This broke my heart... *BAND OF BROTHERS* Ep 3 Reaction "Carentan" | Film Student Reacts 

Not only did Blithe live, he served in Korea and got the bronze star and the silver star! He ended up being a real good soldier. They didn't mean to make the mistake of him dying that's just what the record said.

That scene at the end where Malarkey picks up the laundry and the film makers find an incredibly subtle way of pointing out the human cost Easy company has taken gets me every time I see it.

The veteran who said the bit about "a quick death or get through without a scratch" was Tipper, the soldier who was in the pharmacy when the shell hit. He lost an eye and most of one leg. He went to school on the GI bill and became a high school teacher.

Your comments from a film student's perspective are leading me to an even greater appreciation for this series. Thank you!

That laundry scene was both aching and sublime. While sparing the woman, he absorbs it all.

I love the three different forms of leadership and mindsets towards fear that is shown in this episode: Welsh: Geniality and Dissociation Spiers: Intimidation and Acceptance Winters: Compassion and Encouragement

The makers of the show could not portray the terrain around Carentan the way it really was, so it is really hard for people to understand why the troops went straight up the road to get into the town, and you wondered why they could not hide and sneak in through the woods. But the Germans had flooded all the areas around Carentan, and the only ways into the town were across the few raised causeways...which the Germans defended heavily. There was no option for the Americans trying to get into the town but to get across the causeways as fast as possible, there was no way to approach the town under cover or concealment. It is one of the reasons I recommend that channel The Operations Room to folks....because they show the real battles so you can see the few important things they could not show in the series. I guess I will also mention that Albert Blithe did not actually die, the makers of the show made a mistake on that because Blithe had not been in contact with the other Easy veterans. He stayed in the Army, fought in Korea, and passed away in 1967 from as a result of a perforated ulcer.

I've always liked how three lieutenants give Blithe different approaches on handling fear (it's a game, accept you are already dead, or leading by example). To me, the error about Blithe's death is understandable, as he recovered stateside and did not return to fight in Europe. Losing contact with someone was easy to do 80 years ago.

Here before the "Blithe Lived" brigade shows up. And yes. He didn't die in '48. Albert Blithe had a long career in the Army before dying in 1967 from a stomach ulcer in Weisbaden. The Fallschirmjägers were the elite of the elite of the regular German Armed Forces. Their training was the toughest out of all the branches of the Wehrmacht and often clashed with the Waffen-SS over status and prestige, as the SS weren't officially part of the armed forces of Germany. The edelweiss flower was more a symbol of the Gebirgsjägers (mountain troops) than the Fallschirmjägers.

Obligatory Blithe didn’t die post

I am a combat vet. As I watch you I have noticed that the more of this you watch the less you talk about how it's made and the more you seem to become part of the unit. I think this will continue with each episode. Thank you for this and God bless you

The Pacific is like 8 episodes of living in Blythe's head.

The Band of Brothers community online has some pretty awesome people. You can tell this show has changed alot of lives.

Well, water is your best friend. However what Welsch gave Blithe would maybe be closer to something that an engine could run on if you catch my drift lol

Regarding the conversation between Blithe and Speirs, I think Mae from Ted Lasso said the same thing "It's the hope that kills you." Since you have seen the entire series by now, Speirs' speech is some nice foreshadowing of his acts in Episode 7, The Breaking Point.

Blythe had hysterical blindness. He could see fine but his brain just had had enough and refused to acknowledge it. Generally, it is temporary. By far, the coolest guy in the whole series is that one tank gunner. His field of f*cks was barren, and he had none left to give. How they did the tank running over that stunt man was pretty cool. You should check it out in the behind the scenes stuff.

One of the things I really like about this episode is how well it shows how chaotic a firefight is from more individual perspectives. You see the opening shots and mostly blind, uncontrolled fire, then the officers and NCOs stepping in to take control and coordinate the fire and maneuver. Let me tell you, that's very much how it really is, still to today.

The theme of this episode is fear. Blythe doesn't have physical head trauma, he's just suffering from shock, he just reacts to it with visual hallucinations as manifestations of his emotions. It's his blinding fear, kinda like blinding rage or blinding love.

