Watch our Reactioon to the Band of Brothers Documentary "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company" a week early at www.patreon.com/blindwave Raw Rider Patrons can watch the Full Length Reaction HERE: blindwavellc.com/band-of-brothers-1x06-full/ This video were published during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the episode being covered here wouldn't exist. #SAGAFTRAstrike #SAGAFTRAstrong Support the Entertainment Community Fund for struggling strikers HERE: entertainmentcommunity.org/
Two lines make me cry every time I watch this episode. “My friend, Lew, died in 1995.” And “But I served in the company of heroes.” So glad y’all watched this and loved it!
One person that never gets mentioned is Sobel. He retired a Lt Colonel, but tried to commit suicide with a handgun in 1970. He blinded himself completely, went into VA assisted living and died of malnutrition in 87. There were no memorials held for him.
One thing I always think about is how many guys went straight from civilian life, put into leadership positions, and had to learn on the job. Winters was clearly a better leader but also had the advantage of having responsibility slowly added to him. He also had the opportunity to learn from Sobel what not to do. Sobel's insecurities were evident from the first episode but what if he started out as a first lieutenant and gradually promoted to give him confidence? That's how it normally works in an army but you can't do that in a mass mobilization. The responsibility brought out the worst in him and the men of Easy Company never forgave him.
There's a photo of Lewis Nixon waking up the morning after celebrating with Hermann Goering's champagne - you should definitely look it up. Not only does he look stunningly hungover, he also is the spitting image of Ron Livingston.
@@JeffKelly03 Yeah casting did a wonderful job. Most of the actors bear resemblances to the real life vets. In one of the episodes of the Band of Brothers podcast Frank John Hughes (who plays Guarnere) talks a bit about meeting the veterans and how the actors realized they were "ghosts", and how the vets were walking around amongst ghosts of their younger selves.
Thank you for that information. That photo is really hilarious and it makes me wonder how much alcohol he brought back with him. It looks like he took a big chunk of what was in the Eagles Nest 🤣
@@doriandery Yep. Casting purposely tried to find people who looked similar to their real life counterparts. I remember the story of the real life Winters poking his head into a truck, then having to retreat because he saw a truck full of ghosts from the past.
I watch Band of Brothers a couple of times every year. It's a great reminder of the sacrifices made and the toll of war. The crew and cast sought out to make living, breathing documents, and they succeeded. I'm so glad y'all reacted to this. I hope The Pacific is soon to follow.
@@iammanofnature235 that's how depictions, made by people who weren't there, usually go. It's not a documentary. Welcome to film and television. P.S. it's told from the POV of specific men. No one ever has 100% of the story in situations as dire and chaotic as these.
Chernobyl is pretty close there too. But I agree with you. Band of Brothers along with The Sopranos paved the way to the world of streaming services we have now. They realized there was a niche not being exploited there.
You’re one of the only channels I’ve seen who didn’t cut the ending into a million pieces. It’s one of the most moving pieces of film and I appreciate the way you guys edited and let the end roll.
Ron Livingston (Captain Nixon) posted a series of videos from their "boot camp". And the cast still gets together in reunions just like Easy Company did.
The Pacific is very different from Band of Brothers but (I think) equally as good. The challenge is there isn't a single company that fought in all the major campaigns of the Pacific Theatre unlike Easy in the ETO, so you can't really follow a single group through the war as we could in BoB. The Pacific instead focuses on the perspectives of three individual Marines from separate companies and their experiences (and yes it's based on a couple of books). It's also much more brutal... Band of Brothers really focuses on the brotherhood and bonds that form between men who fight together. The Pacific is about the brutality of war and how it can completely strip men of their humanity and sanity. Very, very different, but very, very good. I really, really hope you guys get around to it at some point!
Very true. Hopefully after Apple does Mastera of Air they do a Navy perspective and the could follow the Big E (Enterprise) since it made it through the entire war from beginning to the end
I hope they do a job on masters of the air if it's near as good as BOB then it will be great. I didn't enjoy the Pacific as much character development wasn't as good for me.
@@BOO66IOUthat’s because it’s not about character development, it comes from combat memoirs written by the veterans themselves rather than someone gathering these stories and creating a narrative out of it like Band of Brothers.
