Albert Blithe didn't die the way they state here. He was wounded seriously enough that they sent him back to the States, where he stayed in the hospital until his discharge in October, 1945. He was then recalled to serve in Korea, where he was awarded 1 Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars, and, 2 more Purple Hearts. He then stayed in the Army, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant, dying, from complications of surgery, in an Army hospital in Weisbaden, West Germany, in 1967.
@@WalkerOne This series was based on a book by a wonderful historical writer - Stephen Ambrose (I will HIGHLY recommend his book Undaunted Courage about the Lewis & Clark expedition). Band of Brothers was based very heavily on the recollections of the soldiers themselves in Easy Company. As a consequence, if the men in that unit disliked someone they gave biased descriptions and opinions on how they acted. One example that you've already seen would be their first Captain - Sobel. Sobel was actually an excellent officer, skillful and brave, but the men of Easy Company disliked him to an extreme degree. If Sobel had a failing it would be that he had so BADLY failed to instill any faith in himself as a leader to be respected and followed among his own men. The book and then this series then reflects that - even though the way he is portrayed is to SOME extent or other unjustified and even untrue as his record elsewhere is excellent. In the case of Blithe, the issue was seemingly just that everyone in the unit had lost track of him and honestly believed that he had died. It is worth knowing the TRUE fates of such individuals so that we don't have unwarranted opinions about them, but for the purposes of the series it shows the perspectives of these frontline soldiers, what they dealt with and how THEY saw things as they went through the war.
@@WalkerOne the author only got word of mouth by Blythe's partners. They all said he died, when in fact he did not. The author did not dig very deeply to obtain the truth. Maybe it was laziness, who knows.
Winters speech makes Blithe stand up, Spears speech makes Blithe a warrior. He went on to fight in the Korean war and was twice decorated for gallantry. Blithe died in 1967
THE absolute best WW2 miniseries ever made. Most of the lead actors actually got to meet the veteran they portrayed. The experience changed their lives forever. Like the veterans, the actors bonded making this series and hold annual reunions just like the the veterans did. They say their friendships will always remain.
Haha when Dick Winters met Damian Lewis, he was so thrown by Lewis's British accent that Lewis purposely used an American accent with Winters going forward so it wouldn't be so distracting lol. The British accent "seemed wrong" coming out of Lewis after Winters had seen him in BoB with the American accent. I always thought that was sweet of Lewis.
One of the best dialogue moments in the series. It surprises and shocks you when Spiers says it because you think he's just going to call out Blythe for being a coward.
The paratroopers landed before D-day and could not take prisoners and had nowhere to bring them. They weren't even sure if the invasion would be pushed back into the sea, they had to do their jobs to ensure it would be a success. They were in no position to keep prisoners as the tip of the spear of the allied force.
Thanks for the comment. I've read from multiple sources that orders were explicitly given to take no prisoners for these very reasons. And I also remember seeing Dick Winters talking about this incident in an interview. He asked Sparky if he shot those prisoners, and if I remember correctly, Spiers replied, "You're damn right I did."
Whenever Winters touches Blithe he regains his courage. He gets out of the ditch and moves into Carentan. His sight comes back. And he starts standing tall to fire from his foxhole.
Asia looks absolutely drained after that episode. It's like she went through the battle with Easy company. Shows what a tough watch Band of Brothers can be. Great reaction by both of them.
Remember from episode 1 there was a soldier that had so much romantic correspondence that it made Sobel upset. That is Ed Tipper. He was the guy who handed Sobel the map when the barbed wire fence was cut. In this episode he is the man in the apothecary shop that got hit by a mortar / artillery shell. He survived his injuries and had a very successful career as a teacher in Colorado. He is the vet wearing the peach/ salmon colored shirt in the intros with the vets. You can learn more about him and his daughter when you watch the “11th episode” We Stand Alone Together. People complain that this is a spoiler. It isn’t. Tipper is never mentioned again. He isn’t revealed in the final episode. This is the only appropriate place to mention that he survived. Wait too long and people won’t remember this specific incident.
In the books it was mentioned when he got wounded from that mortar round, he didn't even realize he was wounded badly, and insisted he can walk on his own.
