If anyone ever had the chance to meet my father, he was pretty much the same as the Sarge in fact they're birthdays are only a month apart from the same year 1929. Tough, determined with eyes of steel that could melt a mountain of solid rock. Rough but with love. My dad was a WWII and Korean war veteran. I miss him dearly but whenever I see an episode with Vic Morrow, I feel like I'm seeing my pop and it helps me through the ruff patch. My dad and I never missed an episode. Thanks Sarge, thanks for everything
I was barely born when these shows were made, but they showed it as reruns when I was 7 and watched Combat every time it was on TV. I gave up TV 20 years ago, I'll have to take your word for it that it's only gotten worse.
55 years later, what a great series. Plot, story, music, action. When I was kid, Sergeant Sanders was my number one hero. I think they played this on Tuesdays, my Korean War Vet father and I never never missed an episode.
The good thing about COMBAT is that it presented war and soldiers as real as possible,did not romanticize war and soldiers,the brutality,the savagery,emotions and just about everything there is to war was shown,im now 53 years old,used to watch this back in the 70's with my family.in fact i told my folks i wanted to be a soldier,but my folks refused..salute to all SOLDIERS OF DEMOCRACY.
I turned 17 in 63 and was in boot camp 10 days later, after driving a Nuc Sub and separated in 69 I got a chance to see a couple reruns of this show, then it went away - this is one of the best shows like this I have seen -
As a kid I watched 'Combat!' on TV on Tuesday at 8pm on a "school night." For an hour I was free, behind my own lines, not pinned down by the enemy, and the 'Sturm und Drang' of Catholic school, homework, and the nuns.
One of the best series ever done on WWII ! Great actors, direction and stories that provide lessons even today. Watched it when it first came on TV in '63 and still watching it! My father was a Lt. Col. in the US Army and served in this war and Korea at Pork Chop Hill, then trained soldiers for Vietnam, the best man I'll never know. Our last name was Sanders so we were used to getting orders for buckets of chicken at three o'clock in the morning.....
Very nice to meet you whose father participated in Pork Chop Hill where only 25 American soldiers were alive. Because I am a Korean who always thanks US for having sent army to save Korea 70 years ago. Again thank you.So long!
@@Thompson-xp1mk He would appreciate that. He had told me had great affection for the Korean people and great respect for the South Korean army. He never talked much about the conflict, except maybe some funny things that may have happened while there. I know he suffered for many years with nightmares and screaming in his sleep at night. War does such terrible things to all people. I pray someday that we can end such nightmares for the entire planet. We All want the same things out of life. God Bless you and your family. Thank you.
@@mach1gtx150 Most of Korean people especially nowdays thank US Army to Korea. Because US Army is keeping Korea against North Korea,s invasion instead of Korean government which is familiar with North Korea. And 1.US liberated Korea from Japan in 1945. 2.US prevented North Korea from occupying Korea wholly in Korean War . 3.sooner or later when US Army will enter and occupy North Korea and liberate North Korean people who are slaves and make Korea carry out Free Unification, US gave or will give Korea three presents above . And the connection between US and Korea seems to be a couple in a former life which is told in Buddhism. I wish your health and happiness. Thank you.
Fantastic shows. These should be watched by our younger generation. Like my kids. I am 68 and watched when I was 9-15 years old. Super important for younger gen to get educated.
my father and I would watch combat together for years. I ended up serving in the army 42 years. this really takes me back when I was 6 years old. thank you RU-vid
Steve Buck Thank you for your service. "Combat!" Wasn't necessarily a pro war show. As it displays the horrors of real fighting very well. Also, in real life just the equivalent of two episodes of fighting would probably have been enough to give most soldiers Shell Shock. Or what they now call PTSD. As for me? I too was barely 7 when the first episodes began. Yet by age 18 I had begun to greatly distrust the US Pentagon. Although it has improved in recent years. Oddly enough despite all the bad things the leftists say abt Trump? He hasn't started any wars and his foreign policy has made great strides in the middle east.
Wow, 42 years. I Salute your service. I did 23 years. After I retired I was an Army Civilian Instructor at the ADA School. I got a 30 year Gold pin and Certificate left on my desk by a weasel Captain. Always expressing disdain for civilians, but couldn't comprehend we were all retired Soldiers with the experience.
This was the only combat army action series my late dad would watch and not anything related to this show. It took me year's to find out why he would only watch this show. Ans: dad was a BAR gunner in Normandy and he watched the show only to follow the BAR man!
i have watch Combat when i was a kid wayback 1965 , i used to go to my uncle residence during the weekend to watch the series but was stopped when i return home to continue my studies. Thanks to You Tube its only now that can watch again .
This is awesome I'm 50 years old now almost and I didn't find out about this until 2015.. here it is 2020 and right back into watching the episodes again. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing army men in the park and used to say you going to be the Germans or the Americans😷😷 good stuff!! Thanks
Why would he complain? It was probably safest for him to do so because he sure couldn’t trust those other two knuckleheads.Little John and to a certain point Kirby couldn’t be trusted at all the time.
@@finnfinn7703Haha. That’s true. Kirby could get the whole squad killed because he makes terrible judgements. But there is one episode up ahead (with guest star Claudine Longet) where his out-of-the-box genius shone.
Good episode..Ed Nelson was at his best in this role. Beau Bridges was the kid that Saunders found out was underage but forgot the name of that episode. Watched this show as a kid and still luv the reruns today. This and Rawhide and Wagon Train were the best shows to come from the late 50s - 60s. Vic Morrow made this show as good as it was despite the fact he had a good supporting group of guys.
