I don't think the show tries to sugar coat how abrasive Lewis Nixon was to the majority of the company. He obviously had many issues with the other officers. What the show does paint, is that for whatever else Nixon's faults were he was a capable officer and a good friend to Dick WInters. I think a lot of guys can relate to having that real good friend of ours that doesn't click well with everybody. Heck learning how even Buck Compton who was seemingly loved by everybody in the show, had a beef with somebody makes everything just that much more relatable.
Nixon wasn't really all that capable. Ed Shames was made Nixon's assistant because Nixon was always so drunk that he couldn't get his work done. Nixon was fired as S3 because his alcoholism was so bad. He would have been kicked out of the division except that Winters was asked if he could handle Nixon. Because of his friendship he said OK, and Noxon was pushed down to battalion.
@@charlesgantz5865The show even shows us that in Episode 9 that his drinking had gotten so bad that he was demoted for it. I meant more that he was capable up until the alcoholism got that bad. Like I said, the show doesn't sugar coat Nixon much except that we see him mostly through the eyes of his friend who is able to see past his other faults and it's not like Winters ever makes excuses for him.
@@ktvindicare Not to mention the show talks about Nixon's issues, he is the only one in the 101st to earn 3 combat jump stars, one of which the plane went down and him and one other were the only ones to survive, which lead to him drinking more then getting demoted then getting a letter from his wife at the time that she was divorcing him. With a guy that was already struggling with drinking that just made everything worse.
Also keep in mind these were young men in a most stressful situation. At the time of the Aldbourne exchange Compton describes, he was still 22 and Nixon was 25. Even Colonel Sink, the "old man" of the regiment, had turned 39 the April before D-Day. Dale Dye who portrayed him in the series was 17 years older than Sink was during the war.
Donald Malarkey was a friend of Compton, in his book "Easy Company Soldier" he addresses Nixon's beef with Compton... He mentions that in one of the reunions, Nixon said Compton was a coward, to which Malarkey replied "Is that so? and how many Silver Stars do you have?"
Mate Australia does not have Silver Stars and we had blokes in the thick of it from Bardia Jan 41 to Borneo 1945 Yes 5 bloody years not 11 months and he was never awarded anything It was just the way we operated . Our awards were for exceptional Bravery Hell you gave your Medal of Honour to MacArthur
@@jacktattis Compton was awarded a Silver Star for his actions at Brecourt Manor on D Day. He participated in the assault leading to the destruction of 4 105mm guns, this resulted in saving the lifes of countless soldiers at the beach. The point is, he was not a coward...
@@wallysprintWhat I meant to say being awarded medals for bravery does not in any way lessen the service of Others. Eric Fordham Australian Infantry in every battle the 2/2 AIF was in from 1940 to 1945 No Awards just an Aussie digger
@@jacktattis I totally agree with you, I just wanted to point out the perspective from Malarkey, who didn't like the way his friend was being treated and called out Nixon for it.. Nixon did not have any medals for bravery and was calling Compton a coward...
I also remember reading about a reunion situation after the war where Nixon referred to Compton as a coward openly at the table due to what happened to Compton after the shelling in Bastogne which was more than the series showed (Compton wasn't at the table). Several other men at the table immediately came to Compton's defense and talked about his bravery and awards In Normandy and Holland and it got a little nasty for a few moments. The men truly did love Buck and when Band of Brothers was being proposed as a book they went out of their way (even sort of threatened Ambrose in my understanding) about how Buck should be portrayed in those Bastogne events - loyal loving friends as they were trying to protect him. It was Buck that said it should be portrayed honestly and fairly, but I guess they settled for something in the middle. None of this should surprise anyone though - people are people and there are always personal politics within teams and large organizations. In this case a stud accomplished jock who never drank vs. an ivy league rich kid who liked to drink it up. Just so very interesting since we all very much appreciate these brave men and want to know more about who they really were in life.
Wasn't Nixon the guy who said he never fired his weapon in combat.... when Compton was with Winters at Brecourt Manor lobbing hand grenades like baseballs at Germans.
Nixon was sitting with Malarkey at that reunion when he called him a coward. Malarkey's response was "How many Silver Stars do you have?" That shut him up apparently.
I treat this just as I do the Winters/Sobel conflict. Not taking sides and thanking both for their service. All 4 are no longer with us and their issues were their business, not mine.
There's a HUGE difference between Winter and Sobel. Sobel was patently incompetent, Winters was exceptionally skilled. Nixon was competent, he apparently was just an asshole, probably because of his alcoholism.
Anyone who has ever served would understand the relationship between "College Boy officers" vs "Snobby Officers". I was a Sergeant with a master's degree from MIT and officers hated me even more until I made E-8. The ebb and flow of military life.
@@Scout_Recon It's sadly what you get when the idea of an officer corp goes back to when it's not what you knew but who you were that made you an officer. It's obviously not as bad as that these days, but that holier than thou attitude is still there, and probably always will be. I mean how many Mustangs are shit on by other officers as some jump start no one who got lucky, or had favorites, or who assumed the Mustang thought he knew better (because he probably does). It's all ego. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good officers out there. My Grandfather happened to be a Colonel and was a really nice, albeit strict guy. He was a combat engineer in WW2 so he was smart and inventive enough to get some weird jobs done when they needed to get done. He wasn't a Colonel back then, mind you, but still. He was an "educated man" and back then that was much more rare. I think the main issue with Nixon and Bull was what someone else pointed out. They're just two VERY different people socially. Someone said, "Well Bull is West and Nix is East" but if you look at their history you'll see Nixon was on the West Coast a decent amount as a kid. He went to prep school there. I think the difference was that he was old money and Bull was a jock. He said so here that he didn't respect that. Old money doesn't go out and sweat. That's for the poors lol. Okay well maybe not that bad, but Nixon was a very wealthy, likely spoiled kid. That's not to say he didn't have his virtues, of which he seemed to have many. They were just two different people in two different worlds sort of forced to be in the same "club" of officers. Nixon probably thought himself better than Buck as an officer..
@@Scout_ReconNixon wasn't wrong, jocks do tend to be jerks, apparently then as now. My opinion is that jocks have a sort of resentment toward anyone that has knowledge beyond run-tackle-block. They would give grief to the kids good at math, but look at that kid whose good at math a few years out of school versus the football player reliving the "glory" of a football game, boring the daylights out of everyone in a bar. Your statement suggests that the college boy officers aren't snobby and those without college are. Also, I was under the impression that officers, for the most part, were college graduates.
I liked how Buck considered himself "just a rifleman" who happened to have bars on his shoulders. You can find an extended interview with him on RUclips. Lovely man.
Dike was decorated for rescuing 2 wounded men at Bastogne and portrayed as a coward in the show. Never forget individuals do not always see things the same.
Ultimately, Ambrose's book and the show were mostly based on the recollections of half a dozen people, and if these 5-6-7 guys didn't like you, personally, it didn't matter what else you might have actually done.
@@NangDoofer, it’s also more than likely that Dike was undergoing some pretty extreme PTSD. Compton isn’t incompetent in your opinion, so why is Dike? You only see Compton’s war, you see a small portion of Dike’s war.
Consider this..Nixon - he joined and became an officer.. Before the War in early 41.. Volunteered and qualified for Airborne, they were picky and the training very hard. He definitely had some problems but he was probably still in among the most experienced. Had 3 stars on his jump wings when the war ended, one of just a few that survived his plane being shot down during Operation Varsity. He had his faults but still did things that probably 80% of the other officers in the Army at the time did not do. He was a full blown alcoholic and that probably contributed to his being disliked by some. He later turned his life around and may have still had his moments but I wouldn't just write him off based on 1 persons opinion. They are all gone now.
Also, let's remember Nixon was rather wealthy and was going through a less-than-amicable divorce at some point. I can't count the number of people both male and female I have known in my 66 years that were alcoholics. Almost every one of them was good at their jobs. Sadly almost every one of them also lost family and left a trail of destroyed marriages behind them. Listen, while we are discussing alcohol let us remember Col Sink's nickname "Bourbon Bob". Dick Winters knew Col Sink would be sleeping off the effects of alcohol and that is why he told those men to stay in that night 100% disobeying the Colonel's order.
I don’t know , it’s not like Nixon in his post war career, became a police officer for the LAPD , Detective , worked his way through law school at night to become a DA, then prosecuted the case against Sirhan Sirhan in the Murder of Senator Robert Kennedy and then be appointed as a judge, for the district court of appeals in CA. Compton for in everything,I have read including his opinions that he’s written as a judge. Seems to be a highly articulate, intelligent and brave man . Spielberg chose the right actor in Neil McDonough to play Buck Compton.
BoB, the books and the TV series are a great story portraying what was going on in a Parachute Infantry Company at that time in history. It's entertainment, it's history, and it's old men's recollections many decades after the events. Ambrose interviewed a lot of Easy Company men and their families for the project, many of whom he never included in his book and thus never made it into the TV Series. Not long into his research Ambrose honed in on the group surrounding Dick Winters which included Winters, Lipton, Guarnere, Malarky and Mike Ranney (who also hardly appears in the show but submitted a lot of writing and interviews with Ambrose). He would spend most of his time writing down their recollections and leaned towards their remembered versions of events over other veterans recollections. Not saying their version of events is 'wrong' just that the story we got was mostly based around this core group and the time Ambrose focused on them. If you watch interviews on RUclips with Ed Shames, Easy Company's last surviving officer, he also disliked Lewis Nixon immensely, repeatedly calling him 'an incompetent fall down drunk' who got sacked from Regiment and sent back to Battalion because of his alcoholism. Infact Shames's entire war experiences are passed off in the series in about 2 seconds where Winters says that 'he thinks he needs to scream at everyone' when they are discussing who should take over Easy Company. When in actual fact - Shames was the first Sgt in the Regiment to get a Battlefield Commission in the days after D-Day and led the Recon element of Easy Company and was very highly regarded by his soldiers like Forrest Guth, Popeye Wynne and Earl McLung. I think, from memory - I may be wrong and mixed him up with someone else, by Shames killed the only Tiger tank in Easy Company, or captured it, one or the other. Sobel, for all he was despised, actually DID drop on D-Day with the 101st and led an attack on a German Machine Gun post and was awarded a Bronze Star. Not mentioned in the book or series. Dike, was also awarded a Bronze Star for rescuing a wounded man, yet the show portrays him as a coward who fell apart at Foy. Buck Compton has a few interviews like this one where he tells about his dislike of Nixon in a little more veiled/polite terms than Shames did. Band of Brothers is the story of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Easy consisted of around 100-130 men (ish) and with that many men there is going to be conflicts, people who just don't like each other, guys who are hard to get along with, and some who are just jerks, no matter their service records. The Show is only 10 episodes, man men of Easy never got their stories told, and never will. But, at the end of the day, the writers did well to tell their story to us all, minus a few warts, with a few 'flavour' additions for the 'story', but they gave us the 'feel' and represented all of the men, as best they could, within the limitations of a TV series. Will we ever see a series as good as this again? I don't know. The Pacific wasn't as good, and Masters of the Air suffers from the same problem where we don't get as emotionally attached to the characters and story as we did with BoB, as good as each series is. I hope we see another production as good as BoB one day, because those stories and the sacrifice of men in service of their country need to be told and kept forever.