Blithe actually did survive.... He died in 1957 ...he had fought with the Airborne in Korea, earning a bronze and silver star. Seen an interview of Major Winters that explained this discrepancy with the series. ❤ 🇺🇸
I think one of the reasons this series is so great is that it does feel almost like you’re on the battlefield. I have so much appreciation and gratitude for the men and women who serve. Courage isn’t lack of fear, it’s doing what you need to do regardless of that fear. Another great reaction from Asia and BJ ❤
I remember watching this show as an 18 year old Private myself. I figured Blithe was just a coward because his fear of death was greater than his dedication to the mission and the team. That's what we were trained to think about this kind of thing at the height of OEF/OIF... Thankfully the army has grown up a little bit about ptsd and trauma since then. Not much, but a little bit...
This is a series that will always stay with you. The soldiers telling their stories in the intro makes it so much more personal. Every person involved in this project did their job , you really do feel like you are going with them during each battle, loss and gain.
My BiL wrote this episode, was a lead writer and consultant for the series. He also wrote for The Pacific and won the Emmy for it, and worked with Hanks and Spielberg a bunch of other times. I’ll pass along your kind words. He’s a generational talent.
@@TheGalwayjoyce So cool. My first time watching this I was about 13. And I was hooked from episode 1. I was completely invested in their lives and each loss , I had never experienced that before. I also watched the pacific. Also good. But this series I have watched 10 or so times. It inspired me to interview my husbands grandfather we made a video and scrapbook about his experience during the war. Each battle and friends. He explained pictures he has metals he won, coins he saved and why. And even the pack that was given to him for d day. He mailed it to his parents because he got delayed due to an injury. So he got another pack and ended up being in the second wave instead of the first wave. He also sent home things he shouldn’t have but most soldiers did. I will only mention one. He has the bell off the first security out building from the eagles nest. It was as far as he could get being just a regular inlisted soldier. Lol. But yes please tell him what a great series he made and that I’ve shared it with my kids growing up and they have showed it to many of their friends. Honestly. I think it should be shown in school while studying the war. It would for sure get the kid’s attention and interest to keep them wanting to learn more. And give them an idea of what our soldiers did for us and why we give thanks and respect to them. Because I really just don’t think they could get it , or wrap their heads around it without seeing it like this. Where it’s truthful and raw. Again everyone involved just did such a great job. ❤️❤️
Carwood Lipton was born and raised in Huntington WV, the town I went to college in (Marshall University). I was born and raised in Charleston WV, about fifty miles away. Small world here. Never met him, but I wish I had. Special generation of men and women.
Blithe eventually recovered and received the Purple Heart, but was unable to return to duty. He was eventually released on 8 October 1945 and found a job in Philadelphia for Westinghouse Electric. The Army stayed with him, however, and he reenlisted on 28 March 1949. He was discharged on 27 March 1952, but he reenlisted again on 24 March 1954. He won his Masters Parachutist Badge on 13 May and served with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team in post-war Korea. He eventually married a woman named Kay, had a son named Gordon and a daughter.
@@capthindsight6675 The end credits/postscript was wrong. Ambrose wrote the book based off recollections from the remaining Easy Company veterans and they'd all lost contact with Blythe, assuming he'd died of his wounds. In fact he was evacuated back to the US and recovered after a lengthy hospital stay. It wasn't until after the series aired that Blythe's family contacted Ambrose and informed him that Blythe had survived the war and later re-enlisted and fought in Korea.
Ohhh, yea. This series is awesome and purposely does not mention the camps until that episode....One of the hardest-hitting episodes aside from Breaking Point. I'm very curious to see their reactions when they get to that episode.
I've heard it described as bravery is not a lack of fear, but the mastery of your fear. All of those men were afraid, even Spiers by his own admission.
Albert Blithe didn't die in 1948. He served with the Airborne in Korea and ended his service with the Silver Star & Bronze Star (with 2 oak leaf clusters).
Blyth recovered and served in Korea. I think he died in 64 of a stomach ulcer. The company lost track of Blyth because he got sent to hospital in the USA and reassigned to a different company. BTW BJ thinks he couldn't sleep in a firefight trench, but if nothing else the military teaches you to eat anything and sleep in any 5 minute period you can find out of action.
That, and everyone basically has a point where they'll be so mentally and physically exhausted that they don't really have a choice in the matter anymore. They can either find a way to fall asleep on their own or their body's going to do it for them once they no longer have to be on high alert.
