After his run through the Germans (and back) Ronald Speirs said "I wasn't afraid of dying. I was afraid of failing my mission." That man's built different.
So I'm an Afghanistan veteran. I was deployed to the most heavily-rocketed base in the entirety of the country. We received 57 different indirect fire (artillery) attacks on us over the course of my time there, each averaging between 1-3 rounds, with the absolute worst being around 20 or so. It was terrifying every single time. I will never forget the feeling of sheer helplessness as you lie on the ground and try to cover your head and neck with whatever you can (typically just your hands) and then you wait, never knowing if you're about to get hit or not. It's horrifying. Then you look over at Easy Company in this episode, and do a little math. I'd venture a guess and say they experienced 6 months of shelling for me, but in the span of a mere 5 minutes. And this happened to them multiple times. This, I believe, is exactly why they got their nickname "The Battered Bastards Of Bastogne". They took every attack the enemy could muster and still held strong. What they accomplished is nothing short of a miracle, each and every one of them are heroes in the truest sense of the word.
@@krisfrederick5001 I am doing well mentally, fortunately. First few years after, I remember sirens and fireworks really bothered me - but nowadays it's manageable. Think my dog is more shook up on the 4th of July than I am haha.
A few of the cast just did a parachute jump into Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. One of the reasons this series is so good is that the actors took it so much to heart.
Lipton's monologue during Speirs' charge is the highlight of the episode. You spend any amount of time reading about the War, you hear stories like it again and again. Events that we would deem fantastic, but we have the accounts from both sides proving it true.
Winters suspected that Speirs though things were going to bad, so he moved close to Winters just in case. It looked like this was not just an accident that he was there.
There's a interesting story that Dick Winter's told about, how several years after he got out of the military he was walking home one evening. A kid was running down the road with a stick and dragged it across a picket fence he was passing. It made a sort of dah-dah-dah sound. Winter's said before he realized what was happening, he was lying in ditch. He'd jumped in instinctively. That sort of trauma is just so difficult to treat. It's not surprising we see such high suicide rates amongst veterans.
I've known veterans that would stay in their homes on July 4th with music playing loudly... They couldn't handle being around fireworks displays. One guy I met was a recovering alcoholic/addict, he said he would come out of blackouts in his back yard buried in a pile of leaves with his hunting rifle (waiting for the VC). What finally got him into recovery... He was having thanksgiving dinner with his family, got up and came back with the pistol from the bedroom, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger - thankfully it was unloaded. His son & son-in-law practically tackled him and he was in the psych ward that evening - it finally got him the help he needed.
I will never forget seeing my grandpa and his friend, both Vietnam veterans in their 60s at the time, diving headfirst behind a hay bale after the tractor backfired, and my grandpa frantically searching for a rifle he didn't have. 12 year old me had only been told the fun stories, and loved watching war movies. I got a strong glimpse that day of the reality of war that soldiers carry with them for the rest of their lives.
I had an uncle who served in World War II and in Korea . My aunt went to wake him up one morning and when she shook his shoulder he jumped up grab her by the throat and put her up against a wall. He was going to strangle her when he came to his senses and knew where he was and who he had by the throat
Spiers Run was actually crazier and longer but the show runners knew that if they even tried to show the longer run people would think it's unrealistic despite it actually happening.
One thought on Dike is that he was a guy with a good record (combat medals) but was going through some serious PTSD like Compton. The difference is that the men of Easy Company knew Compton and had sympathy for him. With Dike they didn’t have that knowledge so held him in much more contempt.
@@realisticphishthat’s correct. This episode of him giving conflicting orders stems from that even though the series doesn’t touch on the truth. At the beginning of the march into Foy, Dike was shot in the chest and was bleeding heavily. His OD’s soaked up the blood and no one noticed and his conflicting orders were from the blood loss he was suffering from. The series paints him in a bit of a negative light. Would he be your first choice as a CO to lead your company? No. Was he a competent leader that at least knew what he was doing and could get the job done? Yes, he was.
They were really glad that Peacock was going home due to a phenomenon most military folks would recognize. We called it “addition by subtraction,” where we got considerably more work done when certain people were absent, than we did when they were present.
Thing was that Peacock was not hated by the men. They liked him, respected the rank despite his faults. They were genuinely happy when he got to go home. Some said they hoped the war would be over before he had a chance to come back but that was not to be.
@@Farbar1955 Ya he was a great guy but not necessarily a great combat leader. Whereas Spiers is a great combat leader but borders on sociopath as a human.