Obviously they needed negative characters like this in the series for some drama, but they should have used fictional stand ins. The Dike misrepresentation was just unforgivable from what I read about him. They also claimed Blythe died a few years after the war when he didnt.
I think the most egregious misrepresentation was the screw up of Pvt. Blythe's story. They got it almost entirely wrong and never bothered to fix it, even in subsequent releases.
@@CaptCanuck4444 As years go on, a lot of misrepresentations come to light. Examples, Liebgott was actually Catholic and not Jewish. But, others in E Company thought he was Jewish: Webster called him Jewish in his book, so maybe that's the reason for the mistake. The "I'm a Jew" fight with Guarnere on the transport ship didn't happen. In the Bastogne hospital, the Congolese nurse (Augusta Chiwy) may have been a better nurse than Renée Lemaire. I recommend the book and documentary, "Searching for Augusta, the Forgotten Angel of Bastogne."
No I don’t think we’ll ever get a once in a lifetime great show like BoB ever again. The Pacific was ok and Air Masters (whatever it’s called) I started watching and didn’t even care to finish it after Ep3. 😂
I'm the grandson of a WW2 veteran for all there faults that everyone of them had they will always and forever be the greatest generation the generations that have come after them could not have done what they did especially the current generation
The personal dynamics inside a military unit can be interesting. You may not like the people above you or the people below you in rank, but you have to set that aside and get the mission done.
The series however did show Nixon's troubled realization that that he did not fire a shot in anger during the entire war. The actor did a great job of showing the angst that would have caused knowing that all the men around you had undergone the trial by fire.
If you’re in the Military or Law Enforcement you learn that you may not like the guy next to you but when the shit hits the fan personal feelings go out the window. There will always be personal conflict, egos and squabbles but you’ve got to have each other’s back. Been there, done that with people multiple times at my job.
Not to defend Nixon, but as an S2 you're analysis of intel, suggestions in operational planning either saves lives or gets people killed. There isn't much in between. I can see how being depressed/buzzed/hungover can lead into being a prick. He did have three combat jumps.
Very true it is not a case of just sitting around drinking coffee, he was visiting other company's and had to asses what was going on and give his opinion on the larger picture so that his seniors could then decide what to do
Exactly and I'm seeing the "he didn't fire a shot implying he was a coward" comments popping up here just like they've been popping up for the past 20 years. Nixon was in active combat situations plenty of times. He nearly had a fatal head wound in Holland when a machine gun bullet entered the front of his helmet, grazed his forehead, and exited out the side.
Band of Brothers was a great mini series but it got two things completely wrong was Blithe dying from wounds and Lt . Dike being a coward. You have to remember not everyone is going to love you in a military unit the best you can hope for is respect.
Also the episode centering Webster was not right, he was NEVER treated as replacement nor resented by men, they were very happy to see him back and he never went on the patrol, he was on the M1919A4, covering men's depature from other side of the river.
And I remember talking with Moffitt Burris of the 504th PIR of the 82nd and hearing him say of the stories of some of his fellow 504th troopers: “Sometimes I wonder if they were in the same war with me.”
Never had much use for jocks either but then I've never been in a frozen forest surrounded by Germans that want to kill me. Seems like they'd be quite handy to have around then.
Every human has their limits...no movie or tv show can compare obviously to what these men saw,suffered and endured...it is not for me to say or have an opinion of either man..other than they were brave enough to jump out of a good airplane.I can only observe it in an awe of human character in circumstances I will never understand.
Made the mistake of looking at the comments... So here's a long ass comment no one will read that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but something I feel annoyed enough to write. Every human is just that- human. We all have issues. We have all been through bad things, we've all at one point hurt someone in some fashion, purposefully or accidentally. Something can haunt us but the person who caused it might have not even realized it- made a flippant comment, or something mattered to us that wouldn't matter to them so they don't understand. We all have good and bad inside of us. We are made up of our choices, our fears, our joys, what we care about, what haunts us, and what drives us. And others view a person through their own lens- whether that's bias, fear, heresay, or experience. And one person's experience with a person doesn't invalidate someone else's. We're all individual humans with our own thought patterns and beliefs. Both of these guys had wonderful things about them. They volunteered to protect their world, and did it in different ways. I'm sure both men had issues. But both men had people who loved them. And hell yes addiction can cause a shitton of problems, including influencing your attitude and behaviour. Who knows why someone starts drinking? I don't know what Mr. Nixon experienced or felt. He's a stranger to me that I only know because I was a 9th grade kid who never got to meet her grandpa and I saw a show that was about paratroopers like him. And no, having an addiction or mental health issues doesn't excuse your behaviour and the way you treat people. But I know that he was said to have quit drinking and changed his life around-- and after over a decade of having alcohol problems?? That is an insanely goddamn huge accomplishment. And not something people should ignore or make light of. There are some people who are never able to beat it for good. I've had people that I've lost to alcohol addiction-- someone who I adored and only saw the good side of, though I know that wasn't all there was to him. My person during their addiction caused pain to others I love, but in good times was really awesome to them. He literally pulled people from fires when he wasn't a fireman, just someone who was in the right place at the right time. His family members acknowledge the hurt but also all the good things he was too. And that's just it. Humans are many conflicting things all at the same time. You can be a grade-A dick to some people, and a wonderful friend with their own issues to others. Both can be correct, because neither is all you are. We're all a thousand things all at once. Anyway.
That's very interesting and adds a lot of depth, because despite his obvious alcoholism Nixon comes off as extremely likable in the show. PTSD wasn't as recognized back then as today. Soldiers who cracked from it were sometimes called cowards, but hearing Nixon refer to Buck as that when Buck had his episode with PTSD certainly puts a negative slant on Nixon that wasnt there in my mind before.
You shouldn't base whether someone in real life was likable or not from show. Stephen Ambrose wasn't known as a very good historian. He was a good storyteller and would often embellish the story to make it more interesting. If you read or listen to the interviews of people who were there, Nixon was neither likable nor competent.
This is a very good point about how Ambrose "embellished" the stories he collected from and about the soldiers of the 506th, and more. Buck Compton was a liked and capable platoon leader, but Nixon was a superior officer with an entirely different set of tasks. Because Nixon was a captain doing intelligence at battalion level, he should not have really bothered interjecting commands on Compton's daily exercises - but he did, and his additional comments about Compton created a rift between them. It hurts Nixon that he was not interviewed for _'Band Of Brothers'_ did not really put his experiences into print, and he could not add any clarification on why he and Compton did not get along - but they just didn't. Nixon was the only officer around Easy Company and Battalion level in the 506th that completed *three combat jumps as a paratrooper in Europe* and he received two bronze stars during WWII. Nixon might have been a prick to some, he might have had a serious drinking problem, but he did his duty as he was able in though circumstances - as Buck Compton also did. Compton received a silver star for his bravery in one combat situation, but as the series shows he was deeply affected and had to be taken "off the line" to recover from what we now call PTSD, while Nixon was there the entire time (regardless that he turned further to drinking to handle his own "combat fatigue" (as it was then called).). I have to say : there were plenty of Easy company officers that could not measure up to what Dick Winters accomplished, what he survived, and his leadership - Winters also fired few shots in combat (Nixon fired almost none according to the other soldiers), but without him the 506th is guaranteed to be less effective and lose many more soldiers - the same is true for Nixon and Compton. So many have picked sides in these comments about Nixon and Compton, wrongly I think - there is only one "side" for any of these "officers and gentlemen" - the U S Army and taking care of the men they commanded. Does anyone remember Lieutenant Peacock?
Buck was someone who the guys respected because he would step up whenever he had to, even in dangerous situations. From what I've read about him, men related to him a lot. Maybe Nixon felt a bit put off that men related to Buck who was seen as a college jock rather than Nixon who was more of a brilliant nerd? I don't know...maybe Buck rubbed Nixon the wrong way. Buck was definitely a damn good combat leader and his men respected him.
I think Nixon expected Compton to be an arrogant jerk, but Compton proved him wrong and Nixon hated to be proven wrong. I think war changes people. War kinda made Nixon into an alcoholic (or at least, worsen his condition). Compton might be arrogant before he joined the military, but going through the training and battles may have humbled him.
Nixon's problem was he had serious drinking problem in fact his friendship with Winters suffered and they didn't speak for years until Nixon stopped drinking.
All of us that have served have had to deal with guys that were total "pricks", his words, with more rank on their sleeves than brains in their bucketheads. They come, you endure their b.s., and they leave and get replaced by a much better soldier. God bless the greatest generation.
I can just imagine the tension between some of these guys at the reunions. Anyway no surprise that some of these guys could barely stand each other. The military is full of people that can't stand each other. But the bottom line is, whatever their differences may have been, they pulled themselves together to help win the war.
I think it's important to note here that Buck is not being entirely truthful about Nixon. Lew Nixon WAS a combat officer with Easy Company, he was CO of 2nd Platoon during the Normandy campaign and unlike in the TV Series was not, in fact, moved up to Battalion until after that bullet struck his helmet in Holland. Major Winters said that Nixon was the best combat officer that he ever had and if a man like Winters says so, then that's good enough for me.
