Lieutenant Norman Dike - Poor Commander vs Being A Hero (Band of Brothers) 

I cannot imagine the pressure of being a replacement platoon commander for an elite infantry unit that had already been together through three major battles. The slightest error in judgment can lead to the death of yourself and others. Everyone is scrutinizing you. It is a minor miracle that anyone could do that.

I wanted to add something about Dike, and that is people asking how a man who has demonstrated courage can be so disliked by his men and fall pray to hearsay contrary to documented fact as we know Dike was no coward nor did he freeze at Foy due to stress, but was seriously wounded. From my own experience in the US Army, several things can (have) happen: 1) Elite units often dislike outsiders as a rule. If I recall, Dike was a replacement officer. This alone would not endear him to his men. There would be resentment for being outsider, not sharing in shared suffering/adversity and a much higher standard expected of him as a leader. 2) Much of the criticism comes from NCOs, and indeed, surprisingly, more than one completely got wrong the events at Foy but still acted as if they saw everything claiming he froze under pressure when he was, in fact, seriously wounded. This speaks to two things: a. Many people in the military tend to take for granted reputations of officers or soldiers before they ever meet them. It is fashionable and easy to bash a perceived dirtbag. The Army, like all small vocations, loves its rumors and pigeon-holing people for better or worse. Reputations precede people. That is why I never accepted any reputations of people, but judged for myself their character. Lots of guys heard Dike's rep and stuck with it without ever knowing him. b. Regarding NCOs swearing up and down they know what happened at Foy even they weren't in a position to see: People in the Army, and especially for combat situations they survived, like to repeat gossip, or even have a mandela effect for what happened. It even happens in large battles that are well-documented, and if repeated becomes fact. This is why historians need to parse the tea-leaves and make sure eye-witness testimony wasn't hearsay. In this respect Ambrose failed. 3) Dike came from money, and combined with being a replacement officer, would be more than enough for his NCOs to resent him. I love NCOs, and served with many outstanding NCOs, but no one gossips as much as they, and no one holds grudges more dearly, or longer. And, as a rule, they don't like green officers, often for good reason. 4) Regarding Winters, it is actually surprising to hear so much venom from him about Dike. Of all people, he would know the facts on the ground, but evidently always got it wrong in this case. He too claims Dike froze at Foy, he not once mentions Dike's being seriously wounded as the proximate cause of his losing control of the battle. Winters has repeatedly demonstrated himself as being a thoughtful, kind and forgiving guy. But Dike seemingly pissed him off. Whether it is a combination of Dike's attitude, background, resenting a newb or his taking a coveted ADC slot with the CG (truly a prized position, I know I was fortunate to serve in that capacity), taking his NCO's opinions as gospel, it really seems like Winters hated the guy and in some respects, perhaps that clouded his judgement. But hey, no one is perfect.

So glad I watched this. It completely changes the narrative on his character & the Foy scene. He was a piss-poor leader, but not a poor soldier and certainly not a coward. It would be interesting to find out the nature of his wound during the assault.

The thing to keep in mind about band of brothers is that it’s based on Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers rather than necessarily the truth. It’s based on his interviews with the soldiers of Co. E, and those were done decades after the fact. It’s mostly true, but there are instances of the vets getting things wrong, or, like here, the majority’s biases come out in the finished product. They also all thought that Albert Blithe died from his wounds in the late 40s, but it was just because he didn’t go to the reunions before he died in the 60s and nobody had kept up with him.

The film also did not give any inkling that Sobel would jump in combat and would distinguish himself in several actions.

I greatly admire the men of Easy Co. and have met several of them. I am convinced that the story we heard comes largely from the veterans who knew and greatly respected Dick Winters. There is a slant to the story that seems to require diminishing several other officers in the company. I do not think we have the whole story on Sobel or Dike or even Peacock or Shames. Sadly, they are all now gone and we will likely never hear the real details of these stories. Both Dike and Sobel evidently served in Korea and both retired after rising to Lt. Colonel. We don't and can't know the total story of these two men. It's a shame.

I’m Nam era, not WW2. We always considered the bronze star the officer’s good conduct ribbon.

The thing is.. Its not a COs job to fight, he obviously had moments of great courage where he did things to save lives, he was awarded medals and so on.. But any job past a platoon commander isn't a thrusting bayonets into cu^ts, blood in the teeth, combat job! It's a planning job.. If there was times when he stayed in a Fighting pit(fox hole) and took in the situation and dished out directions and went to HQ to discuss things and long hours in meetings away from the front, then those were the times he was doing what he was supposed to do.. I think his lack of popularity came from how uptight he was, his busybody military guy ways, and the shoes he was filling, those shoes had been filled by big guys, and Norman Dyke just wasn't big enough.