@@Farbar1955 Well one soldier who didn't like Peacock was a member of his platoon, PFC David Webster. In his memoir, Peacock comes across as a lesser Sobel: incompetent in the field and a petty tyrant in camp. Webster recounts how Peacock woke him in his slit trench and made him sweep out the house the officers were using as their quarters.
The thing that never ceases to amaze me about the previous episode (Bastogne) and this one: all of the scenes in the Bois Jacques forest with the snow were filmed on a sound stage. Trees, snow, the whole thing. The fact that even knowing that, it still makes you cold, is 100% a testament to the amazing acting chops of this cast. And the set design/construction crew deserve as many kudos as you can come up with. Just outstanding film making; full stop.
The series does two things with Dike. First the show is written with Winters, Lipton, and some other vets opinion on Dike. They did not like him much. Second was creative licence by the writers, and producers. Dike did not fit in well. Part of it was that he had connection, and was an ivy league northerner. Like Nixon. Dike was the first CO that was an outsider from the company. Sobal was their first CO, and dealt with. Meehan was known to them because he was a Toccoa man from another company. Winters with them the whole time. Dike came from outside. Dike performed well in Normandy, and actually helped a handful of wounded men during the attack on Foy. He was not killed, but was wounded were blood loss and shock caused him to shut down. Making it look like he froze as a leader. Dike's level of injuries were not known until he dropped from them, then taken back to an aid station. My personal summery going by what I picked up on Dike in the years sense I read the book, and learning other bits, and scraps is: The portrayal of Dike as a disconnected leader that avoided things is the show runners interpretation of the trouble Dike had fitting in with the company. The information from Winters, Lipton, and a few other vets having a bias. One generated from a class standing: working class / country boys vs city boy educated upper class. Which made it harder for Dike to fit in. So put all the awkward interactions you see in the show from the POV of people that saw him as an outsider. Having liton take care of a situation while Dike goes for help is not a stupid thing. Lipton as the ranking NCO can organize the men, and get wounded checked out. While Dike goes to his radio/land line communication to report the damage and have medical evac come and help. But it looks like he is just running away because the scene is written from the POV of men who did not have Dike integrate into the social structure of the company. I think the show runners chose Dike, being effected by the awkwardness used it to show how a bad leader can effect the moral and behavior of soldiers. Also how it negatively effects combat. Dike was not killed. He recovered from his injuries, and later assigned to the either regimental, or division staff. After he was evacuated from Foy, Easy company never saw him again.
I had someone tell that they read there might been a minor cover up with Dike from previous company by the doctors who he was fine. But original company sent with syntoms of Battle Fatigue. But since they were short on replacement officers. They might scrub his record. It could explain some of what happen at Foy. But overall i think your right.
Luz's son told the reality of that story. Muck and Penkala wanted Luz to join them in their foxhole as it was almost done and Luz had not had a chance to start one. Luz told them he'd do it himself (not wanting to accept their charity. This was a quirk of his) This is what saved his life as he was in his own foxhole. The episode made it more dramatic, but still a great telling (the dud was also real)
Funny thing is that Lt Peacock was well-liked by the men, but as Cpt Winters mentioned earlier in the episode, he wasn't a very good officer, so when the men tell him they're glad he's going home, they meant it both as "we're happy this good guy gets to go back home for a while" and "we're happy to be rid of this man who's not cut out to lead."
I'm an infantry vet. Almost everyone around me today would say I don't show any signs of PTSD. But that's because they weren't around for the first 6 months after we got back from Afghanistan. Those first 6 months, every bang or boom made me flinch and almost duck for cover. I don't know how I got so blessed that it only stayed with me for a few months. I can't imagine what it's like for the men and women who have to deal with it for decades and even sometimes their entire lives. It was the scariest thing ever. I would just be out at a park somewhere, hear a kid hitting a baseball with a bat, and my body would just freeze for a split second and then an injection of adrenaline putting me on edge. I knew I was home and was in no danger, but the moment I heard that loud noise, I was back in Kandahar.
My grandpa was a Marine on Guadacanal. It wasn’t until after his passing that I learned that my grandma used to call my Dad after he’d married my mom & tell that my grandpa was,” having the nightmares again”. He used to tell me about his time during the war after dinner when he’d had a little too much wine to drink. Those talks often ended up with far away looks & tears in his eyes. He was an incredible man.
It all hits us different. I was at Balad, Iraq for a year. I've been back for 17 years now, and I'm just finally getting my flinch response back. I just got completely numb to explosions. Unfortunately my flinch is coming back at about x100. Anyway, Welcome Home Brotha.