And Winters also recognized Bull Randleman as one of the finest soldiers he ever commanded. I think that I should start recommending people read Pvt. David Kenyon Webster's book to get better insight and knowledge of Easy Company than what Ambrose provided is his stories from _'Band Of Brothers'_ ...
I've coached a lot of championship teams with players and coaches who didn't like each other...but come game time...they put on the game face! That is the single difference between a winner and a loser.
Shit. That's just how it is. Plenty throughout my career that I crossed horns with. Higher and lower rank, didn't matter at the time. We were in theater. Job got done. If i saw them now they'd get a handshake and hello. If i see anyone i liked, they'll get a handshake and hug.
That's the thing. People need to be careful about considering a TV show-even something based on historical events-to be totally accurate. Dramatic needs govern a lot of what we see.
And the material used from Stephen Ambrose has to be taken with a fairly large grain of salt. Ambrose was employed as a "historical writer", but he was known to... "embellish" things to make the story more interesting or relatable for readers. If Dick Winters says Nixon was one of the best officers he served with, and that Compton was a fine and capable platoon leader - that is what I shall believe. I should start recommending people read Pvt David Kenyon Webster's more .. "grounded" account of Easy company in Europe during WWII. (Webster was nearly the only "Toccoa man" to not be promoted to NCO or beyond, but he was a trained journalist - not a story teller like Ambrose).
@@wills2140 Known to? He got sued over it, lost and got black listed from some historical societies and a few books got recalled. That is before we get to the plagiarism stuff
If you read some of the books by other Easy enlisted guys, Peacock was also really despised because he was a petty martinet, rather than the well-meaning bumbler portrayed in the series.
@@facubeitches1144 I think Webster summed up Peacock pretty well when he said that he could look the other way on the martinet stuff if the guy was a good combat leader, but Peacock was hopeless. The only thing worse than being a jerk was being a useless jerk.
@@va3svd @facubeitches1144 I read Webster's book, however I don't recall much criticism of officer's, even Sobel, maybe I'll have to go back and read it again. I do recall though, how they changed the scenario with the chocolate in Holland vs. the series. In the book, a Dutch man asks them for some chocolate, so he can take it to his son that has never tasted it. In the series, the child was hiding in the basement of a house, and was given chocolate directly from the troops.
@@clybournstreet9628 Webster was in Headquarters Company in Toccoa, so there is really no reason why he would have mentioned Sobel. He didn’t transfer to Easy until after they came back to England before Market-Garden. As far as Webster’s lengthy screed about Peacock, I have the epub version so I can’t give you the page number, but it’s just over halfway through the chapter entitled “The Windmills Were Wonderful”.
I hate to say it, but the military is full of alcoholics to this day. I’m one, thankfully recovering as a civilian 25 years later. I work with a woman whose husband is an artillery officer assigned to the pentagon as an O-5 that I’ve seen get drunk to the point that he passes out, pisses and shits himself in front of his family that includes 2 teenagers as well as the staff of the company that his wife and I work for every time I’ve been around him. It’s been 3 times now. It’s not like this guy is a college frat boy, he’s 45 years old. There’s help available for these people, it’s almost stigmatizing in the military to enter a treatment program because it’s viewed as stopping your career progression, as though being an alcoholic is not.
I find this very interesting, sometimes people just dont get along, i also remember reading that Nixon at one of the reunions called Buck a coward (for leaving when he did) and got chewed out by another guy for it. For whatever reason Nixon just didnt like Buck. I dont recall reading others having problems with Nixon but its been a while, but these 2 men had problems.
There are always randomly beefs between guys who are otherwise well liked and even share the same friends, in all walks of life. It happens, they have their reasons. What matters in a military setting is that you can put it aside and work together. Beefing and back stabbing can cost lives in the Army. From the series and books I always kind of took Nixon to be a bit of a flawed genius and abrasive character. A very effective officer in the roles he did but probably quite challenging to work with. Dick Winters was his friend, got on with him very well and got the best out of him. Buck was a different character, more of a man’s man, one of the guys. He got told off by superiors more than once for being too close and familiar with the enlisted men. I can imagine that kind of thing rankling someone like Nixon. It would appear Buck definitely had some what we now call PTSD after Bastogne, he saw some horrific things, as did a lot of them, there is no shame in that. If what I am reading in the other comments is correct in that Nixon referred to Compton as a coward for some of the events in Bastogne then that is absolutely not on but by the same ticket, none of us were there, there might be one very specific incident or argument that gave rise to the beef between them.
I'll take Buck's word..... all..... day.... long. He's one of my personal heroes - as are a lot of his Brothers. I always loved the Nixon character in the BOB miniseries. But I read a TON on the subject. Anything I can get my hands on, basically. And the more I read... the more I dislike Nixon. He was no Buck Compton - that's for darn sure. Couldn't hold his "jock strap." In Sports, or in Life. Or on the battlefield. And that's probably why he acted like an ass towards ole' Buck. I'd love to hear what Neil McDonough says about this.
I'm pretty convinced--without much evidence--that the wealthy Nixon family used it's influence to get Lewis a posting that didn't put him in much direct threat of combat. He was around but was usually not in harm's way. How'd he manage to do three combat drops and not fire his weapon?
McDonough is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, I am fairly sure he would not say a bad word about either of those men. Whether he was privy to their actual attitudes or not!!!
Buck was definitely that. I think one of the reasons he is so candid is because he does not put very much of his self-worth in his wartime contributions. He had a monster career as a detective, prosecutor and senior manager of the DA’s office, and finally one of the highest ranking judges in the country (Court of Appeals). If he has to share a story that doesn’t involve him or anybody else looking like a hero, he doesn’t care at all.
@@va3svdSo he was a california cop and a california prosecutor and judge. None of those things reflect well on him. Those are the scummiest jobs and people on the planet. Hardly something to be proud of
Hollywood makes everyone likeable and better looking, except Sobel, who is the antagonist. The values of many would be considered unacceptable today, but they gloss over that. I still call them the Greatest Generation, but knowing the attitudes of my parents...
That puts Nixon in a whole new light. There were always a few officers who put forth time and effort thinking up and bringing about some real mindless bs. Sometimes other officers would call them on it. I was fortunate in that most of the units I was in had more common sense leadership than the goofballs callin the shots.
Watch Shames’ interview when he discusses Nixon. He makes Compton look downright charitable. And the series doesn’t really give the full perspective on Shames, either. I don’t disagree that he probably yelled at guys very liberally, but he was also the first guy in the 101st Airborne to receive a battlefield commission and had a reputation for being ferocious and tough in combat. In fact, he and Speirs were apparently quite close.
@@clybournstreet9628 There are 3 parts to the interview; this is the third. He discusses Nixon for the first two minutes or so. He mistakenly calls him “Richard Nixon”, but he was 91 years old at the time so we can forgive the occasional mis-statement of fact. ruclips.net/video/hatgdbWDiP8/видео.htmlsi=UV6IYl5ZStl51P0X
I could tell a hundred stories of people I had conflicts with or people I didn't like or people that didn't like me in my 20 years of service. I could also tell a hundred stories of the same in my civilian occupations. such is life.
LOL yes, as a former infantryman, a unit can have alot of drama and tension underneath the surface, you form cliques. The show was a bit unrealistic in my opinion in that aspect, maybe im wrong and it was different with other units but personally i experienced as well as saw with others alot of drama and dislike bordering on conniving hate amongst soldiers in units, even combat units out in the field.
Before anyone rushes to judgment can you say for certain that if someone interviewed everyone from your High School do you think that your reviews would be anything but mixed? Now imagine instead of puberty you had PTSD and alcoholism
From someone who 'never fired his rifle' in the whole war, compared to a hero with a silver star, bronze star and purple heart... I think I'll side with Mr. Compton any day. JMHO.
To imply that Nixon lacked bravery is absurdity to the max. Not firing your rifle doesn't mean that he was never fired upon by small arms, never shelled, and never faced death. The man even had one more combat jump than Compton. Even Buck didn't imply Nixon was a coward.
The fact that he admitted to never having fired his weapon in combat says more about his character than anything. Most would have made up some bullshit story.
@@mikek5958shows he's honest. A majority of vets, even combat vets, never fired at the enemy. Cited research I've read put the number at around 33% of men in combat do all the killing.
@@USN1985dos Exactly, Nixon's primary duty was assessing the combat situation and passing the information up to battalion and regiment, not shooting at the enemy. Also he nearly got a posthumous Purple Heart when that machine bullet passed through his helmet in Holland grazing this forehead. Just a few millimeters off and it would have removed the front of his skull.
The story and the reality are very different things, Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Dambusters fame was disliked by a lot under his command. Douglas Bader certainly wasn’t liked by a lot of people, he was vile to his ground staff and as a prisoner of war in Colditz castle he had an airman as his servant who’s job was to carry him up and down the stairs daily. At the end of the war Bader blocked his repatriation. My point is that these were people who were placed into positions and got told to get on with it, how they did it was down to them, in a largely conscript military they would’ve come across a pricks to some for sure.
At no time was Compton and Nixon shown to be best friends. In fact there is little to no interaction between Compton and Nixon during the series. I can't even remember any scenes they had together. Are you confusing Compton with Winters?
I'm guessing Nixon was one of those troubled guys who you either loved or hated. Clearly he must have had some redeeming qualities, since he and Winters were lifelong friends and Winters went to work with him in the Nixon family business after the war.
No big deal. They didn't all have to like each other as long as thry got their job done. For example Lieutenant Shames wasn't shown much in the series except for one scene of him screaming however he was in real life a very brave platoon leader who led his men and did his job deligently and he was with the company from D-Day to the end. . .but a lot of the officers didn't like him and also because Shames disagreed with some of Ambrose's writing for the show, Ambrose made sure Shames would get barely any screen time. Shit happens, its the job they do that matters. They dont have to like each other.
