This was emotionally powerful and an incredible wrap up. We will be watching The Pacific Next! so stay tuned Watch up to The Pacific Episode 3 Reaction EARLY & UNCUT over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey
A lot of people miss that there was only one name in the helmet for the lottery. The entire Easy company banded together to make sure Shifty got the ticket home.
And if I am not mistaken, it was because Shifty had been through everything, but no purple hearts so not many points. The dark irony being he sustained injuries while going home!
You have to check out "We Stand Alone Together" it's a documentary compilation of all their interviews. Sadly, time passes, and none of Easy are around any more, but their experiences and sacrifices shall be forever remembered thanks to Ambrose's Book, those interviews, and the brilliant actors who brought their stories to life in BoB.
I second this. It's not just the interviews you've already seen either. There's extra stuff that didn't make it to the show, and it's very much worth the time.
The last surviving member of the WW2 complement of Easy Company was Bradford C. Freeman (born 1924), who was a mortarman (I believe) and who attained the rank of Private, First Class. He died on July 3, 2022, at the age of 97. And with that, the entire WW2 complement of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, has passed into history. Gentlemen, and all the other soldiers you represented - thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for sharing your stories with us. Currahee!
One of the lines thrown out near the end, carries some hidden weight. The line that Webster "wrote a book about sharks." What isn't mentioned, is that that book would later be used as reference material by novelist Peter Benchley. His new novel was about a series of fictional shark attacks on Long Island. The novel would eventually be adapted into film. The film "Jaws" would become the breakout film of a young Steven Spielberg.
The old German soldier who was working the checkpoint with Webster was a real person as well, Webster wrote about him. He was a veteran of both world wars, He was from Mannheim and his home was destroyed from allied bombing as most of the city of Mannheim was laid to waste. His Wife and Daughter were homeless and living in a shelter and his two sons were also soldiers and were missing in Russia.
"Band of Brothers" is brutal, "The Pacific" is literal Hell. Some Reactors can't handle it, but I think you two will be okay... These should be required viewing for high school history classes.
I'm in the minority, but I preferred the pacific over BoB. Most ww2 movies or series are based in europe, not nearly enough about the hell the marines went through in the pacific.
I think that's why the Pacific is a tougher watch. The ETO and the PTO were completely different things - Europe was more 'normal' (for want of a better word) while the Pacific was utterly merciless and horrific.
Agreed, I have watched BoB several times...and I still struggle to watch the pacific in full a second time. The war in Europe seemed to have some sort of "rules" of valor and glory with it, whereas the War in the Pacific was just gory and merciless. Stating it as a "literal Hell," is very accurate.
I have a wife and 5 children. I've done three combat tours. I keep in touch with people from each but none as much as my first. We did a reunion together last september and i got to see a lot of them for the first time in nearly 20 years. It was like we had been together the entire time. There is a bond you have that no one else can share. Not even your family. A bond that's unbreakable. They are forever my brothers.
George Luz. - Band of Brothers Fandom. "Right after returning home, Luz settled in West Warwick, Rhode Island and married Delvina. He had worked as a maintenance consultant, and he was killed in an industrial accident. In Luz's remembrance at the funeral home, there was a line down the street of 1,600 people waiting to pay their respects. Luz was buried with his medals on his chest, of which his family had no prior knowledge. Luz is buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island."
Wrong name guys. It's called " We stand alone together: the man of easy company. It's the best thing I ever seen. Band of brothers is a 10 out of 10 best show ever but the documentary is a 20 out of 10. Everyone in the United States should watch it.❤
She was released at some point so she could serve as a civilian nurse. Her story and her life with Nixon are one of the most touching stories and always hits me in the feels.
That line coming from someone who was highly decorated, so beloved & respected from his peers & yet remained so humble shows what an incredible man of character Winters was.
Every. Single. Time. I get tears welling up even though I've watched it hundreds of times. My grandfather was a B-24 top-turrett gunner in WW2 (15th AF, 450th BG) and this series led me to do some video interviews with him about his expereince. We covered basic training, the different bases he was at stateside, all the way up to the time that he and his crew were stationed in Italy in 1944-1945 and that is where he stopped the interviews. I'll never forget him telling me, "Link, I am not a hero, the real heroes are the ones who didn't get to come back and tell their stories, so why should I tell mine?" I knew that there would be no swaying him, and the interviews ended. Each time I watch this scene of Winters repeating those words of serving among a company of heroes, it wrecks me with so much respect for those that served and sacrificed.
It hits like a truck because it’s incredible that someone like that can actually exist. That man’s character is seriously one of a genuinely selfless, heroic, mythical figure. It’s almost unbelievable that men like that even exist but seeing and hearing it first hand just hits you on a whole nother level. Having men like that exist in the world gives hope to us all having real life heroes like that to look up to. And it makes me cry every single time Lol. These were truly special human beings
Everyone seems to miss that those weren't actually Winters' words. He was quoting a letter from Mike Ranney, who was an Easy NCO and only shown briefly early in the series. It was Mike Ranney who said those words to his grandson. He told Winters about it in the letter.
@@BohoBunMom yeah I would say most do as it is a little difficult to hear him say Mike’s name at first, which is why my comment says the Winters repeats it. It’s still a powerful statement and the way Winters looks into the camera just adds to its truth.
I'm an Aussie, and i live about an hours drive from Berchtesgaden and have been up to the Eagles nest. It is a restaurant now and the view is absolutely spectacular.
In the scene where they are drawing names to send one man from Easy Company home, the camera for a brief second or two stays over the helmet that they are drawing names from only to reveal that the helmet was empty all along except for one name. Shifty Powers was furthest behind everyone else in the company regarding points needed to go home, so the entire company backed the decision to choose him no matter what.
That speech by the German General always gets me. Man, they all realized they were truly fighting brothers the whole time by the end of the war, it tragically effected most of the american men to conclude they are simply fighting their brothers and family.
There was still a war going on in the Pacific. It was planned for the invasion of Japan to need 60 + divisions. So you couldn't just let everyone in Europe go home. Also the troops in the Pacific had been fighting there for several years. The US was having trouble maintaining units with enough experienced NCO's and officers. You wouldn't want to send units to the Pacific with to many inexperienced troops. There was also a lot of pressure in the US to reduce the draft, and keep people in civilian jobs. The point system was about the best they could do to let people go home and still keep units effective.
The men of Easy company held a reunion every year till no one was healthy enough to travel. Grant slowly recovered from the bullet wound to the head, occasionally had some speech problems, and his left arm was partially paralyzed. He lived in San Francisco, and owned a small tobacconist. He attended several Easy Company meetings and became a representative of the 506th Battalion in the Airborne 101 association. Chuck Grant died in 1984.
Great reaction, y'all! So enjoyed going on this journey with you. I am a flight attendant. About 4 years after this series premiered, i had the privilege of having Shifty Powers and his wife on my flight. I completely "fan-girled " over him. I'm sure i embarrassed him, but after 40 years, he is still my all-time favorite passenger. Truly The Greatest Generation. ❤❤
Truly amazing storytelling in this series that so emotionally connects you with these men that you feel real love for each of them. Greatest television series ever produced.
I read Dick Winters’ autobiography “Beyond band of brothers” which goes into his life a lot more and it cemented my thought (although he would have disagreed) that he was one of the most unsung heroes of the war. A truly great man.
Once again as is the case with every video you drop, I’m in Detroit with insomnia, and you guys drop the perfect videos at the perfect time, shout out to you, keep doing what you’re doing, you bring a lot of happiness to people all around the world🎉🎉💯🫡
Pudgy, I love your sincere - honest reaction to this beautiful series. You had me tearing up. Your empathy is so pure. Spartan is such a lucky man. So am I being married to a wonderful tender yet strong woman.
Great reaction like always. The last surviving member of the WW2 complement of Easy Company was Bradford C. Freeman (born 1924), who was a mortarman (I believe) and who attained the rank of Private, First Class. He died on July 3, 2022, at the age of 97. And with that, the entire WW2 complement of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, has passed into history. There are so few survivors of the war left alive to this day, and carrying their stories forward is so, so important. I love the final shot of this episode as the musician puts his (cello, violin?) in the case and closes the lid as if a coffin is being shut on all the victims of the Holocaust as the camps are being discovered and they are being put to a proper rest. "no....but I served in a company of heroes ." No matter how many times I hear it, I get choked up every time. There is one inaccuracy that I feel I have to point out, because the real story is actually far more meaningful than what the show did. When the german commander is surrendering and offering his sidearm, Winters actually took it, and kept it until his death. The important thing was, that sidearm was never fired once during the war when it was handed to Winters. And Winters made sure that Walter pp was never fired in his lifetime as a symbol. One of the single best creative decisions in film/TV history was having a German General deliver the message to the audience you were expecting from the Ally side about being a group of brothers in combat, deserving of peace and harmony. Puts into perspective the human side of war and in the end we're not all that different. Now that's how you actually subvert expectations. How many times do young people walk by elderly folks and dismiss them because of their age. You never know what they've lived through. Here is a fun-fact. In 1974 an author named Peter Bencheley was researching a fiction novel about sharks, and one of his prime sources was a book titled 'Myth and maneater: The story of the shark.' penned by Easy Company veteran David Webster. Bencheley's book, 'Jaws', was later turned into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg - one of the creators of “Band of Brothers.” And dont Forget to watch the documentar "We Stand Alone Together" and it's an absolute must.