@@gabby15107 Every once in a while, something will set me off. But for the most part, I'm good. For some reason, bubble wrap being popped sounds like AK fire to me and will give me a good scare. Rifle fire doesn't sound anything like you hear in the movies. Glad you made it home, too.
I know that freeze. I still do it now. When I first got back, I thought I was completely unaffected while being afraid of spaces with no cover and responding with decisive aggression every time something was out of my control. I was never diagnosed with anything. I think you just learn to survive in a different world and it carries over.
Regarding the ticket home for lt.Peacock, the soldiers weren't exactly happy for him, they were more than happy that he was sent away. In Band of Brothers he's depicted as just fumbling or not up to par as other officers. But when reading the memoir of David Webster (title: Parachute Infantry), who was in Peacock's platoon, he absolutely hated his guts. Due to many instances of dubious tactical decisions or ordering menial tasks, e.g. order Webster to take a broom and sweep the entire house where the officers were staying with nice beds and warm water, while the platoon had to sleep outside in wet and cold fox holes in the rain, in Holland. I'm addicted to watching YT reactions to BoB, if my history is correct, you're #21 in the list. But yours is a different and refreshing take, love it !
Accurate artillery is one of the most terrifying things on the battlefield. At Foy, the Germans were purposefully putting rounds into the trees to create that secondary shrapnel. The other thing is they were in a tree farm. Almost perfect lines of fire for the Germans.
One thing i noticed in hindsight is that you rarely see the real Bill Guarnere in the openings. Now that his war is over on the show, you will notice why, he is so much like his character you figure it out immediately.
After the war Winters asked Spiers about the killing of POW's. He admitted doing it, he was ordered to do so. With all the chaos going on it was decided that they would not be taking prisoners that day.
Sensible from my armchair view in the midst of an invasion and without the logistics to handle pow's. It's a swift forward moving invasion. And it actually makes SPR the fictional film that it is...
In his memoir, Donald Malarkey wrote that General Maxwell Taylor told the 101st Division paratroopers not to take prisoners in Normandy because it would slow down their progress. Veterans of the 82nd Division reported getting the same instructions. If the command staff wanted the troops to commit war crimes, they should have had the guts to explicitly order them to kill all Germans instead of weaseling out with the take no prisoners "instructions." I think a big reason the killings weren't investigated was because it would have lead immediately back to the generals.
@@dlxmarks the Germans were also under orders to kill every paratrooper they saw. War is messy. Having never served or been in combat, I don't feel like I can jhdge
I think this episode is my favorite of the series. So much happened and it has everything. Humor, emotions of all types, action, and the end with Spears being a freaking legend and Lipton chatting with him in the end. Chefs kiss
As you discovered while editiing, there is some extra-diegetic music in this episode, albeit brief; the soundtrack soars for a moment while Speirs is "running back" after linking up with I Company. But this just reinforces your point about the clever use of sound; it's so natural, so fitting for the moment that you don't even notice it's there. This series is top-tier television, no question.
I love watching your blend of emotion and intelligence in your reactions. I wish we were friends. The only good thing about how cold it was is the fact it helped keep severely wounded men from bleeding out. The building the sniper fired from is still there in Foy.
If you recall in the Blythe episode, Spears talks about accepting that you are already dead and that is the key to functioning how a soldier should. This introduction brings that concept full circle.
Thats also a common theme if you read any vietnam combat accounts. There it took 1-3 months for a soldier to reach that point and then when they hit 10 to 11 months they again became dangerous to others because they starting thinking about surviving vietnam.
This is probably my favorite episode in the show. It’s definitely right where everyone is at their low point and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting better. But they were able to find a way out, even if it does change them drastically. And I can definitely feel for Lipton trying to keep spirits up, even though he himself felt at times to break.
I have posted this comment before on RU-vid ref Dike's yawning - this is down to stress, as Dike is scared. In my day it was called the “Combat Yawn”. Yawning can be a response to high levels of both anxiety and stress. When we are in a heightened state of tension, our body's natural response is to take deep breaths and increase oxygen intake. Yawning helps regulate breathing patterns and can serve as a subconscious mechanism to alleviate stress.
A lot of the content on Peacock comes from David Webster's memoir and he did not like his platoon leader. In Webster's account, Peacock comes across like another Sobel: incompetent in the field and a petty tyrant in camp.
@@leonardoastros Webster's book was an important source for both the _Band of Brothers_ book and show. When I read it, I recognized a lot of events seen on-screen. One incident that wasn't in the show was the time Peacock woke up Webster from an off-duty nap in his slit trench and made him sweep out the house used as the officers' quarters. That kind of rank-pulling really enraged Webster.