Out of all the horror and emotional wrenching events we've seen in the show, this episode hits me the most personally. My grandfather served in the Army Air Corp in Europe as an aircraft mechanic. After the war ended, he was helping fly wounded back to England and the plane went down into trees shortly after takeoff. He was burned terribly and died three days later. Seeing the soldiers in this episode dying after it's over is just another level of tragedy in the Hell of war. I always think of the lost opportunity for me to know him, and for my dad to grow up with a father. This show's quality is so present in the many ways they conveyed the weight of the original events. It's a masterful job.
One of the lines that struck me was when the general is interviewing Winters and it came to when Winters became the battalion XO and the general says, "The bastards took your company away." That general had once been a company commander in his younger days so he knew how attached a company commander could become to his men, and vice versa. In the previous episode when Nixon looks at the photo of the Wehrmacht oberst (colonel) in the woman's house, the frame had a black band on it which most likely indicated that the officer was deceased.
Had the pleasure of talking with Wild Bill a bunch - my boss grew up on the same block as him. Funny as hell, and never let the missing leg slow him down one damn bit. I may misremember some of the specifics, but one story he told was in the 50s or 60s in the summer time. No AC in South Philly then, so he had his front door open with just the screen door closed. Some guy was drunk or high and barged in yelling or something. Wild Bill got up out of his chair, no crutch, hopped over and grabbed his rifle off the mantle and the guy turned and ran. Cops caught him like a block away trying to get in someone else's house.
And there were a pair of Japanese ex-soldiers in their old age found still living In Indonesia in the 80s, but they technically deserted after the end of WWII by joining up with the local resistance against the Dutch colonists during the war of Indonesian independence before settling down in peace.
It's been over 20 years since I first watched Band of Brothers, and it's still one of the best shows ever. The scenes with them playing baseball, the narration, and the reflections of the real men of Easy Company are the perfect ending. I'm so glad you guys finally got to experience it.
Private John Janovec wasn't the only victim of a car accident after the war was over. Lieutenant Henry Jones, played by Colin Hanks in Episode 8 was also killed in one.
The German officer in the photo of the house that Nixon barged into looking for whiskey in episode nine had already died in the war - the photograph had a black mourning band across the corner which signified he was dead. That's why the woman was so obviously offended when she came into the room to find that Nixon had smashed it - giving him that glare of quiet fury. He clearly felt embarrassed by his action in that moment which is why the scene later on where he encounters her in the camp is so powerful.
@@iammanofnature235 Just read the original users comment the actor in the photo is dead in the episode, so how can it be the same guy, just check the credits if you want to fine out.
In the whole series, the most savage and visceral moment to me was when Spiers pistol whips the soldier and says "When you speak to an officer, you say Sir!"
This is probably my most favorite series/mini series I’ve ever watched. Try to find time to watch it at least once a year. Such great acting and cinematography that really holds up years later.
I'm also glad that Ted Lasso won the poll; as great as Band of Brothers is, it's obviously *very* heavy content. Lasso will make a nice palate cleanser for you guys. Deals with some serious issues but overall, it's absurdly feel-good and lighthearted.
Dick winters 1918-2011 Carwood Lipton 1920-2001 Donald Malarkey 1921-2017 Bill Guarnere 1923-2014 Babe Heffron 1923-2013 Shifty Powers 1923-2009 John Martin 1922-2005 🌹Rest in Peace🌹
There is a German show called Generation War. Original German title is Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter. It shows the German perspective on the eastern front. People often call it the German Band of Brothers. And also a Russian movie called "Come and see" which shows the Soviet perspective. Both are great.