That was a quote from a letter Winters received from Easy NCO Myron "Mike" Ranney. In other words , it was Ranney who said that to his grandson. Nobody ever catches that even though Winters literally says it there in the episode. Nothing but respect for Dick Winters, just saying, he was quoting someone else.
Just driving home the idea that "German" did not always equal "Nazi", neither the German Colonel nor the German general had insignia on their uniforms indicating membership in the Nazi party. The soldier Webster was watching the checkpoint with predated the Naziz and likely wasn't a member either.
They were not members of the party but they actively defended it with their lives even though they knew what their government did and that they were the ones that started the war. They could have surrendered or deserted but instead they chose to go and invade Poland, France, USSR...etc
@@baronnuuke7821 it's not that black and white. conscription wasn't optional and desertion was punished with death. listen to the stories of German soldiers and you'll find that they too feared the Nazis and SS. there's a great youtube channel called ww2 tales that re-tell real life experiences of ww2 German soldiers and many of them, even in American prison camps, separated themselves from and feared the Nazis and SS prisoners.
Those last words stay with you!... Its an amazing ending! Extraordinary watch and reaction... Thank you Pudgey, Thank you Spartan for sharing the watch, and along with both of you bringing new and young people in the net verse attention to one of the best series made!...
World War II basically had two "theatres" of operation ..... Europe (Germany) and the Pacific (Japan). The United States was spread thin because of this. Roughly, the U.S. Navy and Marines fought in the Pacific, while the U.S. Army and Air Force (Called the U.S. Army Air Corps. at that time), fought mainly in Europe. For most of the war, the United States tactic was to fight a delaying war in the Pacific, until they could defeat Germany, and then bring all U.S. troops and equipment to bear against Japan. The Japanese almost had Australia by the balls, trying to cut off supplies to the Aussies by taking over Guadalcanal Island. If they had succeeded, Australia would likely have fallen. Australia owes a lot to the U.S. Marines. For more on that aspect of the war, check out videos concerning the Battle of Guadalcanal.
North Africa and Italy are also often overlooked. Fighting there as well early in the war. Also, believe it or not and often overlooked, the US Army also operated in the Pacific too. Wasn't just the Marines. My wife's grandfather was in the Army and fought in the Pacific.
Japan did not have the logistics to take Australia. However, if they established a stronghold on Guadalcanal it would have seriously hindered Allied operations around Australia and Australian troops would have had to withdraw from New Guinea. The Allies would have had to retake Guadalcanal and it might have added a year or more to the war.
One of the great tragedies of WW2 History, is that the Chinese always get left out. The two main belligerents in the Pacific were China and Japan. Not Japan and the United States. The overwhelming majority of all Japanese military power was focused against China, and that war was from 1937 until 1945. Due to geography (Island hopping), the US participation in the pacific in terms of ground forces was tiny until 1944 and the Philippines campaign. The Philippines campaign was the first campaign that saw numbers of men on either side that would be noteworthy in the Western theater of Europe. Prior to, you're talking about division sized formations of US troops, fighting battalion or regimental sized forces of Japanese. The limited geography of the Pacific campaign is also why the USSR was able to inflict about as many permanent casualties on the Japanese military, in 12 days, as the USA did in the entire war. People recognize where the real war was fought in Europe, though it took until the 1990s for the laymen to understand that. People still to this day by and large don't know that the main war in the Pacific was fought between China and Japan.
@@przemekkozlowski7835 "The Allies would have had to retake Guadalcanal" More likely they would have taken some _other_ island, that wasn't occupied by the Japanese.
Another vote for continuing with "We Stand Alone Together:The Men of Easy Company." It wraps up the series with more about what the men did after the war.
By the time this was posted to TH-cam, they had watched "11" :) on Patreon. The TH-cam edited version of their reaction will be posted in the next few weeks. :)
I truly enjoyed watching this series with you. I appreciate your sensitivity and respect towards the honor of these men. I absolutely loved your reviews of this series as a whole. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At 14:00 what you need to realize is that these guys are regular German army soldiers, not Nazis. They did not believe in the Nazi ideology, however, they still had a duty to country. The Nazis, or SS, were the extremist part of the government. The German soldier (these guys) were just that, regular soldiers. No political affiliation. A simple way to look at it is every Nazi had to be German, but not every German was a Nazi.
A large part of the country still supported the National Socialist regime, the point is, even those people are just that: people. People with wishes and wants. Nazi or not.
Saying there were no Nazis among the regular army soldiers is going too far. There definitely were. And the SS had units of many European nationalities, and even if not all non-Germans who volunteered for the Waffen SS were Nazis (some just thought communism posed a bigger threat to European culture than nazism), many of them were. Some of the last units to surrender in Berlin were made up of foreign soldiers.
Love you two and your reactions! My grand father fought in the Dutch army when it tried to fight off the Germans as they entered the country in May of 1940. Most of his unit got killed. He was lucky and got captured instead. They sent him to a work camp and he stayed there until 1944, when the camp got liberated by the allies. Somehow, even after capture, he was still strong enough to manage a hike back to a farm in Venlo, where the love of his life (my grand mother on my mother's side) received him after having thought he'd been dead for 4 years. Neither of them ever shared much details about this moment, but I always imagine it must have been one of the most romantic moments one could possible imagine. Every time I watch a film, series or documentary of the 2nd world war, the thought of them seeing each other again after such a long time of what must have been a time of terrible hardship for the both of them, brings a smile to my face. Anyway, keep up the great work, you've got a new subscriber for life!
The members of Easy had annual reunions for many decades until they all passed away. Now,their kids and grandkids continue to have annual reunions. Our tour guide for the BoB trip this summer was George Luz,Jr. He is very involved in the Easy family reunions every year.
I still remember my initial reaction to watching this series when it was originally released. Over the past 20+ years (just realized I was about your age then) I’ve rewatched it countless times. It is highly rewatch-able. I’ve loved watching your reaction to each episode. You had me looking forward to Friday mornings for each to be released. Love you guys!
Grant suffered from neurological problems for the rest of his life. He ran a tobacco shop I the San Francisco area. Liebgott actually fell off the grid for a while after the war. He actually was a barber in the Central Valley of California. He never spoke about his war experiences. His children found out from the Ambrose book, contacted Gaurnere and attended several reunions. Sobel died of malnutrition in a VA hospital after being blinded in a fatal suicide attempt.
My uncle, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, never failed to meet the survivors of his company for their annual get together. Through knee and hip replacement surgeries, even as he grew older and more infirm, that was one gathering he never, ever missed, as those were probably the only people who could really understand one of the most traumatic and defining moments of his life. He had a full life with children and grandchildren he loved dearly, but I imagine (having never been through a war myself, I can only imagine) that a part of you just never fully can get past such trauma, but being with fellow survivors must have been his therapy.
I always found it interesting that when Winters told the men that the war was over, there were no cheers or high fives or celebrations immediately at least, but they just took the news in for a minute and then went back to their game.
Pudgy, just because a man is shot in the doesn't mean he won't live a normal life. Case in point, Jacob Miller was a Union soldier during the US Civil War that was shot right between the eyes during the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. The bullet entered his head right above the bridge of his nose. He was left for dead but actually survived to the ripe old age of 87. His nickname during most of his life was "Center Shot."😊
31:00 Yes, a Major is 1 rank above a Captain. Winters started as a Lieutenant. During the German surrender scene, the Colonel who was giving his firearm. He’s 2 ranks above Major Winters.
With what you said about the Christmas song scene Pudgey, you two should really watch "Joyeux Noël" (Merry Christmas), it's a movie about a real event from WWI where British, French and German soldiers made a truce for christmas in the no-man's-land. It's very moving and exactly what you are talking about.