There is a new biography of Ronald Spiers in which he says that the Germans were trying to hit him with shells from their 88mm cannons. He was impressed that they were trying so hard to kill him. (The Biography is called Fierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Spiers and his Band of Brothers) I have been to the Easy Company foxholes at the edge of the woods across the field from Foy, Belgium. To reach Foy, Spiers had quite a distance to run, a lot further than is shown in this episode of Band of Brothers.
I think a fair assessment of Peacock is a "Peter Principle" example. Well liked. Good soldier as far as I know. Just should not have been promoted past his depth.
What's really crazy is that Spiers' run through the village was actually much farther and took longer in real life. They cut it down for the show because they figured no one would believe the real thing. That guy was a different breed.
During the Civil War the condition now called PTSD, it has been called different things in different eras, was called "A Soldier's heart". A more poetic name for a more romantic time. It was recognized but there wasn't much they could do in that time.
There are a series of RU-vid videos titles Band of Brothers 20th Anniversary, or something like that. They have cast members talking about the men they had played, and some of them had the honor of meeting the men they portrayed. There are also production crew that are interviewed. It is a very good series that adds a lot of depth to the characters, and to their story.
Someone said in another reaction that Dyke's continual yawning is another symptom of battle fatigue, where the body involuntarily tries to take in more oxygen. He'd apparently been in a serious firefight before he joined Easy.
Dike did get a bit of a bad rap from this, and Ambrose's book. He'd rallied troopers earlier in the war and held a chokepoint and been commended for it, sources seem to disagree on if he was suffering PTSD himself. His inaction in the assault on Foy - again, some sources indicate he was actually shot in the shoulder and his injury was why he lost the plot. As I'm sure others will also say, Speir's charge across Foy was even longer but they made it shorter in the show because 'nobody would believe it'
Dike also suffered from the style of command Easy Company was use to. Much like the critique Webster had for Peacock Dike had a very hands of approach command. He often was not on the line leading the men or showing himself on the line. Whether it was do to PTSD or not he was not there leading. The other thing is just what Lipton said. Many of those in Easy were very experienced and relied so heavily on NCOs that it may been hard to live up to any command style for them. At Foy it was his failure, wounded or not, to press the attack like order. Him not taking action at Foy I find hard to believe for he did order the other platoon to circle around and flank leaving him and his men out in the open to get shot at and the flanking unit exposed. So when he did take action is was a bad one. Dike did make this order, again injured or not. It was his orders when he stopped the advance to send the others on the flank that got Winters to finally call in the first person he saw, Spiers, to take over and lead the attack in. I also do believe some of the references in this episode on Dike were some of the ones laied on Peacock mentioned often in Webster's memoirs. Now this is also from my memory of my reading of material on this subject some of the details may be off.
he would have gto have gotten a purple heart then. And, not to say that no records exist, but there are no reliable sources indicating this, except for the usual say-so comments...
@@genghisgalahad8465 Clancy Lyall stated that he saw that Dike had been wounded in his right shoulder and that it was the wound, not panic, that caused Dike to stop. Official records show that he had the purple heart with oak leaf cluster, indicating multiple different instances of wounds. Literally just look it up. The reason Dike is slammed is due to the series being from Ambrose's book perspective. There's a whole load of inaccuracies.
Always love Jacqui’s reactions, love her attention to detail to every scene and love the way she lets the viewer know what’s happening for example when the music was distorted for copyright reasons she put that on screen. Most reactors miss key scenes but Jacqui nails it every time
Coincidentally, the current (special) episode of "The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast" addresses PTSD/depression in a very serious and touching way. I encourage any of your fans or BoB fans to check it out. Great reaction, as always.
I think it's interesting how the episode is called The Breaking Point to show how all the men in Easy Company are getting to that point, but then they personify it by showing the exact moment Lt. Compton hits that point.
A testament to the actors, most of those forest scenes were shot inside of a sound stage. They were acting cold. Winters always thought that Spiers placed himself so that he would be called on to relieve Dike. He wasn't where he was supposed to be. His run through Foy was much longer than depicted. Genuine bad ass. Also, Shifty shot that sniper between the eyes. Dike was a terrible leader; that being said, I have heard reports that he was actually wounded at Foy, adding to his confusion.
Thing with Dyke is that they based his character in the show on how he was viewed by the men, which is evident they thought very little of him. Dyke was actually awarded a couple of times for bravery and when he freezes behind the hey stack, he had been shot and was in shock. It was a little unfair to the real Norman Dyke, but it was a great way to contrast good and poor leadership between him and Speirs/Lipton. Brave man, poor leader.