Folks seem to take this show too seriously....it's a TV show ....entertainment , which means action , drama , a few laughs here and there...yes the germans use the wrong weapons sometimes , and it's not entirely accurate with a lot of war stuff...but it's still a damn good show . The dialogue between the guys and the orders given are about as real as you could get on TV in the 60's .....good attention to details , like Little John recognizing the sound of a Thompson sub machine gun over an MP 40....lighten up guys and just enjoy it for what it is.....
maybe also interesting the review on RU-vid: Why this Combat TV Show star almost did 20 years at Leavenworth; put on the Net by LandumC goes there Interesting articles on his side but the fellow shure doesn´t like critics it seems
In this episode, and so many others of Combat!, the staple direction of "only give name, rank and serial number" holds true. With pistol-shot precision, our "Combat" Veterans have held firm to that. God Bless the U.S.A.
Wow ! This brings back alot of memories. My favorite as a kid growing up. I am now 67 yrs.old and still love Combat. I use to get my BB gun and hit the woods pretending to kill Germans. I miss those days.Thanks Mom for letting me watch Combat on school night back in Virginia.
I did same as you in a small wooded area near our home with my Dad's old Benjamin Air Rifle. We never missed an episode. The complete series is available on DVD.!!!!!
You guys do know William Smith who played the German integrator was in the CIA after WW2? U2 flights. Was in the USAF and won the United States Air Force weightlifting championship. He was a Russian Intercept Interrogator and flew secret ferret missions over Russia. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University and a Master's degree in Russian Studies from UCLA. He taught Russian at UCLA. Dang smart man!!!! He would have been one heck of a German integrator if he was for real in that movie.
Thanks for posting the best show ever, Combat, power packed with life lessons and illustrated sermons, to inspire us onward and to not give up and to know what we the people ought to do during this snake venom Nazi take over, especially through the eyes of the hunter.
As a kid I never noticed the background. I am a southern CA guy, so it cracks me up to see eucalyptus trees supposedly in France and Germany. Those trees are hot weather trees. I still like the program.
Cool episode! Underrated actor Ed Nelson born 12/21/28 is now 83 years old. In the late 1970's he replaced James Whitmore on Broadway as Harry Truman in "Give 'em Hell Harry"
It's simply one of the greatest shows ever on television. Like LAW AND ORDER, it examined hard moral choices each week. And even the "heroes" had to go through self-examination.
When these were out, I was9 or 10 years old. They were only 15 years after the war. Hollywood could appeal to vets to watch it and the sets were cheap..... Cali countryside. Those places are now long gone, most likely south side of the San Gabrial Mts. below the high desert. Now, it's all homes and business, it's just a memory.
When I was11, I got an imitation Army field jacket and got some sergeant stripes sewn on it from a surplus store like Saunders had and wore it every where for a couple of years, till it was too small. Lol.
I love the look on Hanley's face at 04:32 when they carry Caulder past; you can totally believe this is one of his squad leaders, mortally wounded. Nice touch.
@@ellisjames7192 Pierre Jalbert was from Québec; Canada and until the 1970's all French Canadian actors spoke with an accent from France: his vocabulary could be French Canadian but on screen the accent was le français de France.
I remember watching these on a black and white TV with rabbit ears complete with rolling picture and snow but that didn't matter because they were so exciting to watch
Another great one Vick Morrow took Gage under his wing to show him lacking skills what a find actor for a guy that never acted before he had a great teacher his friend vic Morrow they were friends anyway before the show RIP
One consistent theme I haven't seen anyone mention is "redemption by death". Once characters "sin" badly enough they are doomed, but generally don't die without a heroic act and/or some words that allows their redemption. Especially applies to French collaborators, "lone wolf" American soldiers (even when making the same types of decisions Hanley and Saunders routinely make), and Germans facing their individual moral responsibility.
Bill Smith: One of the weight trained diet specific bodybuilders of the era, he was in hard shape in a time when being in shape was considered "Kookie" and "unmanly" ("Ghey") by the general public, the "Strongman" image was looked up to as "natural" (big gut in a singlet) this image was represented by Ernest Borgnine...
Did you see the episode with the young French nurse's aid? All kinds of Saunder's heart in that one. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fzV2m-IhJcE.html
ccsra5, hey, I never thought anyone else would remember that Mission Impossible episode where the IMF team cons Vic Morrow's criminal character into thinking he went into a coma and woke up in the year, circa 2000, in the midst of World War III that had started in the Mideast and dragged on for 24 years till even the United States was economically and military run-down and exhausted. It was a great episode as that was one of the frequent schemes the IMF used on the super villains, elaborate con games.
William Smith was always a B-level actor, however, he played anything and everything. He played a fighter in one of Clint Eastwood's embarrassing films with Sondra Locke!
Quick comment, never noticed before. At the beginning, the FO calls out zwei (2) to the RTO. The RTO, correctly, transmits zwo(2) , on the radio, so as not to confuse the word with drei(3). Wow, what detail!
So far we haven't gotten to meet a platoon sergeant except for Hanley, before he was commissioned, and Saunders, when he was doubling as squad leader and acting platoon sergeant.
I love William Smith in anything. First noticed him on "Richman Poorman" as the bad guy Falconetti. His Wikipedia biography is amazing. Supersmart and very strong physically.
@@TheEdwardrommel A very remarkable man--a real life James Bond. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't care for him because Smith beat him at arm wrestling on the Conan The Barbarian set. I always got a laugh out of "Big Bill's" fight scenes with Nick Nolte in Rich Man, Poor Man and with Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can. In real life he would've cleaned both Nolte's and Eastwood's clocks--at the same time.
That head German in the bunker went on to become the lead actor as the top Russian in the movie "Red Dawn!" I'm sure a lot of great actors got their start right here on "Combat!"