Easy Company is the most ironic name in military history. From D-DAY all the way to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, there was nothing Easy about it. I never want things I love to end, but you want the pain to end for these Men, and the peace to begin. The German Field Marshall's speech is actually what ties the entire concept of of the series together unexpectedly...No matter what side you were on you were suffering. I implore you to see "We Stand Alone Together" and Ron Livingston's (Nixon) Bootcamp Diary. It makes you appreciate the series even more. "Were you a hero in the War Grandpa? Grandpa says no, but I served in a company of heroes" Near tears every time. Thank you so much for taking this journey. Currahee! ♠ Winters may be the best, and Nixon may be one of the most entertaining. But Spiers might be my favorite. Also see "The Fallen of World War 2" to get some perspective on the scale of this tragedy.
No it's not. Look, they have a pretty incredible story, but the reality is, they were a low usage unit. They (the 101st) were kept out of combat far more than your average line infantry division. They took relatively light casualties due to being not in combat that much by comparison. To give you an idea, by the time the war ended, VJ day, the 101st had been in combat 214 days. A standard line division, the 90th ID, was in combat 308 days. The 101st suffered 11.5k casualties. The 90th, 27.6k casualties. The 101st and by extension the 506th and by extension Easy, had relatively light duty compared to most US divisions in WW2. They had the luxury of being constantly pulled off the line for long periods of time, where they could retrain replacements, and give their NCOs and Officers lengthy breaks which helped with the divisions turn over due to "combat fatigue". The 90th for example, was essentially wiped out almost 2x in WW2 if we go by manpower counts, not literally wiped out to a man. The other thing to remember about Band of Brothers is, Stephen Ambrose is a discredited fraud and Band of Brothers is narrative story telling. The best example of this is the treatment of Compton vs Dike. It's widely speculated that Dike was suffering from combat fatigue (PTSD) by the time he was given command of Easy. Compton was one of the boys, so he got the red carpet rolled out for him, and treated like a wounded hero and treated with incredible understanding. Dike, did some heroic shit in Holland, saw some horrific shit in Holland, and when he was shot in the shoulder and went into shock during the assault on Foy, he was portrayed as an incompetent coward who froze up. They didn't even accurately portray the assault because the show conveniently left out the fact the dude got shot. Band of Brothers isn't history, it's uncritical reporting of anecdotes. It's entertaining, and is covers broad strokes, but it's subjective truth from the point of view of a dozen or so guys who had their own biases, bones to pick, gripes, enemies etc.
Are you going to watch We Stand Alone Together - Band of Brothers Documentary, The Men of Easy Company???? It is a little more in depth of the real people from Easy company and the veterans who did interviews from Band of Brothers.
In May 1945 American soldiers fought side by side against the Waffen SS in the Battle of Itter Castle. They joined together to protect high ranking French Prisoners. Paul Gangl of the German Army was killed saving the life of the future Prime Minister of France.
11:00 /// Hitler was afraid of flying in planes not heights as such. His favorite place to hang out was the teahouse on Mooslahnerkopf Hill which is also very high.
This series is a absolute Masterpiece and the Cgi still holds up well enough. Just Brilliant! I still watch it to this day and I'll watch it again next year. I always find myself standing up at the end of the show, saluting the Honored Dead! The ones that Died seeking to end a pointless war, The ones that did not want to kill but had too, The ones who understood the cost of life....From all sides! Most if not all of these men have passed on into history! They will live on in our hearts!
The actor Philip Barantini, here portraying Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk (the guy killing the running German camp commander), is the actor who also portrayed one of the three divers in the "Chernobyl" mini series.
The point system was used since there was a delay in getting enough troop ships available, prioritizing how and who to fill them in an orderly manner, and also maintaining enough personnel to keep things working. If a soldier was married plus had children those two things added points, wounded, etc. The winner becomes responsible for running the country so there was a lot to do. To maintain the systems and order, Patton took a lot of flak for putting former Nazis in charge of many key utilities since they knew how to "keep the lights on" as he put it. If you look at some of the photos of the troop ships coming into New York, they are packed so they definitely started moving people home as quickly as possible. The replacements eventually were the ones left in-country as the Allies began establishing Kasernes (bases) throughout for us, the British and Canadian as we began to keep a close eye on the Soviet Union. Throughout my 20+ years in the Army, a long tour in Germany was almost mandatory so this occupation/protection (NATO) wasn't a short-term thing.
So great to watch this series with you two. Just such a fantastic reaction. As noted, for sure check out We Stand Alone Together. You are now part of the Band of Brothers brotherhood/sisterhood. Greetings from Toronto.
The U.S. Army deployed 22 divisions to the Pacific theater during World War II: 68 infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, 16 armored divisions, 5 airborne divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions. The U.S. Army also supplied, armed, and equipped the fighting force in the Pacific. The Army fought the majority of the ground war and did the bulk of the fighting overall. The U.S. Army's contributions in the Pacific are often overshadowed in the American public memory of World War II. In the Pacific Ocean theater, Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States Navy, the U.S. Army, which had 6 Corps and 21 Divisions, and the U.S. Marine Corps, which had only 6 Divisions.
21:09 since no one's talking about this scene... I want to share what really happened... The series didn't mention it but Liebgott was sent by Captain Speirs with Pvts. Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk and the other one is Not Webster! Webster wasn't even there with them it was originally 'Don Moone' and 'John Lynch' (but they weren't in the series) to eliminate a Nazi who Spiers believed was the commander of the concentration camp they found at Landsberg. Liebgott interrogated him for about 30 minutes and confirmed that he was the man they wanted. They then drove him to a Ravine and Liebgott shot him twice, but only wounded him. He tried to shoot him as he was escaping up a hill, but his gun jammed. In the series Webster was the one who refused to shoot the german, but in reality it was Moone... so Sisk shot the German officer through the back just like in that series. 33:54 Also I kinda didn't like how they fabricated Liebgott's life after the war... In the series they said he returned to San Francisco and drove his cab But that didn't really happen... He never drove a cab and didn't go back there after the war and if I'm not wrong there was a time where he went missing for more than a year until he married and had 8 children and he later became a barber... He didn't talk about his war years, and sadly he didn't attend any of the Easy company reunions. He died on June 28, 1992 at the age of 77. Guess he just wanted to leave all of his memories in the war behind..🥺 Another sad part about this is that Sisk( the one who shot the german) after the war... One of the things that haunted him was him shooting that german officer.. He actually wrote a letter to Winters writing how much he regretted the killings he did during the war, how it haunted him so much and that includes the german officer! He regretted killing that officer so much..😢 Anyways thank so so much for this amazing BOB journey! Its kinda sad that its already over 😭 but I'm so happy you guys were able to watch it! Its been a bittersweet journey! Thank you so much! Hope you guys will do the "WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER" its a must watch! 🤎🤎🤎
You need to watch the documentary its considered to be episode 11 of this series. . It's called " We stand alone together: the man of easy company. It's the best thing I ever seen. Band of brothers is a 10 out of 10 best show ever but the documentary is a 20 out of 10.
There are of course many ways Webster could have been lost at sea. When sailing solo if you simply fall overboard the boat sails away and you're done. Or fire, or sinking due to a failed thru hull/hose, or physical injury, or run down by a ship, or adrift with a failed rudder, or hitting a shoal, or driven onto a rocky shore, or capsized in heavy weather, etc. Even collisions with whales have sunk cruising sailboats on more than a few occasions.
I don't say this lightly... but nothing in the existence of television or any mini-series production carries so much meaning to me (and I know for so many others) as this award-winning series. It truly stands apart from any other production, I know that I have ever seen, where nothing comes so close, and I don't know if it ever will, as being so meaningful to the understanding of a very significant time in history (history relevant to ours) and in the understanding of a generation who lived it - in a time of war. The dozens of performances are enthralling and moving and so deeply respected, but knowing they relate to the real accounts given and experienced by REAL persons, as shown in the brilliantly-placed interviews throughout the series, takes it to such a heightened level where an ever-deeper respect is realized for those of that generation. It's a respect from OUR countless generations who follow - especially those who are fully aware of how we directly benefit from the sacrifices of that generation -- a generation from, not as long ago as we might think -- even our parent's, or their parents generation-- their endurance and perseverance, and sense of duty their bloodshed of that generation's men and women who grew up as children during the Great Depression and who developed exceptional work ethics, who took nothing for granted, and whohave gone before us, that we must, out of respect and in our due diligence, be sure to carry forward their will, their endeavors and legacy. And theirs' (of this one notable company) being a mere fraction of the countless of millions of service members on the front lines along with the millions who supported them from behind lines. These were the dedicated souls of a great generation within every division, battalion, campaign-- army, navy and air corp and intelligence branches -- and in each theater around the globe who participated in that war. It leaves SO many of us with such deep respect and deep gratitude. This series is precious to say the least - and should be shown in every high-school history class to keep us all educated, humble and aware -- so as to further world peace and avoid repeating world war ever again-- as we owe it for all of humanity. God bless this series and all who participated in making it happen. Your efforts are not lost of so many of us who know what good you have done for that great generation, and the respect those precious soul -- alive or who have left us -- deserve.