WW1 it was "Shell Shock". WWII through Korea it was "Combat Fatigue". "PTSD" was Viet Nam. Now is a combination of "PTSD" for individual events and "Delayed Stress" for the psychological strain of constant hightened allert of combat deployments.
Please be sure to react to the accompanying HBO documentary “We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company,” as a sort of episode 11 of the miniseries. Really a perfect capstone to the show with lots more context from interviews with all the men (with names revealed), archival footage and some great stuff on their postwar lives. The men talk at length about the events of this episode including Muck and Penkela’s deaths and Guarnere and Toye losing their legs. Among many other anecdotes that give a deeper picture of the events shown in the miniseries. It was George Luz who was crawling towards Muck and Penkala’s foxhole (also mentioned in the documentary). The doc also makes clear they used Toye and Guarnere’s actual words in the episode “What’s a guy guy to do to be killed around here?” And “The got ole Guarnere this time.”
The story of Muck swimming the Niagara that you liked enough to put in the teaser was gleaned from Muck’s sister. Since the actor was playing a man who didn’t survive, he was able to contact his family instead. Muck’s sister told that story to the actor and he passed it along. The writers added that scene late in production.
Richard speight Jr talks about it on the History Hacks zooms from the pandemic. Production thought muck was from Florida. Speight found out it was Tonawanda NY and started calling Mucks in the phone book until he found a distant relative. He was able to get his medals and story back to the family. They didn't even know about the book...... Had no idea what happened to Muck. Great stuff. He even had the relative on his Kings of Con podcast.
A bit of trivia about the Luger. It was one of the first mass produced semi automatic pistols. Due to its unique shape and the fact it was given to German and Austrian officers, it became a sought after war trophy. By the time WW2 started the Luger was already 35 years old and saw service in WW1. That being said, it was prone to misfires due to the overly complicated design.
That's the funny thing about German weapons. High-quality, well-designed, impressive to look at, and renowned for it. But they ended up using lots of unnecessary materials and their overly complicated designs ended up breaking more often and being harder to fix. There's a few diaries and accounts from Wehrmacht men on the Eastern Front. They talk about how, during the deep freezes in the winter, their weapons would keep failing, either malfunctioning or outright breaking, and they couldn't get the small parts and tools needed to fix them. Soviet weapons worked just fine, some German soldiers ditched their rifles for captured Mosin's and such. Their tanks, too, were too complex to really stand up to a war of attrition. They took too much time and material to manufacture, and their mechanisms required a lot of maintenance that they just couldn't afford when their supply lines weren't rock-solid, which was pretty common.
The brilliant part about this show, well, one of the many brilliant parts, is the effortless switch from humor to tragedy in mere seconds. Like when Hubler shoots himself and they're all rushing to him, Doc Roe arrives and upon being told that Hubler accidentally shot himself, Roe jokes "did you think it was a German leg, Hueb?" just seconds before realizing the wound is in a very bad spot and realizing Huebler is gonna die from bloodloss... The casual nature of the exchanges really makes it feel so real... and some of the dialogue is even pulled directly from the real life events, like when Joe Toye says "What's a guy gotta do to get killed around here" or in episode 4 when Wild Bill sees Bull has come back, he really did say "I don't know whether to kiss you, slap you, or salute you."
They don't give you Purple Hearts or other honored citations for mental wounds. The most violated Veterans at the VA are the mentally wounded, as they struggle more for every inch of respect and service due to them than any other wounded. The adversarial position that the VA takes with the mentally wounded is so over the top that a law had to be made to order the VA to be in support of not an adversary, and yet even that didn't stop the VA from continuing its practice of denying these injuries or even treating these injuries to the level of care that would be considered basic in most developed countries. The most over-medicated are those who suffer from mental wounds. This is a clear indication of how modern government-run healthcare views the issues of mental illness and more specifically, mental wounds caused by service-related actions/events/environments. Mentally wounded Veterans make up a larger than expected portion of the Homeless Veterans, Veterans struggling with addiction, Veterans struggling with divorce, and the 22 per day that end their struggles by their own hands. These are not new issues facing the VA nor new issues facing our society, just ongoing proof that neither the society nor the government have stopped being the adversary and started being the crutch to lean on, even after decades.
"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..." -Ronald Speirs to Albert Blithe in episode 3. Also you're correct, in WWI they called it Shell Shock, but by WWII they had progressed to using Combat Fatigue. The Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific saw more than 2600 of the total casualties listed as "fatigued" essentially meaning they were removed from the battle for reasons other than physical wounds or injuries.
