thing, super interesting and thank god it didn’t end up happening like you said haha
Watch Saving Private Ryan guys for your next WW2 genre. Game changer.
In today's society there are people called influencers. As a kid in the 50's and 60's, these men were my influencers.
One of my regrets is I did not appreciate them as much as I should have.
Wow fantastic comment, definitely the influencers you want in your life