I’ve been there (it was Iraq and not France) and it doesn’t take much to make things chaotic. I always put my job ahead of what I was feeling at the time. It doesn’t help so much with PTSD but helps get the tasks done under really difficult circumstances. You have to be alive to have PTSD though. Something to remember, anything that you can do in combat can get you killed. Including nothing. They mistakenly said that Blythe died in ‘48. He survived his wounds and served with distinction in Korea receiving both the Bronze Star and Silver Star. He passed in ‘68 from a perforated ulcer and was a Master Sergeant at the time.

Easy Company was always either first in or unsupported because they were an assault company. They had more heavy equipment - machine guns and mortars - than a normal airborne company.

There are two moments in this episode that always stand out for me, going back to 2001 when I first watched this series. The first is when Tipper gets wounded and Liebgott is there for him, lowering him to the ground and telling Tipper they will get him fixed up. The second is Malarkey going to pick up his laundry and hearing the names of all those who are gone. It gave me a lot to think about.

This episode is hard, but "Why We Fight" is on a whole other level. I'm almost in tears thinking about it right now.

The laundry scene to me was also a point to show the blindness of war. The public knows people die. But it would never register with the British woman that it’s even conceivable that a soldier could drop off his laundry and never return. In a way she represents the ignorance of everyone not fighting on the front lines.

When I was a teen working at a watch shop, a man brought me a watch and asked me to replace the battery. After inspection, I realized it was a mechanical watch and it looked foreign. After informing him, he said Oh my dad left that watch to me, he took it off a dead German soldier. Guy knew nothing about the watch other than where it came from.Yikes. This series is brilliant. Great reaction.

My first introduction to this show was when I was eight. It’s a funny story. My grandmother taped Dinotopia for me when I was very little, but the tape rain too long, maybe she fell asleep in so there I am as an eight-year-old child, watching some poor bastard bleed out after being shot through the throat. I have always had a love affair with history. My grandfather was a commander in the Navy, and he was the first person to officially give me this series when I was about 15. He taught little Rodney everything he knew about the Second World War end in particular, the battles that he took part in. He answered any question I had and gave me books and documentaries. He was a good man.

7:43 That's Sergeant Farnsworth, USMC. _"Freddie Joe Farnsworth was an IPRA bareback and saddle bronco rider, and is an excellent rider in all rodeo events and performs all horse stunts, both Western and English. He joined the USMC in May of 1985, and was stationed with 1st Bat 7th March until July of 1991. At that time, he went to Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton as a troop handler and a weapons and tactical instructor. He served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In December of 1994 he received an honorable discharge as a Sergeant."_

"How do you take out tanks?" With a bazooka you need to hit them in a soft spot, either in the rear or the underbelly. In this case the second shot was in the underbelly. It has the least thickness of armor. I related to the laundry scene when he held out his hand and the woman pulled out the relevant coins. The same thing happened with me in 1970 when I was on my way to my first duty station at Thurso, Scotland. While waiting for the midnight train to depart Glasgow for Thurso, I made a purchase of food at a cafe. This happened before the U.K. converted over to the decimal system. Then it was two half a crowns or 20 shillings to a pound. Lesser coins were twelve pennies to a shilling, two pennies to a tuppence, and six pennies to a sixpence. The cost of my meal was 2/6. What did that mean? My only option was to hold my hand out with various coins and the teller took out the coins that added up to two shillings and sixpence. By wearing the Navy dress blues, she realized my inability of knowing the coinage. First she told me not to do what I just did with anyone else and second she asked for a pound note and gave me back the same amount in coins, explaining the value of each. For the next three hours prior to the train's departure, I had time to study those coins.

One interesting but subtle bit of storytelling between this episode and the previous one - the scenes with Speirs and the German POWs have some noticeable differences. In "Day of Days," there are a small handful of prisoners, and they're all in regular army uniforms. In this episode, there are more of them, and they're all SS troops. A nice, subtle way of showing how the rumors about Speirs took on a life of their own.

Interesting little fact: the man who said at the beginning that he thought he'd either get killed instantly or come through without a scratch was the real Ed Tipper, who got seriously injured at 6:50.

Somebody here on RU-vid has compiled the best 10 (or so) scenes in BoB and picking up laundry at the end of this episode was one of them.

Since you’re recently watching a bunch of war films you should watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It’s a great, very accurate, and very well shot war film. The cinematography of that film is excellent.

Albert Blithe was from Philadelphia. He would have had an accent more like Bill Guarnere. The actor Marc Warren is English but the only “American accent” he had was southern, but he nailed the part so well they went with it. Terrific performance.