I watched this show when it came out after I read the book. I loved every minute of it. Now almost 25 years later I just love watching people react to it. 👍
Norman Dike apparently got a raw deal in BoB. He received two Bronze Stars, one for his actions in Holland and a second for his actions at Bastogne. Like many memories, there are different perspectives. 1SG Lipton described Dike as falling apart during the assault on Foy while Clancy Lyall recalls Dike being wounded during the opening of the attack. He also was took command of Easy Company while assigned to division and would frequently go back to division so see his friends there which may have led to exaggerated memories of him frequently leaving his troops.
That story by skip muck about swimming across the Niagra was true. Was only found out because of the actor playing him Wanted to find out more about him as there was little to go on. Eventually they found out that one of his sisters or friends were still alive at the time of filming and went to go see her. They then shared the story and he goes to the showrunners. Hey can i add this story into filming.
Just so people understand the depth of the PTSD, decades after these events happened (in 2000-1999), the real Lipton was interviewed about the war, and when they asked him about Wild Bill's injury, he recalled going to see Bill right after he got hit, and how he was holding his wounded leg (as shown in the episode) and it was jittering like that... not another word in and the real Lipton had to stop to keep himself from starting to cry. You can watch the moment on the We Stand Alone, Together documentary about the BOB vets (it's here on YT, and it's where they get all the talking head segments from for this show).
I also love the foreshadowing they do with Speirs throughout the earlier episodes. Even though he isn't part of Easy company until the end of this episode, we still know about him. The story about the prisoners, we get a little of his perspective during the Carentan episode, and then they bring him in briefly near the beginning of the episode just to remind us he's there. So, in the battle at the end, when everything seems to be going to hell and even Winters can't really do anything to solve it, and you're wondering what's going to happen to get them out of this... and then Winters yells "SPEIRS!" and its just this "LETS GOOOOOOOOOO" moment after ~45 minutes of the episode beating you down. Its one of the biggest emotional flips I've seen on screen.
everything WAS going to hell, and Winters DID do something in his command about it, and then, you're right, that legendary call! Plus that moment of interrupting his own CO to call out a replacement for the attack.
I've tried 10 or 12 reaction channels. This is the only reaction channel I've found worth watching. Moat are just "ohh" "ahh" and don't add much. This one is different. Jacqui adds real thoughts about what's going on and real insights about the film making, writing, specific shots and on. Looking forward to more!
Dike gets a raw deal - in Market Garden he had led a defence whilst totally surrounded by the enemy and at Bastogne had dragged 3 injured men to safety - he was no coward or incompetent. The truth is probably that when you look at him he is showing the same sort of symptoms as Buck Compton but they didn't know him so they didn't know he was acting strange for him. When they attack Foy there are several reports he gets hit in the shoulder prior to shutting down too. Spiers meanwhile does the most epic face turn here where suddenly you start to truly understand the man and the way he thinks. Peacock was well liked but ill suited to combat command - he tried hard and did things by the book but he had no feel for it and that worried people. The officer shown shouting was also actually really well liked and was also competent in the field. The show tends to simplify some of the side characters personalities which is understandable but sometimes short changes some of these men.
...and again there are no reliable accounts that are evidence of these claims about Dike that are stated over and again but only find them in comments and nowhere else officially or reliably, that aren't fan blogs or open source wiki. Just comments repeated Tertius-style. Which the claim doesn't make sense to be tactically proficient and then suddenly be incompetent, which is far from the stalwart Buck Compton's emotional inner breakdown.
The thing about Lipton's promotion to Lieutenant is that, as a First Sergeant, he was at the very top of the enlisted ranks. A 2nd Lieutenant is at the very bottom of the officer ranks. So, technically, he was starting all over again, at the bottom.
Yeah, but it was different back then. Enlisted and officers were separated by a huge gap then, so even a 2LT was considered to be so much higher than any enlisted.
The US Army did a study of combat stress during WWII. They discovered that just about EVERYONE breaks after approximately 200 days of combat. It's not a question of mental toughness, physical toughness, or courage. Combat is an unbelievably stressful environment, one the human psyche isn't built to withstand indefinitely.
No, company commanders are not assigned staff duties. Dike had no staff responsibilities until he was wounded at Foy and was transferred to regimental HQ. Dike had friends at regimental HQ but no official duties there until he was transferred.
@@jacquesstrapp3219 Dike was a staff officer while in Holland. He organized a defense during an enemy attack and won his first medals for Valor there. He was made CO of Easy after a couple other replacements for Moose Heyliger had crapped out. During the seige he was doing double duty as he hadn't been replaced on staff yet and was viewed as neglecting Easy by the men.