I doubt that. Nixon didn’t seem to begrudge Winters’ respect for Speirs or Welsh or Lipton. Buck was a lower-working-class man who worked his way through childhood right up through college; Nixon was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, and both acted accordingly. Buck was very popular with the enlisted men and engaged more with them than the officers; Nixon wasn’t necessarily unpopular with the enlisted men - except for the ones who worked their way up (like Shames, for instance). It just seemed that Nix had a natural superiority complex and took exception to people who didn’t act like they were impressed by him? Maybe it was an East Coast vs West Coast thing? I just find the friendship between Nixon and Winters very strange. It’s like Poirot and Captain Hastings: what did Poirot ever see in that guy? Eternal mystery.
@@clybournstreet9628 That’s about the only explanation. Very few people ever had the opinion of Nixon that Winters did, who even laughably called him “one of the finest combat officers”. I can see that Nixon back-channeled stuff for Winters reliably and effectively when he was on regimental staff. It is no doubt important for an actual combat leader to have someone with that political savvy on his side on staff higher up, but it’s curious to see Winters overstate the case so much.
@@SB-Kiwi not claiming to be a tough guy, but I know I wouldn’t have made it through a whole war being on the front lines without firing my weapon. Nixon was a known drunk and had been demoted and reprimanded for it. I think the tv series obviously portrayed him to be a nicer guy, but clearly Compton didn’t think so. And yes, I’d rather have Compton by my side than a drunk who never fired his weapon.
@@SB-Kiwi oh, I have no doubt. But we do know what Nixon did. He was a very smart guy and he served his country using his brain to plan events, but he was a drunk who was present at Normandy, Bastogne, and Holland, and he was frequently drunk and never fired a shot. And brave men like Compton who won the Silver Star, didn’t think much of him. And that is the topic of this thread.
Funny Nixon didn’t like Buck for being a jock. Winters was a jock, too (who also liked to read, but a jock nevertheless). Oh well. All those guys mean a lot to me, if nothing else.
The 101st Airborne were not the bunch of heroes they have been portrayed to be. The real story is in the book by David Webster, Parachute Infantry (1962), the book that inspired the largely fiction Band of Brothers. David was the Harvard graduate who stayed a private for the whole war. His accurate and unembellished account of what really happened was endorsed by Gen. Maxwell Taylor, its commander for its most active service in 1944. It saw little service after Bastogne and was not in action for the rest of the war. It suffered 40% casualties and the replacements were useless as soldiers. David Webster tells of looting and thievery, rape of Dutch women, and indiscriminate shooting of German prisoners. Back in the USA, Taylor resigned to join the Joint Chiefs and he said that only 10% of the 101st soldiers did any of the fighting. The rest hid, faked wounds or deserted to the rear, specially in the Ardennes.
@@nelsonzambrano5788Yep, same dude. He worked as a journalist and wrote an academic book about sharks after the war. Was eventually lost at sea and never found.
You both served and did your part. It is unhealthy and unprofessional to speak badly about someone because of personal issues. 99% of others...including Dick Winters h9ld him in high esteem. This is a personal grudge. Your both good men. Lets bury the jealousy and animosity.
Based only on the portrayal made from the film (assuming it’s accurate)… I didn’t care for Nixon either. Arrogant and a drunk he really didn’t put himself ever in danger save a limited very few times. Always with the top brass - complaining and sorry for himself. I’m grateful for his service as I am for all veterans but he seemed to have a pretty easy go of it in comparison to many others.
Basically everyone in the Battalion hated Nix. He was a degenerate alcoholic who was a coward and often delegated his bad decisions to others who he would blame for the failure. He often gave incorrect and wrong advice as the S2 of the Batt. leading to countless loss of lives.
Because as long as he gets the job done you cannot afford the loss. The U.S. was short combat soldiers particularly in the units with the highest attrition rates like the screaming eagles.
@@jamesdiaz793 If he was a poor enlisted guy he would have ended up in a military prison. But they tended not to do that with officers, especially officers who were from an extremely wealthy, influential family like Nixon was. Also, he didn't really get the job done. That's why he was demoted, in the way officers are demoted, by being kicked downstairs. And he only stayed there because Winters said he could handle him.
Good for you. I called my "superior" a college Dean a " real chickenshit " in public. BTW: I enjoyed being in the ranks as a soldier. Lousy situation but a great bunch of guys.
He seemed like a prick. Surprised he wasn't busted for being an alcoholic. You never saw him in the fray either. Maybe he got a little chill in Bastogne?
Hearing this and thinking back on the series it becomes apparent that Nixon was not thought of as highly by the officers and men of Easy as the other Officers. Anyone who served knows that you don't pull the best Platoon leaders out of a Line Company and put them on Battalion Staff before an operation. This conversation and his bullshit order to have Compton do this chickenshit proves he was a petty man. He comes off as a spoiled rich kid who thought himself about everyone. No surprise he probably drank due to his insecurities.
Okay I'm sorry but I still don't understand why Nixon hated jocks. Nixon was partying with his girlfriends while the jocks were outside working hard and practicing. What exactly about that pissed Nixon off? Can someone please explain?
Not to mention Nixon was an academic who graduated from Yale before joining the Army. He was your quintessential Ivy League prep -- athletic enough to play sports and join the Army, but not necessarily as "macho" or "alpha" as some of the tougher guys from the streets like Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. It would make sense that he would see the jock types as knuckleheads. Winters never attended an Ivy League school, but he graduated University with honors before joining the Army and being accepted to Officer Candidate School straight out of Basic Training. He was also an academic with athletic ability, which is why he and Nix got on so well. Nix likely had resentment that stemmed from being the smart kid in class that jocks may have picked on and girls overlooked for said jocks.
@@steve2070 That's the thing. There's nothing in what Compton claims Nixon said to him that implies that' was the case. Which is why it's not clear why Nixon hated jocks.
@@r.b.ratieta6111 But accorind to what Compton said Nixon was the one partying with girls while the jocks were just out practicing. From what Compton said it seems to imply Nixon was the one having fun with the girls not the jocks.
@@r.b.ratieta6111 Nixon didn't graduate from Yale. He was there two years. As to why Nixon hated jocks. Non jocks always hate jocks. It's part of college, and high school, life
Not really surprised to hear such things. Rich child of privilege giving a self made man a hard time. Ambrose had a man crush on Winters, who was pals with Nixon...no wonder he painted Nixon in a sympathetic light.
No, it doesn't. Just because Compton didn't like Nixon and clearly he has his reasons it does not mean that Winters had the same negative interaction. People can be friends with someone even though others may dislike that same individual. Winters was an adult who could pick who he was friends with.
I’ve noticed a lot of backstabbing from these guys. I really don’t like it. Seems to me like this was a group of Prima-donnas who thought they were better than everyone else. They look down their nose at everyone. Not a fan.
I don't think the show tries to sugar coat how abrasive Lewis Nixon was to the majority of the company. He obviously had many issues with the other officers. What the show does paint, is that for whatever else Nixon's faults were he was a capable officer and a good friend to Dick WInters. I think a lot of guys can relate to having that real good friend of ours that doesn't click well with everybody.
Heck learning how even Buck Compton who was seemingly loved by everybody in the show, had a beef with somebody makes everything just that much more relatable.
Nixon wasn't really all that capable. Ed Shames was made Nixon's assistant because Nixon was always so drunk that he couldn't get his work done. Nixon was fired as S3 because his alcoholism was so bad. He would have been kicked out of the division except that Winters was asked if he could handle Nixon. Because of his friendship he said OK, and Noxon was pushed down to battalion.
@@charlesgantz5865The show even shows us that in Episode 9 that his drinking had gotten so bad that he was demoted for it. I meant more that he was capable up until the alcoholism got that bad. Like I said, the show doesn't sugar coat Nixon much except that we see him mostly through the eyes of his friend who is able to see past his other faults and it's not like Winters ever makes excuses for him.
@@ktvindicare Not to mention the show talks about Nixon's issues, he is the only one in the 101st to earn 3 combat jump stars, one of which the plane went down and him and one other were the only ones to survive, which lead to him drinking more then getting demoted then getting a letter from his wife at the time that she was divorcing him. With a guy that was already struggling with drinking that just made everything worse.
He should have been assigned as Sobel's roomate.
Yeah, Nixon's a bit like Martin to me. I don't particularly like either of them but they could do some real good, if ignoring their personalities.
Also keep in mind these were young men in a most stressful situation. At the time of the Aldbourne exchange Compton describes, he was still 22 and Nixon was 25. Even Colonel Sink, the "old man" of the regiment, had turned 39 the April before D-Day. Dale Dye who portrayed him in the series was 17 years older than Sink was during the war.
Donald Malarkey was a friend of Compton, in his book "Easy Company Soldier" he addresses Nixon's beef with Compton...
He mentions that in one of the reunions, Nixon said Compton was a coward, to which Malarkey replied "Is that so? and how many Silver Stars do you have?"
Mate Australia does not have Silver Stars and we had blokes in the thick of it from Bardia Jan 41 to Borneo 1945 Yes 5 bloody years not 11 months and he was never awarded anything It was just the way we operated . Our awards were for exceptional Bravery Hell you gave your Medal of Honour to MacArthur
@@jacktattis Compton was awarded a Silver Star for his actions at Brecourt Manor on D Day. He participated in the assault leading to the destruction of 4 105mm guns, this resulted in saving the lifes of countless soldiers at the beach. The point is, he was not a coward...
@@wallysprint In that case don't worry about Nixon .
@@wallysprintWhat I meant to say being awarded medals for bravery does not in any way lessen the service of Others.
Eric Fordham Australian Infantry in every battle the 2/2 AIF was in from 1940 to 1945 No Awards just an Aussie digger
@@jacktattis I totally agree with you, I just wanted to point out the perspective from Malarkey, who didn't like the way his friend was being treated and called out Nixon for it.. Nixon did not have any medals for bravery and was calling Compton a coward...
I also remember reading about a reunion situation after the war where Nixon referred to Compton as a coward openly at the table due to what happened to Compton after the shelling in Bastogne which was more than the series showed (Compton wasn't at the table). Several other men at the table immediately came to Compton's defense and talked about his bravery and awards In Normandy and Holland and it got a little nasty for a few moments. The men truly did love Buck and when Band of Brothers was being proposed as a book they went out of their way (even sort of threatened Ambrose in my understanding) about how Buck should be portrayed in those Bastogne events - loyal loving friends as they were trying to protect him. It was Buck that said it should be portrayed honestly and fairly, but I guess they settled for something in the middle.