Best mini series ever made. The silence at the end by you all is deafening… and how everyone reacts; it’s when it all becomes so real hearing from those portrayed
Didn't expect Calvin high as a kite in this series, but it's appreciated as always! Just puts everything 10 notches up. It brings up a whole new game of what is he thinking in all this what they are thinking. Thanks, keep up the good work
*From the National WW2 Museum:* The 7th Infantry Regiment of the US 3rd Infantry Division got there first at about 1600 on the afternoon of May 4. They took Berchtesgaden without firing a shot. While the 7th Regiment fanned out through town, a platoon advanced up the mountain to Obersalzberg. When they arrived at the Berghof, Hitler’s home, they discovered the entire area was heavily damaged by a bombing raid conducted by the RAF on April 25. ... The French 2nd Armored Division arrived a little later that afternoon. Early the next morning, the French made the trek all the way up to the Eagle’s Nest, which was untouched by Allied bombing, and made the most fantastic discovery of all: a wine cellar that contained an estimated half million bottles of the finest wine, champagne, and cognac imaginable. Amongst the cache were thousands of bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, one of the most expensive wines in the world. In 2020, buying a bottle of late vintage Chateau Lafite Rothschild would set you back about $1000. ... Last to arrive to the party was the 101st Airborne; they arrived in Berchtesgaden on the morning of May 5. They may have been last, but they were there to stay the longest. The 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR was the lead element of the 101st to arrive, and the officers and men began by securing the finest billets in town. Col. Sink, commander of the 506th, met with the commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd ID, and informed him that the 101st was relieving them. SHAEF ordered the 3rd ID men in Berchtesgaden back to their area of operations in Salzburg, Austria.
In the series its rumored that Spiers shot the German POW's on D-day but in the church with Lipton , Spiers hints it's a rumor he used to his advantage. When Stephen Ambrose was writing the book he heard the stories about Spiers and was reluctant putting it in the book for fear he would be sued for libel. Ambrose called Winters up and asked him about it. Winters called Spiers and told him about what Ambrose felt. Spiers said why would he sue someone over something that was true. Spiers actually did shoot the POWs that day and he personally confirmed it to Winters.
My father was a career soldier, WWII Victory Medal, Army of Occupation for Japan, he served two tours of duty in Korea (he was one of the Chosen Frozen, the Chosen Reservoir campaign) and in Vietnam. He was an M.P..I remember when we kids got our Halloween candy, we were not allowed to eat our Tootsie Rolls around dad, it would trigger his PTSD.😢 I served in the 101st back in the 70's, the 501st was the only unit on Ft. Campbell that was still on jump status... They had a campus close to Divarty, by the airfield with the Air Cav. troopers and the Pathfinder school. We called it the Geronimo Hilton...I remember asking around and found out that Jimi Hendrix was in the unit...there were still a few old hands there that remembered hanging out with Jimi.😊
Rather tragic sidenotes on Bull and Luz. They both died rather tragic deaths. Luz worked as a handyman into old age. When he was 68 he was working on an industrial dryer that slipped it supports and fell on him. He was killed instantly. Bull was in an Arkansas nursing home when he contracted a treatable MRSA infection through a surgical graft he had. But it appeared he was in one of "those" nursing homes where the supposed caregivers really couldn't care less, as the infection went untreated and he died of sepsis. For these men to have been through what they had been through, and to die such preventable deaths, is extremely upsetting.
I try and watch Band of Brothers once a year, around the winter holidays, just to remember the worst things. I think it is important, especially for that time of year, to remember the worst we as people are possibly able to be. At the same time, the best we can try to be. It is truly an amazing show, with so much resonance in the modern day, love it so much and have done for a while. Thank you guys a Blind Wave from front to back for watching this, it means everything to those who have and I hope it means more people who haven't have watched it to commit to it.
Truly a masterpiece of storytelling..it beautifully honors the heroes of this story.This was my first time watching this show, and I will definitely watch it again.
1) The camp liberation and associated scenes shown in episode 9 are fictional. The camp depicted in Band of Brothers is Kaufering IV which was actually liberated by the 12th Armored Division on April 27, 1945, with some units of the 101st Airborne Division arriving on April 28 and Easy Company arriving on April 29 (with the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and 36th Infantry Division arriving on April 30). And there were only about 7 prisoners found alive along with about 500 bodies. 2) Easy Company did not liberate Berchtesgaden nor were they the first to reach the Eagle's Nest as shown in episode 10. The 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division is credited with the liberation of Berchtesgaden on May 4, 1945, and members of the French 2nd Armored Division are credited with being the first to reach the Eagle's Nest in the early morning of May 5. Easy Company arrived a few hours later. 3) Also, in episode 10 members of Easy Company did not kill an unnamed commandant of an unnamed concentration camp. This is based on the shooting of Franz Ziereis who had been commandant of Mauthausen. He had tried to hide out at his mountain hunting cabin but was spotted and reported. On May 23, 1945, U.S. Army soldiers attempted to arrest him, and he was shot three times trying to escape. He died the next day in a U.S. Army hospital. No members of Easy Company were involved.