@@miked6761 Nonsense. You obviously have never served in the US Army. Company commanders are not assigned staff duties. They don't have time for that shit. Dike was assistant S-2 when he was on regimentals staff. The S-2 could handle the duties fine without him. It's all a moot point anyway because Col. Sink (or any competent commander) would never assign staff duties to a new company commander.
@@miked6761 which medal of valor though? Valor capitalized is not an official medal. And it dloesn't make sense that he would suddenly lose his valor and crumble. There's a stark difference between him and Compton.
There are a couple things to keep in mind about this episode as well. Easy company suffered a lot of bad leadership after Winters was put in charge of the whole battalion, Dyke was just the last of them. Second Colonel Sink wasn't at Foy to stop Winters from going out there to relieve dyke, Winters realized he couldn't go out there and the first person he saw Speirs.
Hi Jacqui, just recently discovered your channel, and I’m really enjoying all of the technical behind the scenes info you add to your reactions!!! I’ve been absolutely loving your reactions to this and Masters of the Air. I’ve always loved the behind the scenes commentaries on my favorite movies and TV Shows so finding your channel is amazing. Looking forward to the rest of Band of Brothers!
One of my favorite episodes. I always felt that Dyke got a raw deal. As you stated, he seemed to be suffering as much as the others mentally. Unfortunately as the leader of Easy Company, his decisions impact the lives of the men under him. I’m sure he was just as affected by the bursting trees as the others hiding in their foxholes. The church scene at the end always gets me. If we didn’t get to know the other characters in the earlier episodes, the impact wouldn’t hit as hard. The build-up to this moment pays off in spades.
Ill have to admit, I was slightly upset that you didn't include the scene of Shifty taking out the sniper. I personally feel Shifty didn't get quite as much "screen time" as he deserved. He was well known as being the best shot in Easy Co but was so humble he never accepted credit and always said his father was better. You can hear him say this in the scene leading up to Hooblers death. His biography "Shifty's War" is an excellent read as well.
Two interesting things about this episode: 1. from what I've read, Spiers wasn't even assigned to be in the area when Easy assaulted the town of Foy. He just kinda showed up in case he was needed, then lo an behold. 2. A lot of the scenes in the forest were actually shot indoors in this big warehouse kinda soundstage, thing, so it really wasn't all that cold and in some instances was actually pretty warm in all their winter clothing. Props to the effects people and the actors for really selling how cold it's supposed to be when in all reality they were probably sweating their asses off lol
The reason I love this reaction series is because I've watched this television show no less than a hundred times, gonna watch it again in a few days to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day on the 6th, and I learn new symbolism that helps me enjoy it ten times more. Thank you so much for this series.
This episode is actually one of my favorites because it showcases the importance of good leadership and the physical and emotional toll that combat takes on an individual. Lieutenant Speirs' run through Foy is the stuff of legends. That man was just built differently. If it wasn’t mentioned, an NCO for example would be a Corporal or Sergeant, while a commissioned officer would be a Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, or General. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. Commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree. NCO’s serve an important role as they are considered the backbone of the armed forces. They are responsible for guiding and teaching the less experienced troops. They are also tasked with executing the majority of military operations since they are the most experienced of the enlisted ranks. Carwood “Lip” Lipton served an extremely important role in Easy Company as a First Sergeant. They are regarded as the principal NCO and the life-blood of a company. The role of a First Sergeant is to be a disciplinarian and counselor for the unit. He instructs other sergeants, advises the commander and helps train all enlisted soldiers. He also assists officers at the company level. Seeing Lipton earn his commission and become a Lieutenant is such a proud moment. It’s true that most accounts show that Lieutenant Norman Dike was not widely liked by the men of Easy Company. However, he wasn’t as cowardly or ineffective as portrayed in the series. He actually earned two Bronze Stars for valor. One for organizing hasty defenses against superior, and repeated German attacks in Uden, Holland during Operation Market Garden. The Second for risking his life to rescue three wounded members of his company while under intense small-arms fire in Bastogne, Belgium. During the Assault on Foy, Easy Company became bogged down after Lieutenant Dike was shot. His injuries made him unable to effectively lead. Winters later stated that after Dike was wounded, he sent in Speirs to relieve him because he was the first officer he saw when he turned around. Dike went on to become a Captain, and served as an aide to General Maxwell Taylor, commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division. He even went on to serve in the Korean War. Norman Dike passed away on June 23, 1989. He was 71 years old. Thank you again for your heartfelt reactions to watching this mini-series Jacqui!
Platoon Officer Lt. Shames, the guy who yelled all the time, held a special record for Easy Company. More men under his command survived the war than any other officer.