None of this should surprise anyone though - people are people and there are always personal politics within teams and large organizations. In this case a stud accomplished jock who never drank vs. an ivy league rich kid who liked to drink it up. Just so very interesting since we all very much appreciate these brave men and want to know more about who they really were in life.
Wasn't Nixon the guy who said he never fired his weapon in combat.... when Compton was with Winters at Brecourt Manor lobbing hand grenades like baseballs at Germans.
Nixon was sitting with Malarkey at that reunion when he called him a coward. Malarkey's response was "How many Silver Stars do you have?" That shut him up apparently.
@@dodgermartin4895 Yes, but that's because he was an intelligence officer. They rarely engage in combat.
@@catherinelw9365
Obviously he wasn't that intelligent
As I recall Nixon never fired a shot. Thank you to the Heroes that served with blood sweat and tears
I treat this just as I do the Winters/Sobel conflict. Not taking sides and thanking both for their service. All 4 are no longer with us and their issues were their business, not mine.
Wise words
Actually, the cowardly way out.
There's a HUGE difference between Winter and Sobel. Sobel was patently incompetent, Winters was exceptionally skilled. Nixon was competent, he apparently was just an asshole, probably because of his alcoholism.
Perfectly said!
Absolutely. All we have are one sided stories. And stories told after decades of the events happening that are never totally factual.
I imagine there were a lot of guys in every unit who couldn't stand each other, but they still did what it took to get the job done.
Yep. Just like a work environment. Everyone doesn't have to get along, just get the job done.
It does suck however when the boss is a real prick.
@@davidmihevc3990 Yeah, and I've had some real winners. Thankfully no one as bad as Sobel though. :)
Anyone who has ever served would understand the relationship between "College Boy officers" vs "Snobby Officers". I was a Sergeant with a master's degree from MIT and officers hated me even more until I made E-8. The ebb and flow of military life.
@@Scout_Recon It's sadly what you get when the idea of an officer corp goes back to when it's not what you knew but who you were that made you an officer. It's obviously not as bad as that these days, but that holier than thou attitude is still there, and probably always will be. I mean how many Mustangs are shit on by other officers as some jump start no one who got lucky, or had favorites, or who assumed the Mustang thought he knew better (because he probably does). It's all ego.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good officers out there. My Grandfather happened to be a Colonel and was a really nice, albeit strict guy. He was a combat engineer in WW2 so he was smart and inventive enough to get some weird jobs done when they needed to get done. He wasn't a Colonel back then, mind you, but still. He was an "educated man" and back then that was much more rare.
I think the main issue with Nixon and Bull was what someone else pointed out. They're just two VERY different people socially. Someone said, "Well Bull is West and Nix is East" but if you look at their history you'll see Nixon was on the West Coast a decent amount as a kid. He went to prep school there. I think the difference was that he was old money and Bull was a jock. He said so here that he didn't respect that. Old money doesn't go out and sweat. That's for the poors lol. Okay well maybe not that bad, but Nixon was a very wealthy, likely spoiled kid. That's not to say he didn't have his virtues, of which he seemed to have many. They were just two different people in two different worlds sort of forced to be in the same "club" of officers. Nixon probably thought himself better than Buck as an officer..
@@Scout_ReconNixon wasn't wrong, jocks do tend to be jerks, apparently then as now. My opinion is that jocks have a sort of resentment toward anyone that has knowledge beyond run-tackle-block. They would give grief to the kids good at math, but look at that kid whose good at math a few years out of school versus the football player reliving the "glory" of a football game, boring the daylights out of everyone in a bar.
Your statement suggests that the college boy officers aren't snobby and those without college are. Also, I was under the impression that officers, for the most part, were college graduates.
I liked how Buck considered himself "just a rifleman" who happened to have bars on his shoulders.
You can find an extended interview with him on RUclips.
Lovely man.
Dike was decorated for rescuing 2 wounded men at Bastogne and portrayed as a coward in the show. Never forget individuals do not always see things the same.
Yeah Dike was not portrayed in the way that he actually was. A lot of people did not like this part of the show.
Ultimately, Ambrose's book and the show were mostly based on the recollections of half a dozen people, and if these 5-6-7 guys didn't like you, personally, it didn't matter what else you might have actually done.
doesn't discredit the fact that he was probably incompetent.
@@NangDoofer Lipton is the source of that and it is well known he resented Dike. Malarkey did dispute Lipton on Dike.
@@NangDoofer, it’s also more than likely that Dike was undergoing some pretty extreme PTSD. Compton isn’t incompetent in your opinion, so why is Dike? You only see Compton’s war, you see a small portion of Dike’s war.
Consider this..Nixon - he joined and became an officer.. Before the War in early 41.. Volunteered and qualified for Airborne, they were picky and the training very hard. He definitely had some problems but he was probably still in among the most experienced. Had 3 stars on his jump wings when the war ended, one of just a few that survived his plane being shot down during Operation Varsity. He had his faults but still did things that probably 80% of the other officers in the Army at the time did not do. He was a full blown alcoholic and that probably contributed to his being disliked by some. He later turned his life around and may have still had his moments but I wouldn't just write him off based on 1 persons opinion. They are all gone now.
Hell, maybe he was a prick back then *because* of the alcohol.
He likely felt like shit going the whole war in battalion staff and not leading
Leading soldiers in combat like his best friend. Seeing all the casualties and knowing you're stuck in battalion staff sucks.
Also, let's remember Nixon was rather wealthy and was going through a less-than-amicable divorce at some point. I can't count the number of people both male and female I have known in my 66 years that were alcoholics. Almost every one of them was good at their jobs. Sadly almost every one of them also lost family and left a trail of destroyed marriages behind them. Listen, while we are discussing alcohol let us remember Col Sink's nickname "Bourbon Bob". Dick Winters knew Col Sink would be sleeping off the effects of alcohol and that is why he told those men to stay in that night 100% disobeying the Colonel's order.
You are absolutely right.
I don’t know , it’s not like Nixon in his post war career, became a police officer for the LAPD , Detective , worked his way through law school at night to become a DA, then prosecuted the case against Sirhan Sirhan in the Murder of Senator Robert Kennedy and then be appointed as a judge, for the district court of appeals in CA. Compton for in everything,I have read including his opinions that he’s written as a judge. Seems to be a highly articulate, intelligent and brave man . Spielberg chose the right actor in Neil McDonough to play Buck Compton.
Doesn't mean he wasn't a prick, especially to Buck.
He's talking about Buck
😂😂 you don’t believe the man himself get out of the bubble man
You can be successful and a prick.
@@AdventureFreak86indeed, in many cases it appears that being a prick is key to that success.
Ok, picturing Livingston doing what he’s describing makes it actually pretty funny! 😂
Yeah I just finished watching Loudermilk which made this story extra believable.
BoB, the books and the TV series are a great story portraying what was going on in a Parachute Infantry Company at that time in history. It's entertainment, it's history, and it's old men's recollections many decades after the events. Ambrose interviewed a lot of Easy Company men and their families for the project, many of whom he never included in his book and thus never made it into the TV Series. Not long into his research Ambrose honed in on the group surrounding Dick Winters which included Winters, Lipton, Guarnere, Malarky and Mike Ranney (who also hardly appears in the show but submitted a lot of writing and interviews with Ambrose). He would spend most of his time writing down their recollections and leaned towards their remembered versions of events over other veterans recollections. Not saying their version of events is 'wrong' just that the story we got was mostly based around this core group and the time Ambrose focused on them.
If you watch interviews on RUclips with Ed Shames, Easy Company's last surviving officer, he also disliked Lewis Nixon immensely, repeatedly calling him 'an incompetent fall down drunk' who got sacked from Regiment and sent back to Battalion because of his alcoholism. Infact Shames's entire war experiences are passed off in the series in about 2 seconds where Winters says that 'he thinks he needs to scream at everyone' when they are discussing who should take over Easy Company. When in actual fact - Shames was the first Sgt in the Regiment to get a Battlefield Commission in the days after D-Day and led the Recon element of Easy Company and was very highly regarded by his soldiers like Forrest Guth, Popeye Wynne and Earl McLung. I think, from memory - I may be wrong and mixed him up with someone else, by Shames killed the only Tiger tank in Easy Company, or captured it, one or the other.
Sobel, for all he was despised, actually DID drop on D-Day with the 101st and led an attack on a German Machine Gun post and was awarded a Bronze Star. Not mentioned in the book or series.
Dike, was also awarded a Bronze Star for rescuing a wounded man, yet the show portrays him as a coward who fell apart at Foy.
Buck Compton has a few interviews like this one where he tells about his dislike of Nixon in a little more veiled/polite terms than Shames did.
Band of Brothers is the story of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Easy consisted of around 100-130 men (ish) and with that many men there is going to be conflicts, people who just don't like each other, guys who are hard to get along with, and some who are just jerks, no matter their service records. The Show is only 10 episodes, man men of Easy never got their stories told, and never will. But, at the end of the day, the writers did well to tell their story to us all, minus a few warts, with a few 'flavour' additions for the 'story', but they gave us the 'feel' and represented all of the men, as best they could, within the limitations of a TV series.
Will we ever see a series as good as this again? I don't know. The Pacific wasn't as good, and Masters of the Air suffers from the same problem where we don't get as emotionally attached to the characters and story as we did with BoB, as good as each series is. I hope we see another production as good as BoB one day, because those stories and the sacrifice of men in service of their country need to be told and kept forever.
Well said...very well said.
Obviously they needed negative characters like this in the series for some drama, but they should have used fictional stand ins. The Dike misrepresentation was just unforgivable from what I read about him. They also claimed Blythe died a few years after the war when he didnt.
I think the most egregious misrepresentation was the screw up of Pvt. Blythe's story. They got it almost entirely wrong and never bothered to fix it, even in subsequent releases.
@@CaptCanuck4444 As years go on, a lot of misrepresentations come to light. Examples, Liebgott was actually Catholic and not Jewish. But, others in E Company thought he was Jewish: Webster called him Jewish in his book, so maybe that's the reason for the mistake. The "I'm a Jew" fight with Guarnere on the transport ship didn't happen. In the Bastogne hospital, the Congolese nurse (Augusta Chiwy) may have been a better nurse than Renée Lemaire. I recommend the book and documentary, "Searching for Augusta, the Forgotten Angel of Bastogne."