Blithe, the guy with the stress blindness, went to Korea also. He did not die when the show said. He actually died in 1967. Great reaction / review. As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
Thus concludes the finest historical tv series ever made, possibly one of the great shows ever made. It's over twenty years old now and still looks amazing, the emotional moments still hit just as hard. It truly is a masterpiece and something everyone should see at least once in their life. Thanks for watching it :)
@@iammanofnature235 Well yeah. Of course it isn't 100% historically accurate. Concessions have to be made in order to make a coherent and compelling narrative. It is however very historically authentic, an important distinction. The tactics, technology and stories are all real. It gives the audience a way to experience what the men of Easy company went through during the war. Did the director make mistakes? Sure but that doesn't detract from the overall experience or quality. If a few factual errors means that you can't enjoy what is objectively an excellent show then that's more of a you problem than anything else.
@iammanofnature235 And I know you are a boring contrarian who apparently has nothing better to do than hang out in the comment section of a reaction video to a show you apparently hate. Unlike you I have better things to do than continue this exchange.
The Pacific is equally as good as Band of Brothers, also based on books. Brutal, but necessary to watch and remember and learn from history. The cast in The Pacific is amazing, so is the cinematography and music. You should definitely watch and I cannot wait to watch your reaction and review.
Guys Next is the documentary, "We Stand Alone" in which this mini-series is based.... Year later during 2002's Emmy Awards, Band of Brothers won Best Miniseries. Both Hanks and Spielberg had Richard "Dick" Winters do the acceptance speech as his men, surviving members of Easy Company, 506th, 101st Airborne sitting at nearby hotel simulcasted. Everyone, celebs, directors, and producers gave them a major standing ovation winning Best for saving the world from a madman. By the way, Winters lived a long life. He lived to be 92 until 2011.
30:05 The Japanese soldier Calvin is referencing was likely Shoichi Yokoi, one of the last 3 Japanese holdouts to be found after the war had ended in 1945; he was found in the jungle of Guam in Jan 1972. He had known the war was over since the early 1950s, but stayed in hiding because he was afraid of being captured and the resulting disgrace. The other 2 holdouts who lasted longer were Hiroo Onoda, an intelligence officer in the Japanese Imperial Army who continued fighting a guerilla war on Lubang Island in the Philippines until March 1974, and Teruo Nakamura, a soldier who hid out on his own (mostly; there were other holdouts, but he went his own way in the 50s) on Morotai Island in the Dutch East Indies until Dec 1974. Onoda was originally sent to Lubang Island to do anything possible to hamper enemy activity on the island, and to not surrender under any circumstance. The unit he was attached to basically got wiped out in early 1945 (Feb I believe), Onoda and 3 others survived and took to the hills, where they spent the next 25 years conducting guerilla actions like burning crops and attacking police units. One of the other 3 (Yuichi Akatsu) surrendered in 1949, while the other 2 (Shoichi Shimada and Kinshichi Kozuka) were killed in shootouts with local police and search parties that were looking for them in 1954 (Shimada) and 1972 (Kozuka). In Mar 1974, after his location was found and verified with photos, the Japanese govt tracked down his former commanding officer and sent him there to formally relieve Onoda of his duties so he could return home. When he surrendered, he still had his functioning Arisaka Type 99 rifle, a decent supply of ammo, several grenades, his sword, and a dagger. He wrote an autobiography (No Surrender: My 30-Year War) that's pretty decent, though he leaves out some pretty key things (like the fact that he killed several civilians on Lubang Island during his guerilla campaign).