I find myself binge watching these Band of Brothers reaction videos. These men are my father's contemporaries. When I was a boy we all knew where our fathers had been in the war and where some of our friends fathers had been. My father was young enough that he didn't finish radio technician training until near the end and didn't ship out until after the surrender. The father of one of my classmates was a paratrooper and probably fought in some of the same places Easy Company went. Another of my father's friends that I knew as a boy led what was left of a platoon on Iwo Jima. He was a Marine Lance Corporal at the time, which means the Lieutenant and the Sergeants were gone. Another man that I knew as a boy was a tail gunner on a B-17. My father's best boyhood buddy who signed up on the same day with him in 1944, was sent through infantry training and into the replacement pool in the winter of 1944-45. He is buried in the Netherlands. It is quite compelling watching different people reacting to this most graphic portrayal of the war from the foot soldier's point of view.

I always loved that scene with Blithe tracking the enemy soldier that he had shot. Throughout the episode he had been told differing perspectives on how to deal with fear from some the officers or other enlisted men, from it being a game to abandoning hope. But it was Winters that convinced him of how to deal with his fear through reassurance. That simple reassurance convinced Blithe that he could perform his duty as a soldier despite his fear. So when Blithe came upon the German who had succumbed to the mortal wound that Blithe dealt to him, Blithe saw that his face was relaxed and absent of pain or anguish. It was almost as if his enemy had accepted his death, and had made peace with it. When blithe took the edelweiss flower, it was a symbol that Blithe had climbed his own personal mountain and overcame his fears, and that he was worthy as a soldier because of it.

Blithe did survive as others have already said. From what I have read, after he was wounded and evacuated, the members of Easy didn't know what happened to him. When they couldn't contact him after the war and he didn't show up at reunions, they assumed he died, and that's what the men of Easy told Stephen Ambrose, the author of the book, Band of Brothers from which the series was adapted.

I enjoy watching Band of Brothers with you. It's an outstanding series. Having you to look at it from a different angle is cool. Thanks.

"Horrible way to go but a great way to tell in heaven" Guys this is gold

"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you are already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to function as a soldier should. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse." Dark words that hold true. I was told something similar before our deployment. I applied it. It made me effective at my job. I ignored my fear of death. As savage as the words may seem, they are vital for a soldier who is trained to kill. During peace time it's difficult to gain these qualities back, having been so barren of all emotion for years. It is possible though. I struggle myself every day and I can't imagine the struggle these gentlemen endured after their experiences. Thank you, by the way, for your appreciation of my favorite TV series. First time I watched it was with my platoon in the field in Germany during a training exercise. Since then I've made a habit of watching it multiple times a year along with The Pacific. I hope you make it big filming masterpieces such as these!

Years ago I read James Jones memoirs. After the war he became an author and wrote "From Here to Eternity" and "The Thin Red Line". He started WWII at Scofield Army Barracks, December 7th, 1941. Yeah, Pearl Harbor day. In his book he related to the reader, you do not become an effective soldier until you come face to face with the fact, you are not going to survive the war. You are already dead. Once you make peace with that fact, you will become effective on the battlefield. He went on to write that there was a similar process to go through if you survived the war. Now you have to learn how to become a peace loving civilian again. Once you were a killing machine. Now, you must turn that part of your psyche off.

This episode is the best of the whole series. Fear, weakness, frailty, continued service, sacrifice.

I'm really enjoying your reactions to the series. Your comments are always incisive. The other commenters are doing a fine job filling in all the behind the scenes details. So I'll just say that your nails look amazing. :)

At 7.30 Tipper who lost an eye and his legs and feet were blown up and smoking. He survived, spend 30 years as a teacher and married in his early 60s and had a daughter. He had a good life after the war.

They did an amazing job of bringing you back to the reality of war. The loss and insanity of it all. The moment he picks of the laundry and there are all those who died or was wounded...

Thank you for this reaction! It is wonderful to hear your perspectives, not only on the cinematography but also the feelings of those involved. I am retired from the Army after 21 years and multiples deployments. While this episode is based on fear, it is also based on personal recounts of how they dealt with fear. I had a chance to meet these men while I was serving in the later 90’s while they were doing promotional tours for the series. What a true treat to meet them, they are the most real men I have met in my life time. I am 60 now, so it is wonderful to see a new generation of people seeing this series. Thank you from an old combat Veteran!