Great final reaction. That final story about his telling this grandson he wasn’t a hero but he served in a company of heroes just hits me every time I watch it.
Another excellent piece to watch is the “video diary” shot by Ron Livingston (Nixon) about the 2 week training period that most of the main cast went through before filming began. You see the actors bonding, and getting to know their own character. Also you get to see Nixon’s wife.
David Webster wrote a book after the war titled “Parachute Infantry”. It is a memoir of his time in easy company. It’s a good read and a fair amount of what is in this series came from his book.
The drawdown of troops in Europe took a long time and had various issues, there’s some excellent books and videos on the subject. Example: it took ships to get them there, it takes ships to get them home and most of those were being committed to the Pacific theater. The “points system” was modified several times over 1945 but many of the troops in Europe didn’t get home until 1946. It took a year plus to get them there, it’ll take that long to get them home. My great uncle was a Marine in the Pacific, he didn’t arrive back in Dayton until the summer of ‘46.
Just for your info: US Army Commissioned Officer Ranks from low to high. 2nd Lieutenant (2LT), 1st Lieutenant (1LT), Captain (CPT), Major (MAJ), Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), Colonel (COL), Brigadier General (BG) (1 star), Major General (MG) (2 star), Lieutenant General (LTG) (3 star), General (GEN) (4 star). And a wartime rank of General of the Army (GA) (5 star)
One of my favorite things about this episode is its focus on leadership. Every Officer's interaction is a masterclass in leadership. Even from the German perspective, when he addresses his men. BoB is seriously one of the best things ever put to the screen. Love that you two watched this series. You should definitely read about Australia's part in WWII. Some of the toughest, meanest, and bravest bastards out there. Glad you're on our side. Edit: Major is one rank higher than Captain. I love that scene too. Salute the rank not the man.
The point system was to help give some order to the process of bringing home almost 12 million soldiers from every continent all over the world. Ships or planes could only accommodate a certain amount of people, the soldiers still had to be fed and housed as they waited, and many needed medical care. Some countries had Allied forces as their occupiers, while others needed assistance as they were trying to rebuild. The point system had flaws, drawbacks and was criticized and protested at the time, but the intention was to try to avoid chaos as everyone wanted to return. The film “The Third Man” (1949) has its opening sequences showing how the 4 countries of the US, Britain, France and USSR were trying to jointly administer the city of Vienna in Austria after the war.
David Webster went out fishing in a small dinghy but didn't come home. The next day his boat was found with a missing oar and tiller. His body was never recovered. He was 39 years old, and was survived by his wife and three kids.
I followed the series when it came out in HBO in 2000s. I was in my late 20s & now i'm 50. Still remember the episodes clearly till now. I even research the unit Easy Coy 506th & was surprised that some of the original men looked similar to the characters in the series. Even got to read the stories of the original men. The last men passed in 2012 & i believe it was Major Winters. They held tours in the 1990s to bring those interested to the war areas depicted in the series.
Never forget that as young men, these veterans and their comrades from all the Allied armies saved the world. I remember when the final WWI veteran passed away. Before too many more years go by, we will see the passing of the final WWII vets. That will be a very sad day.
Loved your entire reaction(s) to this series. Another good video to watch is Ron Livingston's (actor who played Nixon) YT video of the boot camp the actors went through before starting this series. Of course, as many other have already suggested, the unofficial "11th episode" of "We Stand Together" is very good to watch too.
What is sad is that nobody from easy company is alive anymore. I live right outside of Philadelphia and Hershey PA is only about a hour and half away from me. Ephrata PA is where winters was born. There is a beautiful memorial there for him. I also found his gravesite. It was a very moving thing for me. Also in south Philly Guarnere and babe have a memorial there as well. I been very fortunate. God bless all those who have served
My sister was a funeral director from about 2008 until 2014 or 2015. She met Donald Malarky at a funeral around 2011 I think. She said she spent about 30-45 minutes chatting with him after the funeral. Said he was a lovely man.
My Uncle was there with Easy Co. He didn't say alot about the war, but he did say they had a good time at the Eagles Nest. At one point he said they drove one of Hitler's cars around the mountains until it ran out of gas, at which point they pushed it off of a cliff...lol. Also, they "fished" in the streams with hand grenades.
Just to clarify a small detail - Herb Sobel DID re-join Col. Sink's staff for the D-Day jump (the assignment to Chilton-Foliat was eight months before the invasion), and formed an ad hoc squad of 'lost' enlisted men to take out a German machine gun nest with grenades while Winters and his crew were navigating to their objective. This would earn him a Bronze Star.
Thank you guys for your reactions. I'm very glad to hear you are going to watch the Pacific next. Another fantastic series. In case no one else warned you, be prepared for some much more graphic and gruesome scenes in The Pacific. After The Pacific, there is another chapel to the series called "Masters of the Air". Also a very good series.
Yes Sobel started the War as a Captain and Ended as one too, Winters started the War as a Lieutenant and ended as a Major. One of the fastest rises through the rank I've seen.
You need to check out "We Stand Alone Together" before you do the Pacific."We Stand Alone Together" is a documentary that accompanies the Band of Brothers miniseries. It provides an on-camera oral history of Easy Company, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The documentary features interviews with the veterans themselves, sharing their experiences from boot camp through the D-Day invasion and beyond. Very powerful documentary.
The Sobel and Winters exchange happened in real life, and just as depicted in this episode (as far as the words). Major is higher than Captain, and Major Winters writes about the exchange occurring in his book, "Beyond Band of Brothers" which is a great book to read as well.
You are correct that major outranks a captain: 2nd lieutenant, 1st lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, full colonel, brigadier general (one star), major general (2 stars), lieutenant general (3 stars), full general (4 stars), and General of the Army (5 stars). Since the Korean War there has never been another 5-star general. Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur were the last of the 5-stars.
This was emotionally powerful and an incredible wrap up. We will be watching The Pacific Next! so stay tuned
Watch up to The Pacific Episode 3 Reaction EARLY & UNCUT over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey
The most emotional reactions, get the most views, never apologize for crying Pudge. ☮️
You should react to the documentary first, The Men of East Company
❤
You guys watched saving private Ryan and band of brothers so now it's time for you to react to the fallen of World War 2
Dont forget to watch the movie Escape from sobibor. Its on TH-cam
A lot of people miss that there was only one name in the helmet for the lottery. The entire Easy company banded together to make sure Shifty got the ticket home.
Thats cuz everyone looks away or starts yapping.. people dont get you need to see always every detail on shows like this.
@@BriBryBriBry Yeah not sure why they can't focus while still reacting.. adhd perhaps.
I don't believe any of the men knew about it. Only the officers. Because the one guy in formation was saying "come on come on".
@@-HAYABUSA- I think the Normandy veterans knew, just not the replacements.
And if I am not mistaken, it was because Shifty had been through everything, but no purple hearts so not many points. The dark irony being he sustained injuries while going home!
You have to check out "We Stand Alone Together" it's a documentary compilation of all their interviews. Sadly, time passes, and none of Easy are around any more, but their experiences and sacrifices shall be forever remembered thanks to Ambrose's Book, those interviews, and the brilliant actors who brought their stories to life in BoB.
I second this. It's not just the interviews you've already seen either. There's extra stuff that didn't make it to the show, and it's very much worth the time.
@@stevenbanks1548 You haven't seen it all until you see "We Stand Alone Together."
They watched it! Saw it on their community post about Patreon drops, so we should have it here on TH-cam in a few weeks
Agreed. Watch it before pacific if you can
You will LOVE it!!
The last surviving member of the WW2 complement of Easy Company was Bradford C. Freeman (born 1924), who was a mortarman (I believe) and who attained the rank of Private, First Class. He died on July 3, 2022, at the age of 97. And with that, the entire WW2 complement of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, has passed into history.
Gentlemen, and all the other soldiers you represented - thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for sharing your stories with us.
Currahee!
It was a sad day, I got to know some of the members due to my work with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
Freeman was indeed a mortarman. He served all the way through Bastogne and was wounded a few days after Foy (ie Episode 7).
@@przemekkozlowski7835 Thanks for the confirmation, appreciate it.