The Pacific is basically: take band of brothers, take out all the happy moments, add more horror and suffering. I watched it once, I thought it was fantastic and well made but I don't think I can ever watch it again, same applies to Schindler's List, I've only watched it once and doubt I will ever watch it again but would put it near the top of my best films ever made list
I’ve watched so many reaction videos to this series, and it never gets old to see how it impacts the younger generations, as it does me. It’s beautiful. Thank you guys…
I cried a through each of the 10 episodes; probably will sob the hardest watching the documentary next week. I never did get to watch this when it first aired, not having HBO, but always wanted to. Glad this show won a poll and that I finally had the opportunity to watch it (with you @blindwave). This will stay with me. And, I will need some time after watching this series, but I do hope at some point to watch The Pacific. I think it will hit me extra hard, having a grandfather that served during WWII in the Pacific.
Points were awarded according to the following formula: - One point for each month in service in the Army - One additional point for each month in service overseas - Five points for each campaign (See list below) - Five points for a medal for merit or valor (Silver Star for example) - Five points for a purple heart (awarded to all soldiers who were wounded in action) - Twelve points for each dependent child up to three dependent children Campaigns: Egypt-Libya 11 June 1942 - 13 February 1943 Air Offensive, Europe 4 July 1942 - 5 June 1944 Algeria-French Morocco 8 - 11 November 1942 Tunisia 17 November 1942 - 13 May 1943 Sicily 9 July - 17 August 1943 Naples-Foggia 9 September 1943 - 21 January 1944 Anzio 22 January - 24 May 1944 Rome-Arno 22 January - 9 September 1944 Normandy 6 June - 24 July 1944 Northern France 25 July - 14 September 1944 Southern France 15 August - 14 September 1944 North Apennines 10 September 1944 - 4 April 1945 Rhineland 15 September 1944 - 21 March 1945 Ardennes-Alsace 16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945 Central Europe 22 March - 11 May 1945 Po Valley 5 April - 8 May 1945
The last Japanese soldier surrendered on some remote island in 1976. Pacific is based on three books. Two of them I read: Helmet for my pillow by Leckie and With the old breed by Sledge. Dunkirk is a typical Nolan film. Meaning it plays with time. The soldier story plays out over a week, the boat owner story plays out over a day and the fighter pilot story is an hour. And they all come together at one point.
The Pacific miniseries is rightfully very brutal. Personally, I think Band of Brothers being based on one book about one company tells a bit more of a cohesive story. I think because people had kind of hard time keeping track of everyone in this show, they tried to focus on 3 individuals instead, but because they also focused on 3 guys whose service spanned the entire Pacific campaign from different units, we don't get to stick with any one particular person or company as much as I would have liked. It did introduce me to one of my favorite books, Eugene Sledge's memoir, With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Apple TV is releasing the next follow-up in the Spielberg and Hanks produced WW2 miniseries about the 8th Air Force in Europe called, Masters of the Air, assuming the stick with the book title which is also very good. They finished filming and its in post-production. Its supposedly coming out late this year, but they have yet to release a trailer. There were some clips in an Apple sizzle reel a few months back though.
Both of my grandfathers served in this war. 1 in the Pacific and 1 in Europe. They were both highly decorated and never referred to themselves as heros…but they were.
To answer to question about the German officer's photo Nixon threw to the ground. The photo frame had a black band around the one corner of it. This signified that the officer had already died in the war.
I went on a band of brothers tour throughout Europe last year and it was an amazing experience going to all the battlefields they fought on. The foxholes are still in the forest outside bastogne and it was silent when I was there. It was a crazy experience
Best production in the history of anything ever made for TV. ...mostly because it's based on real events, portraying real people, doing extraordinary things that directly effected the freedoms that we all enjoy today.