It's especially refreshing to see commentary demonstrating compassion to this degree. I'm a veteran and my Army friends and I have watched this many times but the vibe was different. "Hell yeah" when the boys did well, "damn that sucks" when someone was hurt or killed. But not this level of sorrow. We teared up a few times, sure, but kept it down as best we could. How heartfelt your reactions are is evident. Thanks for this series, and I can't wait to see more.

In world war 1 it was called shell shock, in wwii it was called battle fatigue, Vietnam it was called battle neurosis and now its called PTSD

Your doing a wonderful job on this series,your knowledge of cinema is a plus and you show heart for this really happened!

I gotta say I love your analysis of this series. It's a joy to rewatch it through your eyes :)

You'll be relieved to know that the soldier hit by the rocket blast in the Carentan cafe, Ed Tipper, survived and lived until just a few years ago. He was the veteran interviewed at the beginning to said he thought he'd die a quick death or else come through without a scratch. Well, neither quite occurred, but he made it. He lost an eye and had broken bones but he went on to be a teacher for many years.

Didn't really think much of some technical elements before, but your points enhanced my viewing of this episode: - the crane shot of Lipton. - Squibs. It's easy to miss if you're not looking or familiar with the practical effects. I paid more attention to the sparks this time. - The POV shots that is implying action or something ominous is about to happen (I think as war movie fan, you get used to that and don't really make much of it) - Winters's ability to coach/lead differently. We all know he's a damn good leader. The shot of blithe looking up, Winters firing with him, and the frequent use of his name - all makes the why much clearer. - The highs and lows with some humor to keep things fresh and balanced. - Shaky cam, but long, close shots on soldiers to absorb the whole moment. Ok - that's enough notes for today 😆

It’s very sweet to hear reactions from a woman’s perspective. As a man, they don’t have as compassionate a view. Being compassionate would get you and/or others killed. It is important to recognize that these are the stories of real men. Afterwords they lead normal lives. But they sacrificed everything for us. Thank a veteran any chance you get. Maybe do some research on your own family. You might find a hero that was hidden in plain sight. Thanks

The Edelweiss symbolizes the flower of youth, plucked in its prime.

I love an appreciate your level of detail in the quality in this of how observant you are is fun to see .look forward to seeing you finish my favorite show of all time.. 🤙🏻

My grandpa had to serve for the german army and he used to send my grandma flowers he found on the fields and she kept them along with the letters. He was sent to russia and got hit by shrapnel and was sent home and did not have to go to Stalingrad as a result. After he recovered he was sent to italy where he got imprisoned until the end of the war. He also had leftover shrapnel in his arm until he died of cancer in the early 80ies.

Something to note: That was a practical shot of that man getting run over by the tank. Apparently there was a hole in the ground there with foam in it, and the tank tread pushed the stunt man down into the foam. Insane!

Feel like I am watching this for the first time with you. And experiencing the same emotions as you. Thank you for your genuine, heartfelt reaction and expert analysis.

5:25 thank you! Its been 20 years since the show aired and I couldn’t put a finger on the feeling I got from the shot of Lip running down the staircase as he’s telling the guys to clear outta the street. Until now at least! Thanks for putting the words in my mouth, needed that! Haha!

Watching you cry made *me* cry 😅And thank you for all your insights on storytelling and pacing. I'm an author and perspectives like yours are such good instruction for me. ❤

Dear Jacqui. love your insights into how these scenes and - the those in one and two - were shot and what impact this style of filming has on the story telling.

I love that you immediately said Blithe has shell shock. “Hysterical blindness” is a symptom of PTSD/ shell shock. My thoughts on what Spiers says to Blithe about accepting that “he’s already dead.” Spiers is a very blunt guy, in my opinion, and with him saying basically “accept it because if you don’t you won’t be able to do your job” is just him being honest. The man doesn’t sugar coat anything and I think it’s one of the reasons why he becomes a legend in the company. Harry gives Blithe a lighter version of this earlier to when he says “we’re just moving this ball forward one yard at a time.” But it was Winters who gave Blithe the encouragement that he needed. Not the blunt delivery that Spiers gave him. Not the weirdly relaxed way that Harry said to him. Winters simply saying “you can do it Blithe” was all that he seemed to need. They are all saying essentially that this is our job and this is what we were trained to do. Can’t wait for the next episode!