One of the lines thrown out near the end, carries some hidden weight. The line that Webster "wrote a book about sharks." What isn't mentioned, is that that book would later be used as reference material by novelist Peter Benchley. His new novel was about a series of fictional shark attacks on Long Island. The novel would eventually be adapted into film.
The film "Jaws" would become the breakout film of a young Steven Spielberg.
And later because of Spielberg's success he was able to produce this series.
The old German soldier who was working the checkpoint with Webster was a real person as well, Webster wrote about him. He was a veteran of both world wars, He was from Mannheim and his home was destroyed from allied bombing as most of the city of Mannheim was laid to waste. His Wife and Daughter were homeless and living in a shelter and his two sons were also soldiers and were missing in Russia.
"Band of Brothers" is brutal, "The Pacific" is literal Hell. Some Reactors can't handle it, but I think you two will be okay... These should be required viewing for high school history classes.
I'm in the minority, but I preferred the pacific over BoB. Most ww2 movies or series are based in europe, not nearly enough about the hell the marines went through in the pacific.
I think that's why the Pacific is a tougher watch. The ETO and the PTO were completely different things - Europe was more 'normal' (for want of a better word) while the Pacific was utterly merciless and horrific.
Agreed, I have watched BoB several times...and I still struggle to watch the pacific in full a second time. The war in Europe seemed to have some sort of "rules" of valor and glory with it, whereas the War in the Pacific was just gory and merciless. Stating it as a "literal Hell," is very accurate.
Masters of the air should be added to the list
@ianaustin.....to be honest, masters of the air was a huge disappointment. I dont think I could get through the half way point.
I have a wife and 5 children. I've done three combat tours. I keep in touch with people from each but none as much as my first. We did a reunion together last september and i got to see a lot of them for the first time in nearly 20 years. It was like we had been together the entire time. There is a bond you have that no one else can share. Not even your family. A bond that's unbreakable. They are forever my brothers.
George Luz. - Band of Brothers Fandom.
"Right after returning home, Luz settled in West Warwick, Rhode Island and married Delvina. He had worked as a maintenance consultant, and he was killed in an industrial accident.
In Luz's remembrance at the funeral home, there was a line down the street of 1,600 people waiting to pay their respects. Luz was buried with his medals on his chest, of which his family had no prior knowledge. Luz is buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island."
Watch "the men of easy company" it's the unofficial 11th episode
Yes please !!
Yes!
They have!
On patreon already .
Wrong name guys. It's called " We stand alone together: the man of easy company. It's the best thing I ever seen. Band of brothers is a 10 out of 10 best show ever but the documentary is a 20 out of 10. Everyone in the United States should watch it.❤
The woman (Grace) that Nixon finally settled down with was Japanese and had spent a good part of the war in an internment camp
She was released at some point so she could serve as a civilian nurse. Her story and her life with Nixon are one of the most touching stories and always hits me in the feels.
She has a short appearance in Ron Livingston's Video Diary about the bootcamp the actors went through.
@@rschroev Yes, she complimented as to 'how handsome' Ron was. I loved that video series, by the way.
That last line from winters always always hits like a truck man.
That line coming from someone who was highly decorated, so beloved & respected from his peers & yet remained so humble shows what an incredible man of character Winters was.
Every. Single. Time. I get tears welling up even though I've watched it hundreds of times. My grandfather was a B-24 top-turrett gunner in WW2 (15th AF, 450th BG) and this series led me to do some video interviews with him about his expereince. We covered basic training, the different bases he was at stateside, all the way up to the time that he and his crew were stationed in Italy in 1944-1945 and that is where he stopped the interviews. I'll never forget him telling me, "Link, I am not a hero, the real heroes are the ones who didn't get to come back and tell their stories, so why should I tell mine?" I knew that there would be no swaying him, and the interviews ended. Each time I watch this scene of Winters repeating those words of serving among a company of heroes, it wrecks me with so much respect for those that served and sacrificed.
It hits like a truck because it’s incredible that someone like that can actually exist. That man’s character is seriously one of a genuinely selfless, heroic, mythical figure.
It’s almost unbelievable that men like that even exist but seeing and hearing it first hand just hits you on a whole nother level. Having men like that exist in the world gives hope to us all having real life heroes like that to look up to. And it makes me cry every single time Lol. These were truly special human beings
Everyone seems to miss that those weren't actually Winters' words. He was quoting a letter from Mike Ranney, who was an Easy NCO and only shown briefly early in the series. It was Mike Ranney who said those words to his grandson. He told Winters about it in the letter.
@@BohoBunMom yeah I would say most do as it is a little difficult to hear him say Mike’s name at first, which is why my comment says the Winters repeats it. It’s still a powerful statement and the way Winters looks into the camera just adds to its truth.
I can never watch the end of this episode with the real veterans speaking without tears in my eyes
I'm an Aussie, and i live about an hours drive from Berchtesgaden and have been up to the Eagles nest. It is a restaurant now and the view is absolutely spectacular.
In the scene where they are drawing names to send one man from Easy Company home, the camera for a brief second or two stays over the helmet that they are drawing names from only to reveal that the helmet was empty all along except for one name. Shifty Powers was furthest behind everyone else in the company regarding points needed to go home, so the entire company backed the decision to choose him no matter what.
That speech by the German General always gets me. Man, they all realized they were truly fighting brothers the whole time by the end of the war, it tragically effected most of the american men to conclude they are simply fighting their brothers and family.
Also, the actor who played him, Wolf Kahler first came to prominence playing the German Colonel in " Raiders of the lost Arc " ...
There was still a war going on in the Pacific. It was planned for the invasion of Japan to need 60 + divisions. So you couldn't just let everyone in Europe go home. Also the troops in the Pacific had been fighting there for several years. The US was having trouble maintaining units with enough experienced NCO's and officers. You wouldn't want to send units to the Pacific with to many inexperienced troops. There was also a lot of pressure in the US to reduce the draft, and keep people in civilian jobs.
The point system was about the best they could do to let people go home and still keep units effective.
I'm brazilian and I can watch you guys without subtitles, you talk so nice and clean, I'm loving your videos.
Thank you! 😃
The men of Easy company held a reunion every year till no one was healthy enough to travel.
Grant slowly recovered from the bullet wound to the head, occasionally had some speech problems, and his left arm was partially paralyzed. He lived in San Francisco, and owned a small tobacconist. He attended several Easy Company meetings and became a representative of the 506th Battalion in the Airborne 101 association. Chuck Grant died in 1984.
Great reaction, y'all! So enjoyed going on this journey with you. I am a flight attendant. About 4 years after this series premiered, i had the privilege of having Shifty Powers and his wife on my flight. I completely "fan-girled " over him. I'm sure i embarrassed him, but after 40 years, he is still my all-time favorite passenger. Truly The Greatest Generation. ❤❤
So soft-spoken and dignified; a true Virginia Gentleman.
Truly amazing storytelling in this series that so emotionally connects you with these men that you feel real love for each of them. Greatest television series ever produced.
I read Dick Winters’ autobiography “Beyond band of brothers” which goes into his life a lot more and it cemented my thought (although he would have disagreed) that he was one of the most unsung heroes of the war. A truly great man.
Once again as is the case with every video you drop, I’m in Detroit with insomnia, and you guys drop the perfect videos at the perfect time, shout out to you, keep doing what you’re doing, you bring a lot of happiness to people all around the world🎉🎉💯🫡
Pudgy, I love your sincere - honest reaction to this beautiful series. You had me tearing up. Your empathy is so pure. Spartan is such a lucky man. So am I being married to a wonderful tender yet strong woman.
Beautiful comment!
Great reaction like always. The last surviving member of the WW2 complement of Easy Company was Bradford C. Freeman (born 1924), who was a mortarman (I believe) and who attained the rank of Private, First Class. He died on July 3, 2022, at the age of 97. And with that, the entire WW2 complement of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, has passed into history.
There are so few survivors of the war left alive to this day, and carrying their stories forward is so, so important. I love the final shot of this episode as the musician puts his (cello, violin?) in the case and closes the lid as if a coffin is being shut on all the victims of the Holocaust as the camps are being discovered and they are being put to a proper rest.
"no....but I served in a company of heroes ." No matter how many times I hear it, I get choked up every time.
There is one inaccuracy that I feel I have to point out, because the real story is actually far more meaningful than what the show did. When the german commander is surrendering and offering his sidearm, Winters actually took it, and kept it until his death. The important thing was, that sidearm was never fired once during the war when it was handed to Winters. And Winters made sure that Walter pp was never fired in his lifetime as a symbol.