Band of brothers was a fascinating story, but please remember, it was a television show, based on a book that was based on 50 year old recollections that were formed and distorted by the "fog of war"! I would hesitate to make any judgement on any participant's character based on this.

This proves that theres always 'two sides to every story'.. Thank you

I've seen all episodes several times, and I always thought that this actor's depiction of Lt. Dike was perhaps the most compelling of all the characters portrayed. Capt. Sobel, too. And Capt. Nixon. But Dike stood out. A complex guy, it would seem. And so recognizable. The scene in Bastogne where he starts cursing "goddammit, where's my foxhole?" and Sgt. Lipton says calmly "I'll take you there, sir. You're a little too close to the line here" is telling. I couldn't know but I assume that all soldiers on all sides are afraid and tense and their blood pressure boils. Dike may well have had bravery as noted by his war record, but he might have lacked skills at concealing the underlying fear. Not all soldiers are combat leaders. That's a specialty. Also Dike wandering off was familiar. Anything to get away from combat?

This was highlights the sheer brutality of what these men went through back then when someone like this could be even considered a coward

Thanks for your great videos on Easy Company, Interesting that both Sobel and Dike were awarded gallantry medals for actions away from Easy. Rightly or wrongly both were painted very poorly in the series. We shouldn't judge Dike on his behaviour or his leadership capabilities on his behaviour at Bastogne alone, he may have cracked mentally before taking command of Easy, and we definitely shouldn't judge him on the show.

Thanks for adding to the stories from World War 2. We need all of them.On their own, they can be only one part of the whole experience of war. Trust me, there are many ways to understand, many stories to tell, about the war I went through (the Soviet-Afghan war in the '80's), but I do have my version of it. They did too when it came to their war. It's not the whole picture, but it's still true.

He was mentioned one other time in the book. Towards the end of the book and war, he is on stage as General Taylor's aide

I had researched Dike before and thought the show was accurate to Easy Companies *memories* of him but not accurate to who he really was.

I'll take Winters and the boys word on it that they were justified in their feelings and opinions.

All dramas have to have a villain. It just makes the protagonists look better. Another person they crapped on was Ed Shames. Read his book and he had an amazing career and he was treated as just a screaming idiot in the series.

Easy company had two great leaders (Spears & Winters) and some other good leaders. Not all people are meant to be leaders, though they may be competent and skilled individuals. Being new in any unit or setting is never easy and few will dominate as personalities.

The criteria for awards ebbs and flows. I’ve seen the days of the award “package” where it was an insert name here boiler plate to a time when NO one got an award. Awards that were approved at the O-5 level suddenly had to go to the O-8 level. They came up with the achievement medals because they needed to boost morale in peacetime. The “joint” award is another ribbon to impress the civilians. Unless it’s a valor award (they did award ARCOMs with Vs) or a purple heart I won’t be overly impressed.

I wish HBO would release a 4K set with extended scenes of BOB.

Donald Malarkey's words on Dike from his book "Easy Company Soldier": " ..his replacement was Norman Dike Jr., and East Coast blue blood with no combat experience who would later freeze like a Popsicle in the midst of an assault.. .. a guy who'd hardly seen any combat.. ... some nose-in-the-air Yaley who knew someone high up. He spooked everyone. He was Sobel without the thoughness. In the blasts that got Guarnere and Toye, Dike had scurried off like a scared rabbit... ..Winters was feeding Dike instructions like a coach to a rookie quarterback.. ..Dike had frozen behind a haystack. Flat-out refused to lead the charge. Winters was going nuts on the radio, trying to get Dike in gear.. .. some higher-up's "golden boy"..

There are interviews from some of the members of Easy that’s didn’t speak as badly of Dike and affirm that his freezing at Foy was most likely from the wound he received and the shock of that messing up his judgment. I believe Ed Shames was also less unkind in his words about Dike, likely because he came into the unit later as well.

No disrespect to Lt. Dike intended as a soldier and a person. You have to take some awards for officers with a grain of salt, especially Bronze Stars. It was insane what and how some officers (and enlisted) were awarded or received them by just being there, or “in command of”. My personal friend was awarded one at the beginning of Afghanistan for talking on the radio and coordinating and air strike for what turned out to be an empty cave. War is hell as they say, but he has a cool license plate that he claims gets him out of speeding tickets.

Norman Dikes second bronze star was dated January 3rd, 1945, the same day Guarnere and Toye lost their legs. So we those the 2 soldiers he was helping in full view of the enemy? I don't know what to make of his portrayal.

Because of the serious BOB I always assumed Lt Dike as incompetent and had no care for the men under his command. After watching this video, I now see him in a different light and a Hero just like the other men who served to fight the Nazi and Axis forces for freedom. Lt Dike a replacement officer, would have found it difficult too fit into a Unit who had been together since its formation. The Series should have shown what had happened to Lt Dike, "gunshot wound" and what he had accomplished after the War, just like they did with the other members of Easy Company. Lt Dike, was there Leader all bit for a short time, but still a member. RIP Lt Dike.

everybody has a breaking point, and no one knows when they'll reach it or how long it will last.

