Ron Livingstone is an underrated actor. I used to work on a private psych ward with lots of PTSD victims, alcohol addicts, and veterans, and he really nails the darker aspects of the character as the series goes on. The fixed gaze of a depressed person dwelling on their trauma, the subtle gait changes of an alcoholic, the veiled anger in his speech, etc. I didn't realise it when I saw this series in my teens, but he does a frighteningly good job at portraying all of that.
Only just saw this year-old comment but yeah. The grief in his eyes and his smile, the edge in his voice, when he says "Oh well - wasn't me!" Gets me each time I come back to this.
The correct response from any combat officer or NCO who's come to realize how much meaningless bureaucratic bullshit scurries close behind them them into any combat zone, like rats following a plague. It happened in WWII. It happened in Vietnam. It happened in Iraq. Demoted. Gotcha.
pinz2022 The military, particularly the British, thought it went wonderfully. But it was completely unnecessary and conducted during daylight hours, so the Airborne took bad AAA and even worse casualties. In WWII, paratroopers were a rapier that, more often than not, was wielded by a technologically-suspicious Neanderthal.
This scene was really important in showing how survivor's guilt affects people. He's never killed anyone or been injured but he has PTSD because every time he made it out alive he knew the people that died. He had to write letters to the families of the people he knew after seeing them all die. Very powerful scene here.
+spartan1010101 Nixon, like many other soldiers is tired of the war...I agree with you, he must be tired of seeing people die, and living with that survivor's guilt must be impossible.
Why is it so that there are angry little people commenting on every BoB video? Does mommy know that you insult people on the Internet unprovoked? Why do you do it? Is it because you've uploaded a shit ton of videos and they have no views whatsoever?
I'd imagine something like "Flew fearlessly into enemy territory... plane shot down on way to drop zone... killed instantly... heroically serving their country..." I've never understood why it mattered to him whether they were killed on the ground or in the plane.
@degree7 Of course it's not. They helped other planes get through alive by drawing enemy fire. That would be like saying all the people at the start of Saving private Ryan who died on the beaches, that their role was pointless because they didn't make it onto the bluffs. If you only sent the people who survived into combat and left behind all the people who would have died then, the enemy would just have shot at the people who would have survived instead, killing a bunch of them. So if you remove them too, and so on and so on, pretty soon there's nobody left and the mission is a failure. So the casualties were just as important to the success of the mission as the others who made it though to the end.
Ser Garlan Tyrell never understood that tactic why would you just face check German emplacement when storming the beaches??? The strat was to just tank the manchine gun fire in hopes some can make it through?? Definitely the stupidest shit ever tbh this is why I would hate to be a infantrymen just a got damn meat shield.
I think some people are misunderstanding the significance of this quote. It's not about the success or failure of the mission or the war. Those lofty platitudes can always be slapped on a war by soldiers and politicians to give meaning to everyone's sacrifice. In this scene Winters is being somewhat superficial and political in that he is still clinging to that lofty platitude. No matter how we die we all die as heroes. Again, the kind of thing that a politician would say during a speech. Nixon is in no mood for platitude speeches, least of all from his best buddy who he went through the whole war with. Nixon is looking for a moment of comradeship from Winters and a real moment about being honest about the futility of repeated death. He simply wants to know how the hell he can lie to these parents and make it sound good, because the reality isn't good. What he gets instead from Winters is a mini-lecture about being demoted. Nixon could give two shits about being demoted! He just had an entire plane under his command get wiped out and he was one of the only survivors. Nixon isn't talking about them because he thinks the war is a failure. What he's doing is showing combat fatigue, war fatigue. Another jump. Another bunch of young guys blown to bits in the sky. He's not giving a political opinion of the war here. He's simply expressing his utter frustration and despair over the fact the he's got to tell another round of parents about their sons' deaths. But it's not ONLY that he has to inform them that they died, but he has to sugar coat it and wrap it in flowery ribbons to give them the impression they died with their faces to the enemy heroically charging forward, firing their rifle while bravely following their commander across the fields. What Nixon is despairing about here is that those kids never even MADE IT into combat on the ground. They never even fired a single SHOT at their enemy. They were blown up and killed before they even had a chance to shoot back at the enemy. THAT is the futility of what he's talking about. All those planes on D-Day and in the months afterward carrying "all those kids", planes that got hit and blown apart before they even had a chance to jump "out of the god damn plane". And it also provides yet another excellent reason to be drinking! Who the hell wants to stay sober right after you barely survived a combat jump and everybody else in the plane got obliterated right around you?
"Yeeeaaaa... I'm gonna have to go ahead and, uh, transfer you back to battalion. Yeeeaaa. If you could just have your things cleared out from regimental HQ by 1700 hours that'd be greeeeaaat."
+Cleo Fierro He wasn't happy about it. It was said in a sarcastic and probably somewhat drunk manner in a halfhearted attempt at a joke. He is experiencing survivor's guilt and doesn't know how to cope.
Cleo Fierro he's pissed and sad. He's drinking his face off because he feels guilty. They're asking him to write to all these families saying they're kids die. He's having hard time dealing with it.
This is one of the saddest scenes in my opinion. No glorified moments, no music in the background, no fancy camera angles. The scene is what it is which, I think, makes it more powerful.
The real Nixon was just as hard drinking. He really did have a hard time with losing young men and he hated all career officers like col. sink. after the war he went back to new jersey and met his second wife who helped him deal with the losses and stop drinking, he and winters remained close friends until the day he died.