Loving your reactions. Glad you're experiencing this awesome show and learning what these men went through.

13:15 Speirs is 100% correct. I was on point clearing houses in Fallujah and it was my mother's birthday. I had it in my head that no matter what, I could not under any circumstances get killed on her day. The thing about clearing houses is that it's like russian roulette, 9 out of 10 houses would be empty but that 10th house would be fortified into a bunker with every hallway and staircase turned into a fatal funnel. As the day went on my mind became more and more obsessed with the idea that I absolutely could not die on my mother's birthday and it got to my nerves so badly that I couldn't stop trembling. Over and over again "don't die don't die don't die."So there I am, we're stacked up and getting ready to breach the door and I'm shaking so bad that I can barely reach over to to place the breaching charge when a switch flipped in my brain. I just accepted the fact that I could die and that if it was going to happen, it was out of my hands. All I could do was let my training kick in and get to work because if I didn't, I definitely was going to die. So I just let go. And it's a good thing I did because there was a PKM pointed right at the door and it probably would have killed me if I hadn't been focused.

When the book was being written, Winters asked Spears about the prisoner story. Spears confirmed that it did happen.

I was 12 when I watched this show when it cane out with my parents. Just under 10 years later I was ass out of luck in some tiny patrol base in Helmand Afghanistan and while I certainly wouldn't compare what I went thru to Operation Overloard I did take Spears' advice to heart.

They honestly need to fix where they say he didn’t survive

What Speirs tells Blithe about how he is already dead is basically the exact same thing like it's described in the 'Hagakure' the code of the samurai. "The way of the Samurai is found in death…This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai. If by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling."

6:03 - fun attention to detail - a Pak36 3.7cm 'Panzerknocker' anti-tank gun. By 1944 practically useless, with an ineffective armour piercing round, and an HE round less effective than a handgrenade (albeit able to reach further). ... transformed into a useful infantry support artillery piece with the Steilgranate 15cm rodded bomb (a very large 150mm high explosive shell, mounted to a perforated tube with stabilisation fins, and with a central rod which fits into the muzzle of the gun and is pressed on by the propellant gasses from the 'blank' cartridge used to discharge it (loaded as normal from the breech). A different support weapon was also fitted to the same shield and chassis, the leIG37, a 7.5cm conventional infantry support howitzer (which was a variant of the original leIG18 which was a high/low angle firing 'tilting breech' infantry gun with a complex folding shield arrangement to give an 80degree elevation range, without allowing a hole in the shield under the gun when elevated.

this episode had a cool concept of the different leadership styles all the way from the "we're already dead" of spears, to the inspiration and courage that winters provided.

Winters shouts at the screaming Blithe in the trench when the German armor hits the field: "Stand up! Get up on your feet soldier!" So much like Sarah Connor, in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," yelling at Kyle Reese when he's dazed and wounded inside the factory.

I get emotional watching this series, I've seen it 50 times. But watching you watch this made me cry. It just makes me want to watch all of my favorite movies and series with you.

Hello Jacquie, How was your day Wednesday? Happy Valentine's Day ❤️💫 I had the opportunity to watch this series back in the day on HBO on television and it hurt me a lot. All the episodes are incredible and leave us very sad. Even when the Netflix series arrived this year in my country, They put a warning message to the Series about the sensitive topics and scenes 😞

The scene with Blithe screaming in the foxhole is in my opinion one of the greatest performances in the series!

I think Speare's speech about already being dead is one of the most effective of the series.

7:00 That guy, Tipper, is the old one at the beginning with the pink shirt who thought he would die quickly or live without a scratch.

I love the bit with Winters and Blithe. We see Welch and Speirs both try this armchair psychology thing with Blithe - telling him to just think of it as a game, or just accept he's already dead. And obviously it doesn't work, he's still panicking when the fighting starts again. Winters doesn't do any of that armchair psychology though. He just stands next to Blithe, tells him to stand up and fire his weapon, and does the same leading by example. And that is what finally works. It really sets Winters apart as a true leader.

Blythe losing his vision in Carentan was a symptom of Conversion Disorder, better known as "Hysterical Blindness." CD is known to be triggered by highly stressful events, and the blindness symptom is typically a temporary one. It was one of many bizarre symptoms experienced by military personnel during WW2 as a result of the mental stress caused by combat.