I recently watched this show with my father, who was born during the war. While I knew he would enjoy it, I inadvertently introduced him to bingewatching. I have rarely seen him that into anything on a TV before. He usually heads to be hours before my mother and I, but for once we were the ones who had to tell him it was time to turn off the TV. It is a show that is still holds up even after 20 years, and that trascends age and personal preferences. Happy to see another person fall in love with the show as many of us had since we first watched it.
For me, this is the best episode of the entire series. The themes they touch on with the brotherhood and what it does to you seeing your brothers killed or wounded, and the lengths you'd go through to help your brother. Love every second of this episode even though it is a hard one to watch. Plus, I love a good story about an enlisted leader like Lipton.
By far, the best "reaction" channel there is. You truly add to the experience of watching the show and at the same time you are teaching us about cinematography and writing. Well done!
20:42 Civilians often wonder or complain, “Why do they find it necessary to yell and scream at you in bootcamp?” - and they call it disrespectful, and unnecessary. This. This is just one of the many reasons why.
As a retired Army First Sergeant, Carwood Lipton is my favorite "character" in the series. I share that rank connection, and also I love his leadership style, and often modeled my own after his. He was a Soldier's leader, and always put the welfare of his troops before his own. An interesting, yet rately talked about, demonstration of this is how he not once, but twice, risked his life by speaking out against a bad leader. In Episode One, he leads the group of NCOs who speak out against CPT Sobel, and in this episode, he speaks out against 1LT Dyke to CPT Winters. Both instances are parellel situations of an enlisted man essentially committing mutiny against an officer, which was punishable by death during time of war back in those days. Lipton was asked about it later in life if he ever realized that he had done the same thing twice, risking a firing squad execution both times, and he basically said "no, i never thought about, i just did what i had to do for the safety of my paratroopers." Sticking your neck out to protect those in your care is the ultimate sign of a good NCO and leader.
Jacqui might appreciate this observation of story telling. Consider the series as a story narrative, and look at Joe Toy. All experiences Toy had was foreshadowing his injuries at Foy. He was blown up twice with out injury by two grenades at Normandy. He suffered trench foot in Bastogne that if it festered could cause gangrene infection. Which would most likely result in an amputation if treatment did not work. His part in the story ends when he is caught in two artillery strikes that results in losing a leg. Life is stranger than fiction.
About the slo-mo in the series, one particular moment i remember was when Blithe finally took his gun and shot at the enemy, in middle of the battle scene of Episode 3 ("Carentan"). It's probably one of the very few times they use this, and it wasn't because of an action effect or to see what's going on, but for the amount of psychologial strenght the character had to use in order to do so. And it has so much power! Love this series. This is cinema. One thing to be noted, in regards to historical accuracy, i don't know much about Dyke's relationship with the men, but i heard that he wasn't accurately portrayed as a soldier. He apparently was a brave and honored man, who did go on shock in battle, but because he was wounded. I didn't go much deeper than this, but i say it just to have a little better idea of the real thing.
It's good because the book by Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers, which is interviews with surviving members was successfully made into a show. It can be hard to capture the moments and they did. There is some fiction, but not much. The screen play is mostly from the survivor testimony.
This episode had some heartbreaking moments: Buck's reaction to what happened to Toye and Guarnere; Luz seeing Muck and Penkala get killed; Malarkey dealing with the loss of Buck, Malarkey and Penkala; Hoobler's death. But also seeing Speirs take command and Lipton being the leader that Easy needed while under Dyke was more positive. Lipton giving the Luger to Malarkey was another one. And the scene in the church. The choir singing was, in my humble opinion, a beautiful and all too brief of a peaceful moment for the men of Easy Company. So much of this series hits you right in the feels.
I once heard a quote, that explained every soldiers experience could be compared to a bottle. Some guys had a large bottle where they could deal with more death, destruction, and mental conditions during battle. And some had a smaller one. Each instance, battle, and experience filled their bottle up more and more, until some would fill up and hit the breaking point. These men were heroes, real ones, who did what nobody else could.
Wow I have seen many reactions to this show, but none have been as enjoyable as your. Your understanding of cinema makes it very enjoyable. Can't wait for your reaction to to the last three episodes.
I remember I was watching this before work, in the breakroom, and one of my friends went on break and asked what I was watching. I had to shh her, as it was right before the first shelling scene. She was quietly sobbing when they showed Buck,Toye, and Gaurnere. She completely lost it when Muck and Pinkala were hit and screamed so loud when the dud shell landed near Lipton and Malarkey. She was an absolute mess when she went back to work.