No I don’t think we’ll ever get a once in a lifetime great show like BoB ever again. The Pacific was ok and Air Masters (whatever it’s called) I started watching and didn’t even care to finish it after Ep3. 😂
I'm the grandson of a WW2 veteran for all there faults that everyone of them had they will always and forever be the greatest generation the generations that have come after them could not have done what they did especially the current generation
Buck was a helluva man. Nixon did his part too. Leave it at that
I agree. Sometimes you need both kinds of people taking on equally important but different roles to make an operation successful.
The personal dynamics inside a military unit can be interesting. You may not like the people above you or the people below you in rank, but you have to set that aside and get the mission done.
The series however did show Nixon's troubled realization that that he did not fire a shot in anger during the entire war. The actor did a great job of showing the angst that would have caused knowing that all the men around you had undergone the trial by fire.
I'm 69 and still remember some the exceptional SOBs I ran across in my 20s.
do you have a sister?
If you’re in the Military or Law Enforcement you learn that you may not like the guy next to you but when the shit hits the fan personal feelings go out the window. There will always be personal conflict, egos and squabbles but you’ve got to have each other’s back. Been there, done that with people multiple times at my job.
Not to defend Nixon, but as an S2 you're analysis of intel, suggestions in operational planning either saves lives or gets people killed. There isn't much in between. I can see how being depressed/buzzed/hungover can lead into being a prick. He did have three combat jumps.
Very true it is not a case of just sitting around drinking coffee, he was visiting other company's and had to asses what was going on and give his opinion on the larger picture so that his seniors could then decide what to do
Exactly and I'm seeing the "he didn't fire a shot implying he was a coward" comments popping up here just like they've been popping up for the past 20 years. Nixon was in active combat situations plenty of times. He nearly had a fatal head wound in Holland when a machine gun bullet entered the front of his helmet, grazed his forehead, and exited out the side.
Even after the war you can feel his distate
I admire both these guys, especially irl but also in the series. Nix is honestly one of my favorite characters from the show.
This interview clip is a real gem. Thank you for sharing it. :)
Band of Brothers was a great mini series but it got two things completely wrong was Blithe dying from wounds and Lt . Dike being a coward. You have to remember not everyone is going to love you in a military unit the best you can hope for is respect.
Also the episode centering Webster was not right, he was NEVER treated as replacement nor resented by men, they were very happy to see him back and he never went on the patrol, he was on the M1919A4, covering men's depature from other side of the river.
And I remember talking with Moffitt Burris of the 504th PIR of the 82nd and hearing him say of the stories of some of his fellow 504th troopers: “Sometimes I wonder if they were in the same war with me.”
Never had much use for jocks either but then I've never been in a frozen forest surrounded by Germans that want to kill me. Seems like they'd be quite handy to have around then.
Every human has their limits...no movie or tv show can compare obviously to what these men saw,suffered and endured...it is not for me to say or have an opinion of either man..other than they were brave enough to jump out of a good airplane.I can only observe it in an awe of human character in circumstances I will never understand.
Made the mistake of looking at the comments...
So here's a long ass comment no one will read that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but something I feel annoyed enough to write.
Every human is just that- human.
We all have issues. We have all been through bad things, we've all at one point hurt someone in some fashion, purposefully or accidentally. Something can haunt us but the person who caused it might have not even realized it- made a flippant comment, or something mattered to us that wouldn't matter to them so they don't understand. We all have good and bad inside of us. We are made up of our choices, our fears, our joys, what we care about, what haunts us, and what drives us. And others view a person through their own lens- whether that's bias, fear, heresay, or experience. And one person's experience with a person doesn't invalidate someone else's. We're all individual humans with our own thought patterns and beliefs.
Both of these guys had wonderful things about them. They volunteered to protect their world, and did it in different ways. I'm sure both men had issues. But both men had people who loved them.
And hell yes addiction can cause a shitton of problems, including influencing your attitude and behaviour. Who knows why someone starts drinking? I don't know what Mr. Nixon experienced or felt. He's a stranger to me that I only know because I was a 9th grade kid who never got to meet her grandpa and I saw a show that was about paratroopers like him.
And no, having an addiction or mental health issues doesn't excuse your behaviour and the way you treat people.
But I know that he was said to have quit drinking and changed his life around-- and after over a decade of having alcohol problems?? That is an insanely goddamn huge accomplishment. And not something people should ignore or make light of.
There are some people who are never able to beat it for good. I've had people that I've lost to alcohol addiction-- someone who I adored and only saw the good side of, though I know that wasn't all there was to him. My person during their addiction caused pain to others I love, but in good times was really awesome to them. He literally pulled people from fires when he wasn't a fireman, just someone who was in the right place at the right time. His family members acknowledge the hurt but also all the good things he was too.
And that's just it. Humans are many conflicting things all at the same time. You can be a grade-A dick to some people, and a wonderful friend with their own issues to others. Both can be correct, because neither is all you are. We're all a thousand things all at once.
Anyway.
Well said
@@armyvet8279 Thanks dude. :)
@@jessegelhof1756 you're welcome 😁
That's very interesting and adds a lot of depth, because despite his obvious alcoholism Nixon comes off as extremely likable in the show. PTSD wasn't as recognized back then as today. Soldiers who cracked from it were sometimes called cowards, but hearing Nixon refer to Buck as that when Buck had his episode with PTSD certainly puts a negative slant on Nixon that wasnt there in my mind before.
You shouldn't base whether someone in real life was likable or not from show. Stephen Ambrose wasn't known as a very good historian. He was a good storyteller and would often embellish the story to make it more interesting. If you read or listen to the interviews of people who were there, Nixon was neither likable nor competent.
This is a very good point about how Ambrose "embellished" the stories he collected from and about the soldiers of the 506th, and more. Buck Compton was a liked and capable platoon leader, but Nixon was a superior officer with an entirely different set of tasks. Because Nixon was a captain doing intelligence at battalion level, he should not have really bothered interjecting commands on Compton's daily exercises - but he did, and his additional comments about Compton created a rift between them. It hurts Nixon that he was not interviewed for _'Band Of Brothers'_ did not really put his experiences into print, and he could not add any clarification on why he and Compton did not get along - but they just didn't. Nixon was the only officer around Easy Company and Battalion level in the 506th that completed *three combat jumps as a paratrooper in Europe* and he received two bronze stars during WWII. Nixon might have been a prick to some, he might have had a serious drinking problem, but he did his duty as he was able in though circumstances - as Buck Compton also did. Compton received a silver star for his bravery in one combat situation, but as the series shows he was deeply affected and had to be taken "off the line" to recover from what we now call PTSD, while Nixon was there the entire time (regardless that he turned further to drinking to handle his own "combat fatigue" (as it was then called).). I have to say : there were plenty of Easy company officers that could not measure up to what Dick Winters accomplished, what he survived, and his leadership - Winters also fired few shots in combat (Nixon fired almost none according to the other soldiers), but without him the 506th is guaranteed to be less effective and lose many more soldiers - the same is true for Nixon and Compton. So many have picked sides in these comments about Nixon and Compton, wrongly I think - there is only one "side" for any of these "officers and gentlemen" - the U S Army and taking care of the men they commanded.
Does anyone remember Lieutenant Peacock?
Buck must have stole Nix's Prom Date.
Winters had a genuine affection and friendship with Nixon. And Nixon helped Winters greatly. All these men had different backgrounds and abilities.
Heroes are human, just like the rest of us. Regardless, we owe them BOTH for what we have now. Lest We Forget.
Well said.
In the series, Nixon treated a couple of enlisted men condescendingly. If that was accurate, then I’m Team Compton.
Buck was someone who the guys respected because he would step up whenever he had to, even in dangerous situations. From what I've read about him, men related to him a lot. Maybe Nixon felt a bit put off that men related to Buck who was seen as a college jock rather than Nixon who was more of a brilliant nerd? I don't know...maybe Buck rubbed Nixon the wrong way.
Buck was definitely a damn good combat leader and his men respected him.
I think Nixon expected Compton to be an arrogant jerk, but Compton proved him wrong and Nixon hated to be proven wrong.
I think war changes people. War kinda made Nixon into an alcoholic (or at least, worsen his condition). Compton might be arrogant before he joined the military, but going through the training and battles may have humbled him.
Nixon's problem was he had serious drinking problem in fact his friendship with Winters suffered and they didn't speak for years until Nixon stopped drinking.
All of us that have served have had to deal with guys that were total "pricks", his words, with more rank on their sleeves than brains in their bucketheads. They come, you endure their b.s., and they leave and get replaced by a much better soldier. God bless the greatest generation.
Truth!
I can just imagine the tension between some of these guys at the reunions. Anyway no surprise that some of these guys could barely stand each other. The military is full of people that can't stand each other. But the bottom line is, whatever their differences may have been, they pulled themselves together to help win the war.
I think it's important to note here that Buck is not being entirely truthful about Nixon. Lew Nixon WAS a combat officer with Easy Company, he was CO of 2nd Platoon during the Normandy campaign and unlike in the TV Series was not, in fact, moved up to Battalion until after that bullet struck his helmet in Holland. Major Winters said that Nixon was the best combat officer that he ever had and if a man like Winters says so, then that's good enough for me.
Technically, you’re not a CO of a platoon. You’re a platoon leader! Only one CO in a company.
And Winters also recognized Bull Randleman as one of the finest soldiers he ever commanded. I think that I should start recommending people read Pvt. David Kenyon Webster's book to get better insight and knowledge of Easy Company than what Ambrose provided is his stories from _'Band Of Brothers'_ ...
Wow, that's kind of crazy to hear. The mini-series didn't portray that at all. I know they got a lot of stuff wrong, but damn.
Regardless of the true history, Ron Livingston fucking rules.
I've coached a lot of championship teams with players and coaches who didn't like each other...but come game time...they put on the game face! That is the single difference between a winner and a loser.