BOB is a padded out, fictional, account of real life events, with real life characters. They said things they never said, did things they never did, and were in places they never were. If only twenty-five percent is accurate, it’s a win. In that it is a scripted television series, it is required to have bad guys, and all the villains can’t be German.

I’m sure stories will change throughout time, but this is what we have to live with for the time being. And your video. I can’t micromanage history. Just ask Cesar, Cleopatra, Einstein, etc..

It was not British crews, it was Cdn Engineers. From 7th Cdn RCE boat sqn. They are now members of the Elgins in St Thomas Ontario

Now if you could do a series on Bob McDade, battalion commander at LZ Albany in Vietnam, that would be great.

TV requires villains or fallible characters . Band of Brothers is no exception: Herbert M Sobel Albert Blithe Ronald Spiers Joseph Liebcott Norman Dike Buck Compton Captain Nixon …each of these men are presented as fallible and serve to juxtapose the obvious heroes of a given episode (Winters, Lipton, Bull Randalman et al)

Band of Brothers, movie and book, are great stories with mostly truth, but some theatrical notes added in. Read Killer Angels, or watch the movie Gettysburg. Mostly true, but presented in a way

In the show, after the battle at Foy they have a shot of Webb on the ground who was killed by a sniper, and he looks a lot like Dike. This is followed closely by Perconte asking "Is it true about Dike?" and since we don't ever see him again it's very easy to conclude that he had been killed.

Peter did do an amazing job

Sounds Like he had a little PTSD. Not a coward but fried. Every one has a breaking point, sooner than others.

We shouldn’t beat up these men to bad, who showed a sign of weakness in combat. Most will never know that horror, much less being in command of men in battle. Death has no friends.

One can be a good officer and have courage under fire, but still be a bad commander. Those things are not mutually exclusive. Being a company commander is hard and not everyone is suited for it. I dare say the majority of Army officers are not suited for being an infantry company commander. And all armies have different takes on this. Indeed, as the poster probably knows, in the German Army they understood the temperament differences in officers and made the best of it by understanding a good staff officer is as valuable, if not even more so, as a field commander. In the German Army they were of the opinion that it was better to fit officers to their strengths rather than run everyone through with varying success. Contrary to American practice, the Germans put their middling officers in field commands and put the best and brightest in staff positions. In fact, there is a whole rubric for officers the Prussians/Germans used, developed by Field Marshal von Moltke the Elder for the Prussian Army and roughly as follows: 1) The non-industrious intelligent man makes a perfect field commander to the Regimental level because his traits are best used motivating men and overcoming resistance. Because he is lazy, he often finds expeditious solutions but generally won't interfere in planning. He arrives when he is needed and never before and can win a battle. 2) The industrious and intelligent men make the best Staff Officers and especially Chiefs of Staff. These men are meticulous and thinkers, not unlike von Moltke or von Rundstadt. These men win campaigns, maybe wars. On the other hand the two worst sorts of officers are 3) The lazy and unintelligent. These men actually make fair formation leaders, but most of the time it is best to put them in training commands or in other places they can do no harm. They neither add much, nor detract much from an army. Indeed, on occasion, with the right guidance, they may be useful. Finally, 4) The most dangerous man in any army (or government) is the Industrious and stupid man. These officers should be separated from the Army as soon as possible. These men lose battles, campaigns and wars.

The book written by Ambrose can't be taken as 100% truth. That book is old men trying to remember specific events around 50 years earlier and is mostly what they think they saw or vaguely recall. If you watch the videos of some of the guys revisiting old battlegrounds some of them don't remember a thing. With how awful the war was and everything they went through they are bound to try and forget as much as they could, skewing the truth and misremembering a lot of details.

The series should have given a more balanced view of Sobel and Dyke. Sure show the negative view of the soldiers but also show their other side

I knew many officers like Dike. Brave but a horrible leader.

This is an inaccurate portrayal period. Lt. Dike was shot, shot in the arm, and was in shock. The platoon seargent failed! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i5K_iPpqw5E.htmlsi=FgBjSvAQNOviSQkp

I would say Dike was probably a personally brave man, his medals show that, but he was a failure as a LEADER.

Wow , the number of misrepresentations and outright lies that come with this series are tragic . I wonder how many other characters were glorified undeservingly ?