"if I cry, I cry!" Unexpected Rocky moment.

3:50 when you commented on the squibs, I have to comment on the excellent stunt work: men who die will drop like a puppet with it's strings cut--these stuntmen do excellent 'dead man falls'.

I finished watching all of it yesterday, so good! All the time, effort and details put into it, it's an amazing show with an amazing cast!

"A lot more injuries in this one" Probably portraying why this is called the Battle of Bloody Gulch.

There was a comment on another person's reaction to this episode that pointed out something very interesting, is the three very different styles of leadership between Winters, Harry, and Speirs. Winters is compassionate and does his best to keep all of the men under his command alright both mentally and physically. Harry is a lot more cynical, calling war a game, and Speirs is very nihilistic to the point where he feels disconnected from his humanity at times. All three were great leaders in their own ways, and all three styles are useful in different situations, but Speirs is the most interesting to me as his outlook of already being dead makes him more able to do things later on that a person who hadn't, for want of a better description, turned down their self-preservation instincts in order to do their job more effectively and quite possibly being more likely to survive, as odd as that may sound. One of the replies to that comment mentioned that samurai had a similar mindset to Speirs, with a quote from the Hagakure expressing that to be the best soldier possible you need to think in that way. Oh, I almost forgot the obligatory "Blithe didn't actually die in 1948" bit of the comment.

You see the different viewpoints that the men have to get through the war. For Lt. Welsh, it's a game, for Lt. Spiers, you accept your death, for Lt. Winters, you pull together and rely on each other. Each man has to find what works for him.

"Literally knowing that a part of your body is in another country." I got a somewhat macabre, but also funny story there. My grandfather used to joke about it when we asked him how he lost his leg. "It's somewhere in Russia". Close enough, but he was actually lying. He took some grenade splitters to his leg and during the train ride home from Russia to Germany the wound festered, so the leg had to be taken off. He was 19 years old. Leaving the leg in Russia makes for a better story for curious grandchildren though ;) He was incredibly lucky. Less than two weeks later, the German forces at Stalingrad got completely surrounded, no trains going back then. If he had not lost his leg, I would not exist.

Keep pointing out the cinematography to us. That's a big reason I'm watching you! Very good of you to talk about psychology in your discussion part. I agree with you on many points. I offer my own notions after seeing this episode many many times. IMO In a meta level this episode is all about handling stress. That's what is underlined with three officers talking to Blight. Winters, Welsh and Spears. And Winters have different approach in his 2 interactions with Blight. So 4 different handling strategies for same challenge. Stress. 11:30 Lt Welsh offers Blight a drink. That is not water but probably whiskey or some other spirits. Welsh was known drinker and if you follow him through out the episodes you can see him drunk in many situations. His drinking is not made overtly clear in the series and have to be concluded. IRL it was clear but I think it is a writers choice not to draw to much attention to his drinking to distinguish Nixon's drinking as something special to him and thus let audience identify Nixon as "the drinker". In fact many soldiers had alcohol with them all the time during WW2. By modern standards they clearly had drinking problem, an addiction. Back then it was seen as something some people do to handle the stress and was tolerated to a level. And as others have noted, Blight had trauma reaction due intense combat experiences (remember the planes getting shot at ep 2. Also he is alone which can be traumatic to someone used to be in dedicated group.) and many symptoms to it. He is nervous, glitchy, sweating, pale skinned, glassed eyes and uneven speech. The blindness is an extreme reaction but it is record in several cases. In this it is of course dramatized but caring Winters shows to Blithe is one of the better treatments to many trauma reactions. You mentioned head trauma, this can be a factor in making more intense and thus worse other psychological trauma. Also they do not have PTSD... Yet! The veterans have it. The active troops do not. The marked difference being POST traumatic stress disorder. That is something you get when you come out of the stressful situation and try to accommodate to peace. What they have is active stress reaction. They are reacting to stress filled environment and they are hyper active all the time. One indicator is inability to sleep. Why I'm making this distinction because the symptoms differ but one is the precursor of the other. Also military in general have centuries of ways dealing with active stress disorder by training, drilling and discipline. But PTSD is usually not very well handled if at all. Part of the problems with PTSD come from not having those active stress suppressor around anymore AND people around (civilians) you are not familiar with handling extreme stress. This produces alienation and isolation tendencies which are typical with PTSD but not seen with active stress disorders with like minded individuals.