_mostly because it's based on real events, portraying real people, doing extraordinary things that directly effected the freedoms that we all enjoy today._ There are many embellishments, omissions, fictional elements and factual errors in Band of Brothers. Examples: 1) Renée Lemaire and Augusta Chiwy, known as the Angels of Bastogne, were volunteer nurses at the aid station of the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, Combat Command B, 10th Armored Division. Renée Lemaire does not appear to have ever met Doc Roe (Eugene Roe) and she did not die in a church as shown in episode 6. And Yes, Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division with about 75 tanks and 18 tank destroyers plus the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion with 18 more tank destroyers were in Bastogne with the 101st, but that is not mentioned. 2) The camp liberation and associated scenes shown in episode 9 are fictional. The camp depicted in Band of Brothers is Kaufering IV which was actually liberated by the 12th Armored Division on April 27, 1945, with some units of the 101st Airborne Division arriving on April 28 and Easy Company arriving on April 29 (with the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and 36th Infantry Division arriving on April 30). And there were only about 7 prisoners found alive along with about 500 bodies. 3) Easy Company did not liberate Berchtesgaden nor were they the first to reach the Eagle's Nest as shown in episode 10. The 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division is credited with the liberation of Berchtesgaden on May 4, 1945, and members of the French 2nd Armored Division are credited with being the first to reach the Eagle's Nest in the early morning of May 5. Easy Company arrived a few hours later. 4) Also, in episode 10 members of Easy Company did not kill an unnamed commandant of an unnamed concentration camp. This is based on the shooting of Franz Ziereis who had been commandant of Mauthausen. He had tried to hide out at his mountain hunting cabin but was spotted and reported. On May 23, 1945, U.S. Army soldiers attempted to arrest him, and he was shot three times trying to escape. He died the next day in a U.S. Army hospital. No members of Easy Company were involved.
@@iammanofnature235 I should have added, "..and it's perfectly accurate from start to to finish, in every single scene," so as to make all your effort you took in your response worth your time. Instead you took my statements as hyperbole, and are telling me 4 cases I had already learned or read somewhere in my own studies. Still, does not diminish one bit my admiration for this amazing mini-series, again, based on real people, and real events.
@@moviewryter1985 I didn't pick you out because I thought your statements were hyperbole, you're actually number 2 of 3 that I selected because it's obvious that you actually believe what you posted. The fact remains that there are embellishments, omissions, fictional elements and factual errors in Band of Brothers and Easy Company is given credit for things they didn't do. And there are some people who want to perpetuate the myths for their own selfish reasons.
The Quality of "The Pacific" ist not only on the Level of BoB, its even a bit above! But more gnarly, thanks to the Japanese Fanatism. So Buckle up Boys!
The Greatest Generation and my Great Grandfather was apart of it. Rest in Peace Sergeant Major William Braddock. He was at Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941. He was also on the First Wave of Iwo Jima. Many Many more battles through out ww2 and Korea.
@BlindWave The japanese soldier you were thinking of was Hiroo Onoda, and he didn't keep fighting for 6 years. He kept fighting for 29. When the japanese military saw that they weren't going to be able to hold the Philippines, they deployed Onoda and his team trained specifically for their mission which was to stay on the island and conduct asymmetric warfare behind enemy lines. They were to conduct raids, attacks, ambushes, and collect any intelligence they could. They were given specific orders that they were not allowed to end their own lives, or stop fighting until their commanding officer returned to the island personally to relieve them. They were told if anyone other than him tried to get them to surrender, or tell them the war was over, that it was a trick and not to believe them. He promised them that he would return for them. For years his team continued fighting. There was only a handful of them, because the japanese military couldn't afford to leave too many men behind. The soldiers knew from the start that it was likely they would die fighting on that island, but the frankly brutal training they had been subjected to involved steeling their resolve to never give up. Most of the team was killed, and a many years later a few of them finally did turn themselves in. All except Hiroo Onoda. Search and destroy teams were sent in to kill him, but Onoda would either ambush them, or keep hidden so well that they couldn't ever find him. He continued raiding for supplies, so they put up posters trying to explain to any japanese soldiers still in the jungle that the war was over, but Onoda never stopped believing that his commanding officer would fulfill his promise and come back for him. After 29 years, due to stories of this japanese guerrilla force still operating in the Philippines, people put pressure on the japanese government to see if they could find anyone that Onoda would recognize and he would believe. They checked military records, and they actually find the captain that had deployed Onoda's team. He had left the military not long after the war, and had been working as a dentist. He was flown to the island, sent in to the jungle where he had left Onoda and his men, and eventually was able to make contact with him. After 29 years, he finally laid down his rifle and exited the jungle. He would spend the rest of his life being a very outspoken advocate against nationalism and practices to indoctrinate people. The Philippine government chose to not press charges, because even though he had wrecked so much damagee over the years, once they learned Onoda's story, they realized that in his own way, Onoda was a victim as well. A victim of the japanese military and what they had put him through, and then left him and his men to die on their island.