The 7 minute mark, of course they wouldnt have wanted dyke or any other replacement in the bootcamp. if I recall correctly they had sobel come in later into the bootcamp wheras winters was there from the start so there would be the resentment towards sobel that would be seen on film. They did the same in saving private ryan with ryan. Its a smart and understandable move. Sadly like with anything there are some creative liberties taken at times. Or they are going off the perceptions of people. They even alluded to this near the end where so many who were there told the actor playing dyke that he did well, yet there was one that dissented and said he wasnt as bad as that. Maybe for e him he wasnt but to the others he was. Wish the audio quality of this was better.

I dont pay bronze stars much credence unless they have a v device on them. I gotta take Major Winters word for what happened if he said the guy was a bad officer then I got no reason to doubt his word. I was only an Airman and didn't endure a fraction of what those guys did.

Well, the FACT that the man did these TWO acts of heroism cannot be denied. Having been in the Army myself, I know it can get "clique'ish" and my guess is that Dike got on the bad side of Winters and some of the men at Easy Company. It's possible that this could explain the strange "disconnect" between him and the men of Easy Co. The long walks and disappearances were probably just means of avoiding them and haivng to deal with them. By the time the fight for Foy came around, who knows? Maybe he just didn't give enough of a damn for Easy Co., as he had other units he'd served with. IF that's the case, then the blame goes as much to the men of Easy Co, as to Dike himself. As for Stephen Ambrose? Well everybody already knows, he's a BULLS#1T artist and hardly worthy of the title "historian" so who knows what to believe about that mess of a show, or the book for that matter.

I always felt Dike got a bit of a raw deal in the show (even before knowing his actions that earned medals). Buck Compton finally broke (I mean no disrespect to the man) and got a pass Dike broke and he seemed to be bad guy no. 1.

We are called Paratroopers, not parachutists!

Liked Band of Brothers. I have problem with using the real names of people then not being factually correct on their actions and outcomes.

Stephan Ambrose’s books are all riddles with errors. Sloppy errors. Fun reads but pretty crappy history.

"highleger" not "hay leger"

Tuh ko uh. Not Takouh

From my understanding Dike resigned his commission not retired

Lots of excuses for poor leadership. Lets not forget that Buck Compton was not an original Taccoa guy either.

So Winters and others who actually served with him are liars??

For the record Toccoa is pronounced (tuh-KO-uh).

When you come into a unit with a strong history and connections, your every move and word are scrutinized. All the more so if you're the new C.O. It was imperative that Dike set an example, and the example he set was one of an elitist. His contacts were at regiment, he wasn't a solid tactician nor was he a leader. While he may have been a good soldier, his job was that of an infantry company commander. To say that he didn't succeed at that position is an understatement.

Wow, they totally cornhole him that wasn’t fair Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg, and whoever wrote wrote those sequences and directed. He got shot at Foy. Wow that makes frazzle a little bit. I’m gonna hold my judgment on Dyke. I don’t think he acted that way. I think it’s exaggerated and unfair. That’s my best.

This video was a poor analysis of Dike. In the series, he’s portrayed as inept and disinterested. In the book, he’s described as a poor leader whose lack of confidence was contagious. In reality, he risked his life several times and was only relived of command after being unable to lead the charge after having been shot, but went on to a very successful military career. There’s probably a little bit of truth to each of these. He certainly wouldn’t be the first, nor the last officer the military promoted beyond their capabilities, so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on his career, but for this video to conclude that the series (having the LEAST favorable portrayal, and also missing important factual events) is the most accurate is bullshit.

Over the years since BOB first aired I have developed an opinion that so much of the book and the series is BS.

There is so much from band of brothers is completely wrong. Winters straight up lied. The book makes few of the soldiers look horrible cowards. Looking into real records and ppl who knew the men paint a different picture. I look at show as just BS, very little facts //truths but good war movie

Not a fan of BOB. A lot of guys got misrepresented or outright smeared in the movie after they'd been long dead.

Bronze stars for officers in the army is just candy particularly when you have friends in high places. It doesn’t take much for even a non-officer to earn a bronze star

text to speech is better than it was. still crap.

What's the point of talking to the actor who played Dike in the TV series ? Get real !!

To be honest, him have two Bronze stars to add on his chest candy rack Doesn't mean anything, anyone who's served in the infantry and spent time outside the wire knows DAMN well that the award system is without a doubt rigged for Officers, because there's always three two truths and a fact: what they said happen, what it written on the AAR to push up awards and what really happened that. I look at it like this. If several enlisted and Fellow Platoon commanders have nothing positive to say speaks volumes. If he was genuinely scared he could have requested a re-assignment and which would have been accepted but he chose to stay which is highly evident he became a liability.

The most amazing thing is how much Steven Ambrose got WRONG!! I use to have a lot of respect for him as a historian, but not any more!! He was like one of today's "journalists". And I use that word very loosely! They hide behind their desks and go by hearsay instead of actually getting out and doing some real pavement pounding and interviewing.