Shit. That's just how it is. Plenty throughout my career that I crossed horns with. Higher and lower rank, didn't matter at the time. We were in theater. Job got done. If i saw them now they'd get a handshake and hello. If i see anyone i liked, they'll get a handshake and hug.
Buck prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the assasination of RFK.
What a life-ride he had. Rip
Nice to see some honesty. The TV show made it like Sobel was the only a hole out of the bunch
That's the thing. People need to be careful about considering a TV show-even something based on historical events-to be totally accurate. Dramatic needs govern a lot of what we see.
And the material used from Stephen Ambrose has to be taken with a fairly large grain of salt. Ambrose was employed as a "historical writer", but he was known to... "embellish" things to make the story more interesting or relatable for readers. If Dick Winters says Nixon was one of the best officers he served with, and that Compton was a fine and capable platoon leader - that is what I shall believe. I should start recommending people read Pvt David Kenyon Webster's more .. "grounded" account of Easy company in Europe during WWII. (Webster was nearly the only "Toccoa man" to not be promoted to NCO or beyond, but he was a trained journalist - not a story teller like Ambrose).
@@wills2140 Known to? He got sued over it, lost and got black listed from some historical societies and a few books got recalled. That is before we get to the plagiarism stuff
It sounds like real life to me. Refreshing.
Nixon was a Yale boy. Enough said
...and here we were told the only prick officer was Sobel.
If you read some of the books by other Easy enlisted guys, Peacock was also really despised because he was a petty martinet, rather than the well-meaning bumbler portrayed in the series.
@@facubeitches1144 I think Webster summed up Peacock pretty well when he said that he could look the other way on the martinet stuff if the guy was a good combat leader, but Peacock was hopeless. The only thing worse than being a jerk was being a useless jerk.
@@va3svd @facubeitches1144 I read Webster's book, however I don't recall much criticism of officer's, even Sobel, maybe I'll have to go back and read it again. I do recall though, how they changed the scenario with the chocolate in Holland vs. the series. In the book, a Dutch man asks them for some chocolate, so he can take it to his son that has never tasted it. In the series, the child was hiding in the basement of a house, and was given chocolate directly from the troops.
Sobel was probably Nixon's (Nixon? Now where have I heard that name before? Don't recall, but it wasn't good) teacher on company morale improvement.
@@clybournstreet9628 Webster was in Headquarters Company in Toccoa, so there is really no reason why he would have mentioned Sobel. He didn’t transfer to Easy until after they came back to England before Market-Garden.
As far as Webster’s lengthy screed about Peacock, I have the epub version so I can’t give you the page number, but it’s just over halfway through the chapter entitled “The Windmills Were Wonderful”.
I hate to say it, but the military is full of alcoholics to this day. I’m one, thankfully recovering as a civilian 25 years later.
I work with a woman whose husband is an artillery officer assigned to the pentagon as an O-5 that I’ve seen get drunk to the point that he passes out, pisses and shits himself in front of his family that includes 2 teenagers as well as the staff of the company that his wife and I work for every time I’ve been around him. It’s been 3 times now. It’s not like this guy is a college frat boy, he’s 45 years old.
There’s help available for these people, it’s almost stigmatizing in the military to enter a treatment program because it’s viewed as stopping your career progression, as though being an alcoholic is not.
I find this very interesting, sometimes people just dont get along, i also remember reading that Nixon at one of the reunions called Buck a coward (for leaving when he did) and got chewed out by another guy for it. For whatever reason Nixon just didnt like Buck. I dont recall reading others having problems with Nixon but its been a while, but these 2 men had problems.
Maybe Nixon got cut from tryouts at some point and Buck being a "jock" that made it always stuck in his craw
there is always more to it, its that simple. Something happened.
It is not uncommon for people who are brought together for a common goal to not mesh. You can't be liked by everyone.
Nixon sounds like about 90% of the officers I came across. Especially, the ones from West Point.
There are always randomly beefs between guys who are otherwise well liked and even share the same friends, in all walks of life. It happens, they have their reasons. What matters in a military setting is that you can put it aside and work together. Beefing and back stabbing can cost lives in the Army.
From the series and books I always kind of took Nixon to be a bit of a flawed genius and abrasive character. A very effective officer in the roles he did but probably quite challenging to work with. Dick Winters was his friend, got on with him very well and got the best out of him.
Buck was a different character, more of a man’s man, one of the guys. He got told off by superiors more than once for being too close and familiar with the enlisted men. I can imagine that kind of thing rankling someone like Nixon.
It would appear Buck definitely had some what we now call PTSD after Bastogne, he saw some horrific things, as did a lot of them, there is no shame in that. If what I am reading in the other comments is correct in that Nixon referred to Compton as a coward for some of the events in Bastogne then that is absolutely not on but by the same ticket, none of us were there, there might be one very specific incident or argument that gave rise to the beef between them.
What time in the full video do they start talking about his war service?
I'll take Buck's word..... all..... day.... long. He's one of my personal heroes - as are a lot of his Brothers. I always loved the Nixon character in the BOB miniseries. But I read a TON on the subject. Anything I can get my hands on, basically. And the more I read... the more I dislike Nixon. He was no Buck Compton - that's for darn sure. Couldn't hold his "jock strap." In Sports, or in Life. Or on the battlefield. And that's probably why he acted like an ass towards ole' Buck. I'd love to hear what Neil McDonough says about this.
I'm pretty convinced--without much evidence--that the wealthy Nixon family used it's influence to get Lewis a posting that didn't put him in much direct threat of combat. He was around but was usually not in harm's way.
How'd he manage to do three combat drops and not fire his weapon?
McDonough is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, I am fairly sure he would not say a bad word about either of those men. Whether he was privy to their actual attitudes or not!!!
yeah, you're not gonna find any actor from the show shit on the men from Easy Company@@MrJal67
Haha. Being real. Love it
Buck was definitely that. I think one of the reasons he is so candid is because he does not put very much of his self-worth in his wartime contributions. He had a monster career as a detective, prosecutor and senior manager of the DA’s office, and finally one of the highest ranking judges in the country (Court of Appeals). If he has to share a story that doesn’t involve him or anybody else looking like a hero, he doesn’t care at all.
@@va3svdSo he was a california cop and a california prosecutor and judge. None of those things reflect well on him. Those are the scummiest jobs and people on the planet. Hardly something to be proud of
@@JS-wp4gs Achievement unlocked: Telling me you know nothing about the man’s actual career without telling me you know nothing about his career
Never knew about this
Strangely Lewis were close to Winters
Probably because both are friends since the beginning and both are batallion staff.
No wonder bro was the most relatable of the whole show 😂
Are you kidding me?!? That’s hilarious!
Hollywood makes everyone likeable and better looking, except Sobel, who is the antagonist. The values of many would be considered unacceptable today, but they gloss over that. I still call them the Greatest Generation, but knowing the attitudes of my parents...
Nixon may have been a prick to some but the man had some serious balls as well.
this is just like working for a company. ask 20 people what they think of the boss. you'll get 20 different answers.
Boy, that didn't come out in the series! 😂
One guy commanded men in combat, and the other was on staff. You decide who you'd rather have watching your back in a firefight.
That puts Nixon in a whole new light. There were always a few officers who put forth time and effort thinking up and bringing about some real mindless bs. Sometimes other officers would call them on it. I was fortunate in that most of the units I was in had more common sense leadership than the goofballs callin the shots.
Watch Shames’ interview when he discusses Nixon. He makes Compton look downright charitable. And the series doesn’t really give the full perspective on Shames, either. I don’t disagree that he probably yelled at guys very liberally, but he was also the first guy in the 101st Airborne to receive a battlefield commission and had a reputation for being ferocious and tough in combat. In fact, he and Speirs were apparently quite close.
@@va3svd Can you link this interview?
@@clybournstreet9628 There are 3 parts to the interview; this is the third. He discusses Nixon for the first two minutes or so. He mistakenly calls him “Richard Nixon”, but he was 91 years old at the time so we can forgive the occasional mis-statement of fact. ruclips.net/video/hatgdbWDiP8/видео.htmlsi=UV6IYl5ZStl51P0X
I could tell a hundred stories of people I had conflicts with or people I didn't like or people that didn't like me in my 20 years of service. I could also tell a hundred stories of the same in my civilian occupations. such is life.
As a veteran I know military units aren't Band of Brothers. You know who your brother is... and it isn't most of the lazy, ego pricks you serve with.
LOL yes, as a former infantryman, a unit can have alot of drama and tension underneath the surface, you form cliques. The show was a bit unrealistic in my opinion in that aspect, maybe im wrong and it was different with other units but personally i experienced as well as saw with others alot of drama and dislike bordering on conniving hate amongst soldiers in units, even combat units out in the field.
Before anyone rushes to judgment can you say for certain that if someone interviewed everyone from your High School do you think that your reviews would be anything but mixed? Now imagine instead of puberty you had PTSD and alcoholism
From someone who 'never fired his rifle' in the whole war, compared to a hero with a silver star, bronze star and purple heart... I think I'll side with Mr. Compton any day. JMHO.
To imply that Nixon lacked bravery is absurdity to the max. Not firing your rifle doesn't mean that he was never fired upon by small arms, never shelled, and never faced death. The man even had one more combat jump than Compton. Even Buck didn't imply Nixon was a coward.
The fact that he admitted to never having fired his weapon in combat says more about his character than anything. Most would have made up some bullshit story.
@@mikek5958shows he's honest. A majority of vets, even combat vets, never fired at the enemy. Cited research I've read put the number at around 33% of men in combat do all the killing.
@@USN1985dos Exactly, Nixon's primary duty was assessing the combat situation and passing the information up to battalion and regiment, not shooting at the enemy. Also he nearly got a posthumous Purple Heart when that machine bullet passed through his helmet in Holland grazing this forehead. Just a few millimeters off and it would have removed the front of his skull.
Dumb take
Under heavy attack at Bastogne seeing your brothers loss their life and legs wasn't a coward
The story and the reality are very different things, Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Dambusters fame was disliked by a lot under his command.
Douglas Bader certainly wasn’t liked by a lot of people, he was vile to his ground staff and as a prisoner of war in Colditz castle he had an airman as his servant who’s job was to carry him up and down the stairs daily. At the end of the war Bader blocked his repatriation.