One of the single best creative decisions in film/TV history was having a German General deliver the message to the audience you were expecting from the Ally side about being a group of brothers in combat, deserving of peace and harmony. Puts into perspective the human side of war and in the end we're not all that different. Now that's how you actually subvert expectations.
How many times do young people walk by elderly folks and dismiss them because of their age. You never know what they've lived through.
Here is a fun-fact. In 1974 an author named Peter Bencheley was researching a fiction novel about sharks, and one of his prime sources was a book titled 'Myth and maneater: The story of the shark.' penned by Easy Company veteran David Webster. Bencheley's book, 'Jaws', was later turned into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg - one of the creators of “Band of Brothers.” And dont Forget to watch the documentar "We Stand Alone Together" and it's an absolute must.
I served in a Company of heroes.......never a truer word was spoken....never more so by a bigger Hero...
That was a quote from a letter Winters received from Easy NCO Myron "Mike" Ranney. In other words , it was Ranney who said that to his grandson. Nobody ever catches that even though Winters literally says it there in the episode. Nothing but respect for Dick Winters, just saying, he was quoting someone else.
@@BohoBunMom yes, I was catching the sentiment of how folks feel about him...
Just driving home the idea that "German" did not always equal "Nazi", neither the German Colonel nor the German general had insignia on their uniforms indicating membership in the Nazi party. The soldier Webster was watching the checkpoint with predated the Naziz and likely wasn't a member either.
They were not members of the party but they actively defended it with their lives even though they knew what their government did and that they were the ones that started the war. They could have surrendered or deserted but instead they chose to go and invade Poland, France, USSR...etc
@@baronnuuke7821 it's not that black and white. conscription wasn't optional and desertion was punished with death. listen to the stories of German soldiers and you'll find that they too feared the Nazis and SS. there's a great youtube channel called ww2 tales that re-tell real life experiences of ww2 German soldiers and many of them, even in American prison camps, separated themselves from and feared the Nazis and SS prisoners.
Those last words stay with you!... Its an amazing ending! Extraordinary watch and reaction... Thank you Pudgey, Thank you Spartan for sharing the watch, and along with both of you bringing new and young people in the net verse attention to one of the best series made!...
23 years later, I still tear up in episode 10 when they play baseball.
World War II basically had two "theatres" of operation ..... Europe (Germany) and the Pacific (Japan). The United States was spread thin because of this. Roughly, the U.S. Navy and Marines fought in the Pacific, while the U.S. Army and Air Force (Called the U.S. Army Air Corps. at that time), fought mainly in Europe. For most of the war, the United States tactic was to fight a delaying war in the Pacific, until they could defeat Germany, and then bring all U.S. troops and equipment to bear against Japan. The Japanese almost had Australia by the balls, trying to cut off supplies to the Aussies by taking over Guadalcanal Island. If they had succeeded, Australia would likely have fallen. Australia owes a lot to the U.S. Marines. For more on that aspect of the war, check out videos concerning the Battle of Guadalcanal.
North Africa and Italy are also often overlooked. Fighting there as well early in the war. Also, believe it or not and often overlooked, the US Army also operated in the Pacific too. Wasn't just the Marines. My wife's grandfather was in the Army and fought in the Pacific.
Japan did not have the logistics to take Australia. However, if they established a stronghold on Guadalcanal it would have seriously hindered Allied operations around Australia and Australian troops would have had to withdraw from New Guinea. The Allies would have had to retake Guadalcanal and it might have added a year or more to the war.
One of the great tragedies of WW2 History, is that the Chinese always get left out.
The two main belligerents in the Pacific were China and Japan. Not Japan and the United States. The overwhelming majority of all Japanese military power was focused against China, and that war was from 1937 until 1945.
Due to geography (Island hopping), the US participation in the pacific in terms of ground forces was tiny until 1944 and the Philippines campaign. The Philippines campaign was the first campaign that saw numbers of men on either side that would be noteworthy in the Western theater of Europe. Prior to, you're talking about division sized formations of US troops, fighting battalion or regimental sized forces of Japanese.
The limited geography of the Pacific campaign is also why the USSR was able to inflict about as many permanent casualties on the Japanese military, in 12 days, as the USA did in the entire war.
People recognize where the real war was fought in Europe, though it took until the 1990s for the laymen to understand that. People still to this day by and large don't know that the main war in the Pacific was fought between China and Japan.
@@przemekkozlowski7835 "The Allies would have had to retake Guadalcanal"
More likely they would have taken some _other_ island, that wasn't occupied by the Japanese.
Another vote for continuing with "We Stand Alone Together:The Men of Easy Company." It wraps up the series with more about what the men did after the war.
By the time this was posted to TH-cam, they had watched "11" :) on Patreon. The TH-cam edited version of their reaction will be posted in the next few weeks. :)
I truly enjoyed watching this series with you. I appreciate your sensitivity and respect towards the honor of these men.
I absolutely loved your reviews of this series as a whole.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At 14:00 what you need to realize is that these guys are regular German army soldiers, not Nazis. They did not believe in the Nazi ideology, however, they still had a duty to country. The Nazis, or SS, were the extremist part of the government. The German soldier (these guys) were just that, regular soldiers. No political affiliation. A simple way to look at it is every Nazi had to be German, but not every German was a Nazi.
A large part of the country still supported the National Socialist regime, the point is, even those people are just that: people. People with wishes and wants. Nazi or not.
Saying there were no Nazis among the regular army soldiers is going too far. There definitely were. And the SS had units of many European nationalities, and even if not all non-Germans who volunteered for the Waffen SS were Nazis (some just thought communism posed a bigger threat to European culture than nazism), many of them were. Some of the last units to surrender in Berlin were made up of foreign soldiers.
The Pacific is great. I’m glad you two are doing that next.
Love you two and your reactions! My grand father fought in the Dutch army when it tried to fight off the Germans as they entered the country in May of 1940. Most of his unit got killed. He was lucky and got captured instead. They sent him to a work camp and he stayed there until 1944, when the camp got liberated by the allies. Somehow, even after capture, he was still strong enough to manage a hike back to a farm in Venlo, where the love of his life (my grand mother on my mother's side) received him after having thought he'd been dead for 4 years. Neither of them ever shared much details about this moment, but I always imagine it must have been one of the most romantic moments one could possible imagine. Every time I watch a film, series or documentary of the 2nd world war, the thought of them seeing each other again after such a long time of what must have been a time of terrible hardship for the both of them, brings a smile to my face. Anyway, keep up the great work, you've got a new subscriber for life!
The members of Easy had annual reunions for many decades until they all passed away. Now,their kids and grandkids continue to have annual reunions. Our tour guide for the BoB trip this summer was George Luz,Jr. He is very involved in the Easy family reunions every year.
I still remember my initial reaction to watching this series when it was originally released. Over the past 20+ years (just realized I was about your age then) I’ve rewatched it countless times. It is highly rewatch-able.
I’ve loved watching your reaction to each episode. You had me looking forward to Friday mornings for each to be released. Love you guys!
Grant suffered from neurological problems for the rest of his life. He ran a tobacco shop I the San Francisco area.
Liebgott actually fell off the grid for a while after the war. He actually was a barber in the Central Valley of California. He never spoke about his war experiences. His children found out from the Ambrose book, contacted Gaurnere and attended several reunions.
Sobel died of malnutrition in a VA hospital after being blinded in a fatal suicide attempt.
Failed not fatal. Stoopid autocorrect
My uncle, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, never failed to meet the survivors of his company for their annual get together. Through knee and hip replacement surgeries, even as he grew older and more infirm, that was one gathering he never, ever missed, as those were probably the only people who could really understand one of the most traumatic and defining moments of his life. He had a full life with children and grandchildren he loved dearly, but I imagine (having never been through a war myself, I can only imagine) that a part of you just never fully can get past such trauma, but being with fellow survivors must have been his therapy.
Been following you guys since House of the Dragon season 1.....so glad you went on this journey. Band of Brothers is the best TV show of all time imo
I always found it interesting that when Winters told the men that the war was over, there were no cheers or high fives or celebrations immediately at least, but they just took the news in for a minute and then went back to their game.
Lipton quoting the Saint Crispin's Day Speech always gets to me: *"We happy few, we band of brothers."*
Pudgy, just because a man is shot in the doesn't mean he won't live a normal life. Case in point, Jacob Miller was a Union soldier during the US Civil War that was shot right between the eyes during the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. The bullet entered his head right above the bridge of his nose. He was left for dead but actually survived to the ripe old age of 87. His nickname during most of his life was "Center Shot."😊
31:00 Yes, a Major is 1 rank above a Captain.
Winters started as a Lieutenant.
During the German surrender scene, the Colonel who was giving his firearm. He’s 2 ranks above Major Winters.
"Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?"
"No, but i served in a company of heroes."
Gets me every, single, time.
I'm so glad you chose to watch this series. I look forward to going thru The Pacific with you, too. 🥰
I wasn't crying, my eyes were sweating!
I was chopping onions.
With what you said about the Christmas song scene Pudgey, you two should really watch "Joyeux Noël" (Merry Christmas), it's a movie about a real event from WWI where British, French and German soldiers made a truce for christmas in the no-man's-land. It's very moving and exactly what you are talking about.
Easy Company is the most ironic name in military history. From D-DAY all the way to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, there was nothing Easy about it. I never want things I love to end, but you want the pain to end for these Men, and the peace to begin. The German Field Marshall's speech is actually what ties the entire concept of of the series together unexpectedly...No matter what side you were on you were suffering. I implore you to see "We Stand Alone Together" and Ron Livingston's (Nixon) Bootcamp Diary. It makes you appreciate the series even more. "Were you a hero in the War Grandpa? Grandpa says no, but I served in a company of heroes" Near tears every time. Thank you so much for taking this journey. Currahee! ♠
Winters may be the best, and Nixon may be one of the most entertaining. But Spiers might be my favorite. Also see "The Fallen of World War 2" to get some perspective on the scale of this tragedy.
No it's not. Look, they have a pretty incredible story, but the reality is, they were a low usage unit. They (the 101st) were kept out of combat far more than your average line infantry division. They took relatively light casualties due to being not in combat that much by comparison.
To give you an idea, by the time the war ended, VJ day, the 101st had been in combat 214 days. A standard line division, the 90th ID, was in combat 308 days. The 101st suffered 11.5k casualties. The 90th, 27.6k casualties.
The 101st and by extension the 506th and by extension Easy, had relatively light duty compared to most US divisions in WW2. They had the luxury of being constantly pulled off the line for long periods of time, where they could retrain replacements, and give their NCOs and Officers lengthy breaks which helped with the divisions turn over due to "combat fatigue".
The 90th for example, was essentially wiped out almost 2x in WW2 if we go by manpower counts, not literally wiped out to a man.
The other thing to remember about Band of Brothers is, Stephen Ambrose is a discredited fraud and Band of Brothers is narrative story telling. The best example of this is the treatment of Compton vs Dike. It's widely speculated that Dike was suffering from combat fatigue (PTSD) by the time he was given command of Easy. Compton was one of the boys, so he got the red carpet rolled out for him, and treated like a wounded hero and treated with incredible understanding.
Dike, did some heroic shit in Holland, saw some horrific shit in Holland, and when he was shot in the shoulder and went into shock during the assault on Foy, he was portrayed as an incompetent coward who froze up. They didn't even accurately portray the assault because the show conveniently left out the fact the dude got shot.
Band of Brothers isn't history, it's uncritical reporting of anecdotes. It's entertaining, and is covers broad strokes, but it's subjective truth from the point of view of a dozen or so guys who had their own biases, bones to pick, gripes, enemies etc.
Are you going to watch We Stand Alone Together - Band of Brothers Documentary, The Men of Easy Company???? It is a little more in depth of the real people from Easy company and the veterans who did interviews from Band of Brothers.
That last line always hits me like a freight train. We owe these men everything
BoB is my all time favourite series, I've watched it dozens of times. You did it justice, thank you.
I always teared up at the end of band of brothers! Such an amazing piece of cinema and hands down my favorite miniseries
♥ I hate to see y'all's Easy Company journey come to an end, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to both of you for keeping history alive. ♥
In May 1945 American soldiers fought side by side against the Waffen SS in the Battle of Itter Castle. They joined together to protect high ranking French Prisoners. Paul Gangl of the German Army was killed saving the life of the future Prime Minister of France.
11:00 /// Hitler was afraid of flying in planes not heights as such. His favorite place to hang out was the teahouse on Mooslahnerkopf Hill which is also very high.
This series is a absolute Masterpiece and the Cgi still holds up well enough. Just Brilliant! I still watch it to this day and I'll watch it again next year. I always find myself standing up at the end of the show, saluting the Honored Dead! The ones that Died seeking to end a pointless war, The ones that did not want to kill but had too, The ones who understood the cost of life....From all sides!
Most if not all of these men have passed on into history! They will live on in our hearts!
The actor Philip Barantini, here portraying Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk (the guy killing the running German camp commander), is the actor who also portrayed one of the three divers in the "Chernobyl" mini series.
Such a wonderful ending to an incredible series. The entire thing is a masterpiece of cinema, casting, pace etc. Loved the reactions.
The point system was used since there was a delay in getting enough troop ships available, prioritizing how and who to fill them in an orderly manner, and also maintaining enough personnel to keep things working. If a soldier was married plus had children those two things added points, wounded, etc. The winner becomes responsible for running the country so there was a lot to do. To maintain the systems and order, Patton took a lot of flak for putting former Nazis in charge of many key utilities since they knew how to "keep the lights on" as he put it. If you look at some of the photos of the troop ships coming into New York, they are packed so they definitely started moving people home as quickly as possible. The replacements eventually were the ones left in-country as the Allies began establishing Kasernes (bases) throughout for us, the British and Canadian as we began to keep a close eye on the Soviet Union. Throughout my 20+ years in the Army, a long tour in Germany was almost mandatory so this occupation/protection (NATO) wasn't a short-term thing.
So great to watch this series with you two. Just such a fantastic reaction. As noted, for sure check out We Stand Alone Together. You are now part of the Band of Brothers brotherhood/sisterhood. Greetings from Toronto.
The U.S. Army deployed 22 divisions to the Pacific theater during World War II: 68 infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, 16 armored divisions, 5 airborne divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions. The U.S. Army also supplied, armed, and equipped the fighting force in the Pacific. The Army fought the majority of the ground war and did the bulk of the fighting overall. The U.S. Army's contributions in the Pacific are often overshadowed in the American public memory of World War II. In the Pacific Ocean theater, Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States Navy, the U.S. Army, which had 6 Corps and 21 Divisions, and the U.S. Marine Corps, which had only 6 Divisions.
21:09 since no one's talking about this scene... I want to share what really happened... The series didn't mention it but Liebgott was sent by Captain Speirs with Pvts. Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk and the other one is Not Webster! Webster wasn't even there with them it was originally 'Don Moone' and 'John Lynch' (but they weren't in the series) to eliminate a Nazi who Spiers believed was the commander of the concentration camp they found at Landsberg. Liebgott interrogated him for about 30 minutes and confirmed that he was the man they wanted. They then drove him to a Ravine and Liebgott shot him twice, but only wounded him. He tried to shoot him as he was escaping up a hill, but his gun jammed. In the series Webster was the one who refused to shoot the german, but in reality it was Moone... so Sisk shot the German officer through the back just like in that series.
33:54 Also I kinda didn't like how they fabricated Liebgott's life after the war... In the series they said he returned to San Francisco and drove his cab But that didn't really happen... He never drove a cab and didn't go back there after the war and if I'm not wrong there was a time where he went missing for more than a year until he married and had 8 children and he later became a barber...
He didn't talk about his war years, and sadly he didn't attend any of the Easy company reunions. He died on June 28, 1992 at the age of 77. Guess he just wanted to leave all of his memories in the war behind..🥺
Another sad part about this is that Sisk( the one who shot the german) after the war... One of the things that haunted him was him shooting that german officer.. He actually wrote a letter to Winters writing how much he regretted the killings he did during the war, how it haunted him so much and that includes the german officer! He regretted killing that officer so much..😢
Anyways thank so so much for this amazing BOB journey! Its kinda sad that its already over 😭 but I'm so happy you guys were able to watch it! Its been a bittersweet journey! Thank you so much! Hope you guys will do the "WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER" its a must watch! 🤎🤎🤎
You need to watch the documentary its considered to be episode 11 of this series. . It's called " We stand alone together: the man of easy company. It's the best thing I ever seen. Band of brothers is a 10 out of 10 best show ever but the documentary is a 20 out of 10.
I've thoroughly enjoyed watching this series with you. You did a great job. All the best tool you both.
There are of course many ways Webster could have been lost at sea. When sailing solo if you simply fall overboard the boat sails away and you're done. Or fire, or sinking due to a failed thru hull/hose, or physical injury, or run down by a ship, or adrift with a failed rudder, or hitting a shoal, or driven onto a rocky shore, or capsized in heavy weather, etc. Even collisions with whales have sunk cruising sailboats on more than a few occasions.