If you're interested in WW2 movies which are based on things that actually happened, I highly recommend "A Bridge Too Far" from 1977. It's about Operation Market Garden, which took place only a few months after D-Day, and was an effort to leap-frog the German front line, capture and hold a series of bridges before the Germans could blow them up, and open up a path all the way into Germany. It was an attempt to "end the war by Christmas" of 1944. It was the largest air drop of the war at that point, and unlike in Normandy, it had to be done in daylight. I won't give spoilers, but like every battle plan in the history of warfare, things went wrong right from the start. The movie has an all-star cast, with a whole list of actors who alone would be (and were) the star of their own movie. Also, since it was made in the mid '70s, there was no CGI. It was all done with practical effects, meaning real people jumping out of real WW2-era planes. The mass airdrop scenes alone make the movie worth seeing. I also like the fact that the Germans actually speak German (watch the subtitle version), and not English with a German accent like in many other WW2 movies.
Imagine having your life interrupted by a war and being asked to do this? This was the best reason in the world to join the paratroopers. If you're going to have to do it, might as well do it with the best.
Stephen Ambrose was often criticized for getting certain facts wrong in his books but when the interviews for the book were done in the 80s he was asking them to remember events from 40 some years earlier most of which they wanted to forget, so some of the details and stories were wrong.
Reel talk! World War II created my MOS in the Army. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). The movie Hurt Locker is about EOD in Iraq starring Jeremy Renner. Seeing how previous wars have been fought and looking how the Global War on Terrorism (GWoT) was I am thankful for all the equipment we did end up having. First deployment we had very few up armored vehicles. By my fourth deployment there were excellent armored vehicles and robotics. When we got ambushed the dude in one of the Strykers engaged the remote controlled crew served weapon. Watched it on a screen and pushed a button. We fighting different every war. Trench warfare, guerilla warfare, to Asymmetric warfare. I love how you guys approach your reactions. Open hearts and very respectful, and Asia's hands always makes it better.
Blithe didn't die as stated in this episode, he actually died of complications in surgery in 1967. The reason for the error was probably because he didn't stay in touch with anyone in his unit so everyone probably assumed that he was dead
Its going to be a tough series to get through my friends but ill be here sharing it with you both. We need to see this part of our history, we can't forget it.
The whole series feels (and is) so much more personal when u see the actual veterans talking at the beginning of each episode. I feel very protective of these men, almost like a mom saying,"Don't you hurt my babies!"
The movie hacksaw ridge had a previous documentary with commentary from the people actually there. The conscientious objector ...and it's better than hacksaw ridge.
As far as Speirs shooting the prisoners, when Winters’ book was fixing to come out the lawyers from the publishing company contacted him about the story of the executed prisoners. They were worried about being sued. Winters got in touch with Speirs to verify the story or to refute it. Not only did Speirs admit to it he wrote, signed and had notarized a letter to the publishing company’s legal team stating as much.
Well... This is for nothing that Speirs stayed in the army and even was the director of the prison where all the nazi criminals were imprisoned, Albert Speer (Hitler's minister of "slave labour and war production") said that he hated Speirs because he treated them badly and when Speer asked to a guard why Speirs treated them like that, the said that Speirs hated nazis because he saw the holocaust like the rest of Easy company!
"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it." Yes, Blithe lives -Spiers
This is tough to watch because it happened. War is hell. I had family that was in WWll, Korea & Vietnam but I still can't imagine these young men being there & going through this. Most were just high school age. Not even old enough to legally drink. It hurts my heart.
The German tanks were from the 2SS panzer division that arrived at Normandy pretty scattered. They hooked up with the German fallschirmjagers ( paratroopers) in an counter attack. When the US 2nd armored arrived the panzers were forced to retreat because they were quite outnumbered. Only Easy company hanged tough against the counterattack while the other two companies beat feet.
A week before his death, Blithe had attended a weekend at Bastogne, Belgium commemorating the Battle of the Bulge, from which he had returned feeling unwell. He was taken to the emergency room on 11 December and diagnosed with a perforated ulcer. Emergency surgery was performed on 12 December 1967. He subsequently developed peritonitis, and on 16 December he suffered renal failure and died at 0055 hours on 17 December. After a memorial service conducted by Chaplain (Major) Thomas F. DesChamps, Blithe was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia with full military honors on 28 December 1967.
I've taken indirect fire from mortars, rockets, and IRAMs. When it's close, it is scary. The only thing worse I can think of is IEDs. I'll take a firefight over all those things any day of the week. There is nothing you can do about it. If you're gonna catch one, you're gonna catch one. Simple as that. Blithe sitting in that foxhole screaming as the mortars dropped around him...I never reacted that way, and I never knew anyone who did, but I would totally understand anyone who did.
The reason they say "flash" with the response of "thunder" is the German language doesn't have a sound for the 'un' part of thunder, it would sound like "thuunder" and give them away even if they knew they password.