My point is that these were people who were placed into positions and got told to get on with it, how they did it was down to them, in a largely conscript military they would’ve come across a pricks to some for sure.
Then why are they shown as best friends in the show
At no time was Compton and Nixon shown to be best friends. In fact there is little to no interaction between Compton and Nixon during the series. I can't even remember any scenes they had together. Are you confusing Compton with Winters?
I'm guessing Nixon was one of those troubled guys who you either loved or hated. Clearly he must have had some redeeming qualities, since he and Winters were lifelong friends and Winters went to work with him in the Nixon family business after the war.
No big deal.
They didn't all have to like each other as long as thry got their job done.
For example Lieutenant Shames wasn't shown much in the series except for one scene of him screaming however he was in real life a very brave platoon leader who led his men and did his job deligently and he was with the company from D-Day to the end. . .but a lot of the officers didn't like him and also because Shames disagreed with some of Ambrose's writing for the show, Ambrose made sure Shames would get barely any screen time.
Shit happens, its the job they do that matters. They dont have to like each other.
My Dad was a WWII draftee Staff Sgt in India-Burma….he hated the regulars…especially the officers.
Why did Nixon keep moving between HQ and the Company? I’m sure he was appreciated muscling the enlisted men down in the company.
Yep Nixon would have pissed people off moving between HQ and forward line.
I am sure there were others who felt the same way about you as well.
I doubt that. He was extremely well-respected amongst the men.
Maybe he ( Nicks) was jealous of the respect that Winters showed him
I doubt that. Nixon didn’t seem to begrudge Winters’ respect for Speirs or Welsh or Lipton. Buck was a lower-working-class man who worked his way through childhood right up through college; Nixon was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, and both acted accordingly. Buck was very popular with the enlisted men and engaged more with them than the officers; Nixon wasn’t necessarily unpopular with the enlisted men - except for the ones who worked their way up (like Shames, for instance). It just seemed that Nix had a natural superiority complex and took exception to people who didn’t act like they were impressed by him? Maybe it was an East Coast vs West Coast thing?
I just find the friendship between Nixon and Winters very strange. It’s like Poirot and Captain Hastings: what did Poirot ever see in that guy? Eternal mystery.
@@va3svd Or just opposites attract? Sometimes natural chemistry is there without a logical explanation.
@@clybournstreet9628 That’s about the only explanation. Very few people ever had the opinion of Nixon that Winters did, who even laughably called him “one of the finest combat officers”. I can see that Nixon back-channeled stuff for Winters reliably and effectively when he was on regimental staff. It is no doubt important for an actual combat leader to have someone with that political savvy on his side on staff higher up, but it’s curious to see Winters overstate the case so much.
Please can someone explain what in US is a jock , thanks from a true jock from Scotland 🏴
Somebody who is in too playing sport, football,b aseball that sort of thing .a sportsjock
@@robinkoenjer1030 many thanks, Jock in Scotland is John , just saying.
A jock is typically an aggressive and athletic muscle head.
@@johnkeast6338 Jock isn't "Scottish" for John, it's a generic term for a person from Scotland regardless of name :P
Bullshit Elizium , I was called Jock since childhood along with close friends , stop being a fud .
How do they remember this stuff?
Those memories don’t go away…
Nixon didn’t fire one round during the war. Not one. I’d want Compton by my side any day over Nixon.
Righto, Rambo.
@@SB-Kiwi not claiming to be a tough guy, but I know I wouldn’t have made it through a whole war being on the front lines without firing my weapon.
Nixon was a known drunk and had been demoted and reprimanded for it. I think the tv series obviously portrayed him to be a nicer guy, but clearly Compton didn’t think so.
And yes, I’d rather have Compton by my side than a drunk who never fired his weapon.
@@kbm-zw5jd reality is you nor I know whether we'd have made it through the war at all without shitting our pants and cracking.
@@SB-Kiwi oh, I have no doubt. But we do know what Nixon did. He was a very smart guy and he served his country using his brain to plan events, but he was a drunk who was present at Normandy, Bastogne, and Holland, and he was frequently drunk and never fired a shot. And brave men like Compton who won the Silver Star, didn’t think much of him. And that is the topic of this thread.
@@kbm-zw5jd sure however Winters thought otherwise. To me that means something.
Funny Nixon didn’t like Buck for being a jock. Winters was a jock, too (who also liked to read, but a jock nevertheless). Oh well. All those guys mean a lot to me, if nothing else.
What is a jock? In the UK it refers to a Scottish guy.
In America, jock refers to an athlete that's really into sports.
The 101st Airborne were not the bunch of heroes they have been portrayed to be. The real story is in the book by David Webster, Parachute Infantry (1962), the book that inspired the largely fiction Band of Brothers.
David was the Harvard graduate who stayed a private for the whole war. His accurate and unembellished account of what really happened was endorsed by Gen. Maxwell Taylor, its commander for its most active service in 1944. It saw little service after Bastogne and was not in action for the rest of the war. It suffered 40% casualties and the replacements were useless as soldiers. David Webster tells of looting and thievery, rape of Dutch women, and indiscriminate shooting of German prisoners. Back in the USA, Taylor resigned to join the Joint Chiefs and he said that only 10% of the 101st soldiers did any of the fighting. The rest hid, faked wounds or deserted to the rear, specially in the Ardennes.
same Webster that was in Band of Brothers?
@@nelsonzambrano5788Yep, same dude. He worked as a journalist and wrote an academic book about sharks after the war. Was eventually lost at sea and never found.
You both served and did your part. It is unhealthy and unprofessional to speak badly about someone because of personal issues. 99% of others...including Dick Winters h9ld him in high esteem. This is a personal grudge. Your both good men. Lets bury the jealousy and animosity.
Based only on the portrayal made from the film (assuming it’s accurate)… I didn’t care for Nixon either. Arrogant and a drunk he really didn’t put himself ever in danger save a limited very few times. Always with the top brass - complaining and sorry for himself. I’m grateful for his service as I am for all veterans but he seemed to have a pretty easy go of it in comparison to many others.
Yea those 3 combat jump stars and the fact that he had to jump from a burning plane, that only a few others survived, he sure had it easy.
Nixon was biased from his past experiences. I can’t remember the term. U get treated bad by jocks so later in life u assume all jocks are mean. Etc.
Basically everyone in the Battalion hated Nix. He was a degenerate alcoholic who was a coward and often delegated his bad decisions to others who he would blame for the failure. He often gave incorrect and wrong advice as the S2 of the Batt. leading to countless loss of lives.
Compton was too buddy buddy with his men. Respect his service but his politics were way off .
If the series was correct, he was a habitual drunk anyway.
Why wasn't Nixon taken back to the US if his drinking had got so bad?
Because as long as he gets the job done you cannot afford the loss. The U.S. was short combat soldiers particularly in the units with the highest attrition rates like the screaming eagles.
@@jamesdiaz793 If he was a poor enlisted guy he would have ended up in a military prison. But they tended not to do that with officers, especially officers who were from an extremely wealthy, influential family like Nixon was.
Also, he didn't really get the job done. That's why he was demoted, in the way officers are demoted, by being kicked downstairs. And he only stayed there because Winters said he could handle him.
So then, these guys weren’t quite the respectables that the series played them as.
Ummm, they made Nixon look like a raging alcoholic.
Good for you. I called my "superior" a college Dean a " real chickenshit " in public. BTW: I enjoyed being in the ranks as a soldier. Lousy situation but a great bunch of guys.
He seemed like a prick. Surprised he wasn't busted for being an alcoholic. You never saw him in the fray either. Maybe he got a little chill in Bastogne?
Hearing this and thinking back on the series it becomes apparent that Nixon was not thought of as highly by the officers and men of Easy as the other Officers. Anyone who served knows that you don't pull the best Platoon leaders out of a Line Company and put them on Battalion Staff before an operation. This conversation and his bullshit order to have Compton do this chickenshit proves he was a petty man. He comes off as a spoiled rich kid who thought himself about everyone. No surprise he probably drank due to his insecurities.
Okay I'm sorry but I still don't understand why Nixon hated jocks. Nixon was partying with his girlfriends while the jocks were outside working hard and practicing. What exactly about that pissed Nixon off? Can someone please explain?
They stole all the good trim.
Not to mention Nixon was an academic who graduated from Yale before joining the Army. He was your quintessential Ivy League prep -- athletic enough to play sports and join the Army, but not necessarily as "macho" or "alpha" as some of the tougher guys from the streets like Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. It would make sense that he would see the jock types as knuckleheads.
Winters never attended an Ivy League school, but he graduated University with honors before joining the Army and being accepted to Officer Candidate School straight out of Basic Training. He was also an academic with athletic ability, which is why he and Nix got on so well.
Nix likely had resentment that stemmed from being the smart kid in class that jocks may have picked on and girls overlooked for said jocks.
@@steve2070 That's the thing. There's nothing in what Compton claims Nixon said to him that implies that' was the case. Which is why it's not clear why Nixon hated jocks.
@@r.b.ratieta6111 But accorind to what Compton said Nixon was the one partying with girls while the jocks were just out practicing. From what Compton said it seems to imply Nixon was the one having fun with the girls not the jocks.
@@r.b.ratieta6111 Nixon didn't graduate from Yale. He was there two years.
As to why Nixon hated jocks. Non jocks always hate jocks. It's part of college, and high school, life
Sounds like Nixon was channeling Sobel when dealing with Buck.
Still laughing....
Not really surprised to hear such things. Rich child of privilege giving a self made man a hard time. Ambrose had a man crush on Winters, who was pals with Nixon...no wonder he painted Nixon in a sympathetic light.
If this is true, and no reason to believe it isn't. Then it reflects badly on Dick Winters' character judgement, as Nixon was his best friend.
No, it doesn't. Just because Compton didn't like Nixon and clearly he has his reasons it does not mean that Winters had the same negative interaction. People can be friends with someone even though others may dislike that same individual. Winters was an adult who could pick who he was friends with.
I’ve noticed a lot of backstabbing from these guys. I really don’t like it. Seems to me like this was a group of Prima-donnas who thought they were better than everyone else. They look down their nose at everyone. Not a fan.