Please lookup, Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who was left in the Philippines post war, he hid and believed the war was still active, 30 years after the war. The authorities had to get a Japanese tourist who befriended Onoda to fly back to Japan to find his old commanding officer to fly back the the Philippines, to order him to stand down and convince him the war was over.
30:40 I am not certain, but I thought I saw a black ribbon (denoting his passing) on the photo of the German officer in the house Nixon happened upon that *Aaron* mentions here.
I mean, this show always makes me emotional, but watching the baseball game and the final words from the members of Easy with you all had me losing it. I'm so glad you reacted to this. My grandpa died at age 98 in March, and he loved this show and found it to be a great dramatization of the war. He served in the Army from 1943-1963, with the 28th infantry division, 112th infantry regiment, F company, fighting through France in July 1944 and through Europe til the end of the war. We treasure all of his stories. I look forward to the doc (and can't wait for whenever Apple finally releases Masters of Air.
Regarding the Blithe mistake, I read that the reason BoB made the mistake is because the Easy Co. men thought he had died because they never saw or heard of him again and also that Guarnere and Heffron went to the funeral of either a different Blythe or the funeral of another soldier they thought was Blythe and when they were interviewed for the book by Stephen Ambrose, they said that he had died and Ambrose believed the mistaken story and put it in the book and therefore that is how it is shown in BoB and the mistake wasn't realised until it was too late. I also believe that members of Blythe's family had corrected the mistake after seeing BoB themselves.
And now, sadly, all the Tocoa Men have passed away. Malarkey was the last one, passing away in 2017. There may be a few replacements still alive, but most of Easy Company has rejoined that company of heroes in Heaven.
Very much enjoyed tagging along in this journey with you guys. Not many words to say on this that hasn’t already been spoken, they were men of the Greatest Generation who stepped up to do what was needed. Fantastic writing, casting & cinematography. --y’all mentioned “The Pacific”, Dunkirk, Schindler & Private Ryan, have a couple of suggestions that would tie in perfectly. Based on true events (which to me are just more impactful); “The Darkest Hour” & “Unbroken”. Both amazing films that are on the same high standard as BoB. For an excellent WWI film, I highly suggest “The Lost Battalion” which is the true story of an American unit completely surrounded & cut off. Really enjoyed your commentary & the sincerity you brought. I appreciate that. Looking forward to the documentary on the Easy Co. men, God bless.
Generation War is an excellent view of WW2 from the german side if you guys want to watch some of that. It's relatively unknown but deserves so much more! It made me cry like BoB did 💔
Floyd Craver is the name of the man who shot Grant. Craver had already killed a German officer while trying to steal his car. The car was in the ditch and British officers were already on the scene when Grant arrived. When Craver fired a shot at the truck because it didn't stop, Grant confronted him and was shot in the head. Craver then started shooting at the British soldiers before fleeing. One of the British officers died (Martin Watkin). Carver was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting but only served a year. There is no record of why he was released. When the men of Easy company found Carver (a newly arrived replacement of I company), he had broke into a house and was about to rape a German girl. They had almost beat him to death by the time Spiers arrived. Spiers was late to arrive because his first act was to find a German brain surgeon who saved Grant's life. Someone asked Spiers about Colonel Sink's reaction when he told him what happened, 'He said I should have shot the son of a bitch. Saved all the trouble.’ In 1987 Carver was living in Charlotte, North Carolina and went on a moped ride He was hit by a truck and died. He deserved far worse.
Glad to do the reaction for the finale of Band of Brothers. Great emotion experience for the real Easy Company and the surviving members of Easy Company were alive at the time of the airing or Band of Brothers. The real Lt. Lipton would pass away a month after the finale of Band of Brothers and most soldiers of Easy Company were no longer with us including Guarnere whom the show not mentioned what happen after the war, Speirs, Compton, Winters and Malarkey, but they lived in our memories for the sacrifices they made for their country.