Blythe did NOT die in 1948--that was a mistake the author and writers of the series made. Malarkey paid for all the other mens' uniforms because he didn't want to tell the lady that they were all casualties. The miniseries sometimes showed men taking off their helmets so the audience can see who they are, when they did not and definitely would not in that situation.
As always, thank you for watching this! I share your love of history. If you make it back to Vegas reach out and I will share some local’s secret spots.
the men of easy company said they had never heard winters yell or scream like he did on the road to carentan. he never really had to raise his voice- he was well respected and when he spoke, people listened, but when his men were down in that ditch, he knew they were sitting ducks and actually screamed to get them up so they'd survive. he even kicked a few in the rear to get them moving.
My grandpa served in WWII. He died from a brain tumor when I was two years old. He was awarded a purple heart when the platoon Sgt was killed, my grandpa took lead of the platoon and got them to safety.
Band of Brothers is Epic !!! But just wait till you see the it's counterpart The Pacific ! It's everything Band of Brothers is but more !!! I'm speaking of the production and budget volume.
Blithe was going through the motions of shell shock. Also, the info on Blithe was not accurate. He survived the sniper’s shot and later died in 1967 while stationed in West Germany.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. Franklin D. Roosevelt You both are so fun to watch. Thank you for doing these
My blood pressure always rises when I watch the combat scenes in this miniseries, I’m usually reliving my own experiences. You two give a great expression of what you were experiencing through the actors, honest expressions, and genuine concern for the characters. You did a great job in this review. Bravo, well done! Cheers!
Talbert was pretty lucky. Bayonet wounds were bad news. During the US Civil War and WWI, bayonet wounds weren't often seen in hospital in spite of close combat. This could well have meant they were often lethal. Accounts from the field seemed to back that up. The antitank gun in the city was probably one of the older 37mm guns. These were obsolescent at the start of the war and obsolete by 40-41. The big grenade on the barrel was an attempt to make it useful because there were so many of them in service. Think of it as large bazooka round with longer range, a few hundred meters. The Bazooka itself had a lot of issues. It didn't have much range and the rockets had a high failure rate. Not only did many of the early ones fail outright but many also bounced off. They also had high mortality rates for the operators.
Another person's comment The you’re wondering why they got blithe’s death wrong, remember pre-production was in the late 90s. There was no Google or easy way to research military service back then. Add to that they were on a time crunch as they were doing these interviews the surviving men were passing away as time went on. The producers and writers were going off of the surviving Easy men’s memory. They genuinely didn’t know about Blithe’s real fate. One of the men they were going to interview passed away literally when the producers were driving to his home for the interview. It was then they realized they needed to speed things up. So Blithe’s story was unfortunately one of the ones that was not completely accurate.
The reason Spiers didn't take those prisoners on D-Day is because the Allies were ordered not to IF they had not established a proper HQ, which they hadn't since they just invaded. It's a little messed up, but he fulfilled his duty and placed his orders first.
20% of the paratroopers who jumped on D Day were killed that night. By the time Easy returned to England after Carentan, they had lost 50% of their numbers. Crazy statistics 😢
Steven Speilberg was the principle producer/director. In this and Saving Private Ryan he wanted to do a tribute to his father and his generation who fought in WWII.
One thing they didn't really understand at this point was the damage on the brain due to close proximity to explosions can cause. It's hinted at that maybe Blithe is merely afraid, and unable to deal with that. However the blindness also could have been a result of the mortars/artillary landing close by. Or coming down on the jump with airbursts going on around. Being close to such forces can cause brain lesions and damage much like severe blows to the head in boxing etc. Wearing the old pot metal helmets with a chin strap like in ww2 could even worsen these concussion forces on the head. Many men diagnosed with shellshock or PTSD have very real physical issues going on from brain damage. you can be hurt wether or not any shrapnel enters your body. Your brain is mostly water, and concussive forces rippling through it are not good. (see all the athletes in football and boxing etc with lifetime injuries) I have a feeling many men thought to be cowards, or consumed by their fear, were suffering from very real damage in their brain. I'm sure many were consumed by their fear also.....but the momentary blindess makes me think this may have been a physical issue. He certainly doesn't sound like a coward giving the outstanding career that followed.
Hey Asia & BJ✌️ I know this is related to B.O.B's, but was wandering if you are releasing the FINALE of S4 (E13) of Breaking Bad on youtube today (Monday)? I'm really looking forward to your reaction to all of S5 as well...which in my opinion is the best seaaon in the history of TV.