Other people have commented about Ronald Spiers' career after these events shown in Band of Brothers, but the most important thing to understand is that he was born in Scotland and his family emigrated to Massachusetts when he was four. Scotland has disproportionately provided more troopers for the SAS than any other home nation in the UK because Scots are not really 'born' in the traditional sense but assembled from spare girders in Glasgow shipyards....

Random comment other than how much I love this series. Mentioning the drop camera from the Olympics diving perspectives. Why I enjoy watching this.

BoB is so incredibly detailed, I love that they incorporated the scene of a paratrooper on horseback delivering messages to the front, the 504th actually used horses for running communications. The joke was that they were “air cowboys” using horses and wearing those tall jump boots, it was rumored that the 101st’s emblem would’ve been a Pegasus instead of a Screaming Eagle. Later US Army Cavalry would adopt an Air Cav unit which would use the Pegasus as their emblem.

Blithe didn't have physical head trauma, but suffered from psychological trauma and shock from what he experienced during his drop. You can see it from the start of the episode, when Talbert and the other soldiers come across him just standing there, staring up into the sky at nothing, unable to hear them talk to him. He's exhibiting the classic 'thousand yard' stare, a well-known symptom of PTSD, or 'shell shock' as it was known at the time. Hysterical blindness is a very real thing, though the term itself is outdated. Today it would be classified as a version of conversion disorder. Basically the brain stops processing sensory input, such as sight, to protect itself from being overwhelmed by trauma, like the horrors of war. Blithe regained his sight once the battle was over because he was no longer being subjected to the extreme stress of fighting on top of having already been traumatized during his jump.

How to take out a tank? Anywhere but the front. Preferably from the bottom, top or rear.

As you said everyone processes the fear and duty differently and I think the filmmakers drive that point home with the three officers interactions with Blithe: Lt. Winters: "Are you OK Blithe? ... Come on Blithe" - pragmatic and calm Lt. Welch: "It's just a game... we are moving the ball one yard at a time" - rationalization and abstraction Lt. Spiers:"You hid because you had hope...." - deep re-evaluation of the nature of your existence

Fantastic breakdowns thank you

The friendly stabbing incident was less about panic and more about the fact that Talbert was wearing a German overcoat that he had looted, so he really DID look like a German in the darkness.

Saw a piece from Maj. Winters the other day, he said that he was back in the States taking a walk. A kid is playing outside and starts "shooting" with a stick. He said next thing he remembers he was lying in the drainage ditch next to the road. He didn't think, he just reacted....

9/11 survivor here. PTSD doesn't just happen with combat. And it's no joke. Wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

Tipper, the guy who was hit by artillery in the pharmacy, ended up surviving his wounds. He lived a long, comfortable life as a teacher after the war. As for Blithe, and hysterical blindness, it’s one of the ways your brain tries to protect you from trauma. The leading theory is that he artillery turn four of his friends into spaghetti, and his brain went “Nope!” I’m sure someone’s already said this, but Blithe didn’t die in 1948. He never attended any reunions after the war and fell out of touch with everyone, so they assumed he was gone. I’m not too sure about this last bit, but I’ve heard one of the men from Easy Company attended the funeral of a different soldier also named Albert Blithe, because he thought it was for his friend.

Only thing my grandfather told me before boot camp: Never volunteer for anything.

From my time in the military there are two things i will always remember from training "Never make a silhouette, never volunteer." Fortunately Blithe didnt actually die here and went on to fight in another war.

Your the first reactor I’ve seen that has or at least is super vocal about the whole process of making a show/production and it’s really cool everyone always mentions the good night lighting on this show but you bring my attention to things I’ve seen for the past 20 years and didn’t realize they were that good tho I do love this show more than most that come out

0:05 that was one horror zinger badump intro! 🥁 🔔 ⛓️ 🏃‍♂️ 🎯 15:35 the same way the old man at Helms Deep inadvertently found the grooves of vulnerability in the Uruk armor... 26:00 just casually but precisely relevant lyrics dropping some epic athletic history? 🎉 🏊‍♀️ 🚀 🎯

One thing the show mentions quickly but gets easily lost is that the guy who gets stabbed by his comrade had taken and was wearing a German paratrooper poncho like garment so when the guy says he thought he was a kraut, he had some reason in the dark.