We do not learn enough about these brave men, who gave so much for their tomorrow for our today.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 you’ve made it… Thank you for the respectful treatment of our greatest generation. 👊🏻
I don't say this lightly... but nothing in the existence of television or any mini-series production carries so much meaning to me (and I know for so many others) as this award-winning series. It truly stands apart from any other production, I know that I have ever seen, where nothing comes so close, and I don't know if it ever will, as being so meaningful to the understanding of a very significant time in history (history relevant to ours) and in the understanding of a generation who lived it - in a time of war. The dozens of performances are enthralling and moving and so deeply respected, but knowing they relate to the real accounts given and experienced by REAL persons, as shown in the brilliantly-placed interviews throughout the series, takes it to such a heightened level where an ever-deeper respect is realized for those of that generation. It's a respect from OUR countless generations who follow - especially those who are fully aware of how we directly benefit from the sacrifices of that generation -- a generation from, not as long ago as we might think -- even our parent's, or their parents generation-- their endurance and perseverance, and sense of duty their bloodshed of that generation's men and women who grew up as children during the Great Depression and who developed exceptional work ethics, who took nothing for granted, and whohave gone before us, that we must, out of respect and in our due diligence, be sure to carry forward their will, their endeavors and legacy. And theirs' (of this one notable company) being a mere fraction of the countless of millions of service members on the front lines along with the millions who supported them from behind lines. These were the dedicated souls of a great generation within every division, battalion, campaign-- army, navy and air corp and intelligence branches -- and in each theater around the globe who participated in that war. It leaves SO many of us with such deep respect and deep gratitude. This series is precious to say the least - and should be shown in every high-school history class to keep us all educated, humble and aware -- so as to further world peace and avoid repeating world war ever again-- as we owe it for all of humanity. God bless this series and all who participated in making it happen. Your efforts are not lost of so many of us who know what good you have done for that great generation, and the respect those precious soul -- alive or who have left us -- deserve.
Thank you for this lovely reaction, and for showing true respect to our military. You are the best reactors I've seen.
To this day still one of the best TV shows ever made. Great reaction guys.
Great final reaction. That final story about his telling this grandson he wasn’t a hero but he served in a company of heroes just hits me every time I watch it.
Winters actually excepted the Firearm and noticed that it had not been used once and felt that it should never be used! A Promise of Peace!
Another excellent piece to watch is the “video diary” shot by Ron Livingston (Nixon) about the 2 week training period that most of the main cast went through before filming began. You see the actors bonding, and getting to know their own character. Also you get to see Nixon’s wife.
David Webster wrote a book after the war titled “Parachute Infantry”. It is a memoir of his time in easy company. It’s a good read and a fair amount of what is in this series came from his book.
The drawdown of troops in Europe took a long time and had various issues, there’s some excellent books and videos on the subject. Example: it took ships to get them there, it takes ships to get them home and most of those were being committed to the Pacific theater. The “points system” was modified several times over 1945 but many of the troops in Europe didn’t get home until 1946. It took a year plus to get them there, it’ll take that long to get them home.
My great uncle was a Marine in the Pacific, he didn’t arrive back in Dayton until the summer of ‘46.
Just for your info: US Army Commissioned Officer Ranks from low to high. 2nd Lieutenant (2LT), 1st Lieutenant (1LT), Captain (CPT), Major (MAJ), Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), Colonel (COL), Brigadier General (BG) (1 star), Major General (MG) (2 star), Lieutenant General (LTG) (3 star), General (GEN) (4 star). And a wartime rank of General of the Army (GA) (5 star)
One of my favorite things about this episode is its focus on leadership. Every Officer's interaction is a masterclass in leadership. Even from the German perspective, when he addresses his men. BoB is seriously one of the best things ever put to the screen. Love that you two watched this series. You should definitely read about Australia's part in WWII. Some of the toughest, meanest, and bravest bastards out there. Glad you're on our side.
Edit: Major is one rank higher than Captain. I love that scene too. Salute the rank not the man.
This mini series will stay with me forever!!! 🥺
Great reaction, guys. I knew you would enjoy the series as well as learning about some of the history of WWII.
The point system was to help give some order to the process of bringing home almost 12 million soldiers from every continent all over the world. Ships or planes could only accommodate a certain amount of people, the soldiers still had to be fed and housed as they waited, and many needed medical care. Some countries had Allied forces as their occupiers, while others needed assistance as they were trying to rebuild. The point system had flaws, drawbacks and was criticized and protested at the time, but the intention was to try to avoid chaos as everyone wanted to return. The film “The Third Man” (1949) has its opening sequences showing how the 4 countries of the US, Britain, France and USSR were trying to jointly administer the city of Vienna in Austria after the war.
David Webster went out fishing in a small dinghy but didn't come home. The next day his boat was found with a missing oar and tiller. His body was never recovered. He was 39 years old, and was survived by his wife and three kids.
dont feel bad about tearing up. i have watched the series several hundred(maybe even 1000 times) and i still tear up. god bless them all
I followed the series when it came out in HBO in 2000s. I was in my late 20s & now i'm 50. Still remember the episodes clearly till now. I even research the unit Easy Coy 506th & was surprised that some of the original men looked similar to the characters in the series. Even got to read the stories of the original men. The last men passed in 2012 & i believe it was Major Winters. They held tours in the 1990s to bring those interested to the war areas depicted in the series.
Never forget that as young men, these veterans and their comrades from all the Allied armies saved the world.
I remember when the final WWI veteran passed away. Before too many more years go by, we will see the passing of the final WWII vets. That will be a very sad day.
I knew the ending would get Pudgey to cry. Always gets me too
Loved your entire reaction(s) to this series. Another good video to watch is Ron Livingston's (actor who played Nixon) YT video of the boot camp the actors went through before starting this series. Of course, as many other have already suggested, the unofficial "11th episode" of "We Stand Together" is very good to watch too.
I think I'm correct in saying that that Xmas song "silent night", was actually originally a German song later translated into English.
What is sad is that nobody from easy company is alive anymore. I live right outside of Philadelphia and Hershey PA is only about a hour and half away from me. Ephrata PA is where winters was born. There is a beautiful memorial there for him. I also found his gravesite. It was a very moving thing for me. Also in south Philly Guarnere and babe have a memorial there as well. I been very fortunate. God bless all those who have served
My sister was a funeral director from about 2008 until 2014 or 2015. She met Donald Malarky at a funeral around 2011 I think. She said she spent about 30-45 minutes chatting with him after the funeral. Said he was a lovely man.
@ awe wow!! That’s awesome.
My Uncle was there with Easy Co. He didn't say alot about the war, but he did say they had a good time at the Eagles Nest. At one point he said they drove one of Hitler's cars around the mountains until it ran out of gas, at which point they pushed it off of a cliff...lol. Also, they "fished" in the streams with hand grenades.
All of the men of Easy are gone now. Many of the actors continue the Easy tradition of yearly reunions. We Stand Alone Together is a must watch.
Just to clarify a small detail - Herb Sobel DID re-join Col. Sink's staff for the D-Day jump (the assignment to Chilton-Foliat was eight months before the invasion), and formed an ad hoc squad of 'lost' enlisted men to take out a German machine gun nest with grenades while Winters and his crew were navigating to their objective. This would earn him a Bronze Star.
You two did a great job reacting to Band of Brothers. Well done
Thank you guys for your reactions. I'm very glad to hear you are going to watch the Pacific next. Another fantastic series. In case no one else warned you, be prepared for some much more graphic and gruesome scenes in The Pacific. After The Pacific, there is another chapel to the series called "Masters of the Air". Also a very good series.
38:00 Ohh Bold move Spartan, bold move
Sister of my grandpa in 1944 went for a milk to the shop and boom bomb hit it and she never came back. Crazy to think of during those times.
Yes Sobel started the War as a Captain and Ended as one too, Winters started the War as a Lieutenant and ended as a Major. One of the fastest rises through the rank I've seen.
You need to check out "We Stand Alone Together" before you do the Pacific."We Stand Alone Together" is a documentary that accompanies the Band of Brothers miniseries. It provides an on-camera oral history of Easy Company, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The documentary features interviews with the veterans themselves, sharing their experiences from boot camp through the D-Day invasion and beyond. Very powerful documentary.
The Sobel and Winters exchange happened in real life, and just as depicted in this episode (as far as the words). Major is higher than Captain, and Major Winters writes about the exchange occurring in his book, "Beyond Band of Brothers" which is a great book to read as well.
You are correct that major outranks a captain: 2nd lieutenant, 1st lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, full colonel, brigadier general (one star), major general (2 stars), lieutenant general (3 stars), full general (4 stars), and General of the Army (5 stars). Since the Korean War there has never been another 5-star general. Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur were the last of the 5-stars.