Fun fact, during D-day, many soldiers, especialy para-troopers, where ordered not to take prisoners. For practical reasons. They had no where to put them, no supplies to give them, and would slow them down.
When Spiers told blyth that the way you think is that you're already dead, what he was telling him is either you desensitize or you die or you get some of your buddies killed
Yea, I started watching these a few day's ago myself. That Winters guy 10:35 I liked watching his character develop. He's quiet. Smart. Makes good decisions. Just watch how he handles things. You know a guy like that will make it.
It’s amazing how you can snatch sleep anywhere holes in ground are comfortable compared to taking turns driving and sleeping in a tank cross country on the move or strapped to the top of it using it’s rolled up camouflage net as a bed.
the only major goof in this great series is the information that Blithe succumb to his wounds in 1948! it was assumed by his fellow Easy Company soldiers because he never attended any reunions and didn't keep any contact, which is also not accurate! after the mini series, relatives of Albert Blithe came forward with information, documents and he actually died in 1967 while on active duty in Germany, he was buried with full military honors. his son personally thanked actor Marc Warren for the portrayal of his father! pour it on them, Private Blithe!
Did everybody hear that in the second episode when winter says" we only got an hour to eat and then we got to take the town". That's where sobel's excellent excellent training making them eat spaghetti and run Currahe pays off. SOBAL can train me any day but I won't let him lead me in real battle
So happy you guys are watching this. A favorite since it first came out on HBO so long ago. You guys will need a few tissues. Thank you for honoring our veterans. Please do more and fast! Next series you should watch is The Pacific. Also from Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg.
I am in Normandy at the moment on holiday , last week I visited the Merville gun battery captured by British Paratroopers on the first night of DDay , incredible to be standing there thinking of what happened there and the men, so young who ran towards the bullets in the dark after jumping out of a plane , they had a jump plane there and was able to go inside and see the planes they jumped from , and to see inside the gun emplacements that had to be attacked with light arms and grenades against machine guns and concrete bunkers . The Lt colonel was asked afterwards how did they succeed , he said that no one new it was impossible so they just did it , with a force that was below half the planned for strength , the success of the operation much like easy companies at Bercourt Manor meant the guns could not fire on the beach landings . Fighting and dying to save their comrades . Very moving to walk around and visit the museum there .
this series one of the best ever. so glad you’re experiencing it. after this check out “ The Pacific “. same concept but dealing with the Marines and fighting the Japanese . Very brutal though .
Blithe actually survived. Steven Ambrose got the wrong information when he wrote his book. If I remember correctly, Blithe just didn't go to the reunions and I think it was assumed he died.
I'm watching the series right now (I have seen the whole series several times now, years apart). What I do is watch an episode then come back and watch your review of the same episode. I'm fixin' to watch e4 right now.
Knowing how Blythe was mistakenly displayed, at the end of this episode, bothered me. I had to get to realizing the mistake was little, in the scheme of things. And, Blythe was as much the many other men in ww2 as the one who held the name.
Guys sometimes word's are not enough 😔 when we see the and only partially understand the moment the sacrifice of the deceased Hero's and the Hero's that survived 🙏. Your genuine understanding and empathy while reacting is great to see.
The early stages of the invasion made it impossible to take prisoners. The Allies barely had a foothold on the continent, had nowhere to hold prisoners and simply couldn't afford to use any of its personnel to guard such prisoners.
My two bosses are very interested in history so they traveled together from Norway to France last week to visit the historical places in Normandie. Kinda crazy to think about that they will walk around in the areas where these events really happened.
The flower Blythe took off the dead German paratrooper is called "Edelweis".It's a flower found near/in the Alps and most (all?) German paratroopers trained there and wore it as a badge of honor/accomplishment.
I believe it was the German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Soldiers) who wore the Edelweiss on their uniform and they probably would have gotten very upset to see paratroops wearing them.
Speirs taking out the prisoners was probably true. Although his war crimes were never confirmed, slaughtering of German prisoners during D-Day was an unwritten rule because the nature of the operation didn't allow the troops to take prisoners. Hell, the Allies had just jumped from airplanes and landed on the beaches all over the coast. Taking prisoners would make going from X to Y in two hours to secure a bridgehead an impossible task.
They were given an unwritten order of take no prisoners during the airborne invasion part. As they did not have the man power to spare to keep them guarded. At least not until the regular ground troops linked up with them. Not everyone obeyed that order, but most did. It's unfortunate but was sometimes necessary during war. Doesn't make it right, but war is literally hell. The link up happened for Easy Company right at the end of episode 2.