C. S. - Can you imagine....you take fire right over the drop zone...you and 2 other guys get out of the plane... your chute is barely open and the plane you exited a few moments ago gets a direct hit and explodes over Berlin....you watch in numbed horror....Operation Varsity
I really don't get the comments demeaning Nixon for not firing his weapon or being in combat or being Winters. Nixon was a great intelligence officer. He saved lives throughout their entire time, as described in both the series and the book. The series even shows him reminding the acting division commander the battalion's flank is entirely unguarded. Nixon might have been a drunk, but he was a great officer and he saved lives. Also he got Winters a job after the war, so good friend.
@@zidan1hao917 Yeah but he was hence why it comes off as a absurd. Even some US generals ended up being close enough to combat that they could of fired their weapon at the enemy.
Holy shit you do understand that 10% of the army actually does the fighting...the other 90% keep the supplies and logistics running so that the 10% can fight. People have to cook, drive trucks, do paperwork. Most soldiers never ever fire their weapon in combat, let alone get within 10 miles of a front line.
Why do people always say this or that is "underrated", please stop misusing the word. This is an award winning show and these are respected successful actors. This show is not under-appreciated. It is like people always have to bitch and complain about things being under appreciated. Just say YOU appreciate the show.
@@nerthus4685 yeah, I dont get why people say its underrated. I mean might not be thought of a whole lot now given its 20 years old... but the show sits at the number 2 (I'm pretty sure its IMDB list?) show all time (number 1 is a documentary so take that as you will) and it sat at number 1 for a long time. Most of the actors either had huge careers and opportunities spawn from this, or were already fairly well known. Fantastic show, I just think a lot of people dont realize the high distinction this show, and all of the actors, received.
@@dizzledshiznit468 I think it is a millennial thing. No one in their generation knows about it or watches it, so they claim it is "underrated" while meaning "under appreciated". Meanwhile the rest of us remember it as a huge award winning cultural event and appreciate it very much. In 15 years people will be saying Game of Thrones is woefully "underrated".
@@dlxmarks Nixon never firing his weapon makes him even more relatable. He wasn't some killer, he was just going about doing his job the best that he know how.
Joe McKim Damian Lewis has gone on to do wonderful films and even though it got cancelled I really liked him in his TV show”Life”. Very different character but he played him with realism and conviction. Plus Sarah Shahi was perfect to play his partner,and she did a wonderful performance. Great cast too.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@@joemckim1183 And it wasn't like he wasn't near the combat either. He got hit in the helmet in Holland according to the show, and suffered through the Siege of Bastogne along with the rest of them. He was never physically wounded but he came back from that war a wounded veteran just like the rest of them did. He's just an all around great example of how you don't have to be a killer to be in the military. He did his service. Probably saved some lives too with how good of an officer he was.
One of my favorite things about Damien Lewis's performance in this series is that once in a while you really see the hint of a ruthless edge in Winters. He's gracious with Nixon here but he's not fucking around.
I actually disagree. He approached the situation with a lot of caution. He didn’t get straight to the point with Nixon. Kind of danced around the sentence he knew he had to deliver.
Bet she took the ice trays too. What kind of sick demented bitch leaves her husband during a war and takes everything including a dog she hated and the ice trays?
@@MATTNMEMPHIS what a despicable she devil like what do you expect your husband is at the war just becuase your lonely doesnt mean you have to take everything to get back at him
Nix married three times. Like 75% of the soldiers I've served with, he was lousy at finding himself a stable Army Wife. There's lots of "boot chasers" out there who enjoy a fling with a military man but lose their stomach rapidly once they realize (within a year) that their husband is already married to his job. Typically they don't divorce him while he's at war; since most of them are floozies they just fuck all the other guys on base and then divorce him AFTER he gets back from war, so they can keep living in a free house while he's gone.
Nixon, in my opinion, is an underrated and under spoken of character in BoB. Even Ron Livingstone doesn't get much appreciation for playing Nixon so flawlessly.
I'm not going to talk about what makes a hero or not (I feel slightly out of my depth talking about that). But it's certainly interesting in this scene how Winters still sees the honor in what they are doing no matter how you die. Whereas Nix just can't see anything good coming out of young men dying far from home before even making it into the War. Neither of them are necessarily wrong.
Disce_Aut Discede oh I’m sorry, what branch of the military are you serving in right now? Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?? Until you pin a CAR on your chest maybe you should shut the fuck up about who is and who isn’t a coward.
Matan Levy hey man I’m 18 and infantry in the marine corps. I’m not sure about you but I’ve accepted the responsibilities of a man but I sure as fuck am still a kid. As are all my brothers. Most of us are younger than 20
Ron Livingston really showed his acting chops here. This was a great scene for him. One of my favorite parts of this whole series is the smirks Nixon and Winters would give each other. There is a scene where Sobel doesn't salute Winters and after their interaction Winters looks at Nix and Nix doesn't even bother to look back, just give that "what an asshole" smile.
They weren't heroes. We should see them for what they were. Selfless victims who wanted to see an end to a conflict that many of them didn't ask for. Same sentence can be used to describe the Wehrmacht, but that doesn't many any of them heroes.
This has already been solved I'm Homer's Illiad. The young lakonian. Was a devout son, skilled Hunter and great Commander whom the ferocious Hector struck down in an instant. He lay wilted like a young poopy plant stuck in a storm" (something like that) it's not heroism but tragic.
@@GeneticDrifter Every battle needs its vanguard, and there lay the biggest casualties. They died so others can go, I do it all the time on BF1 lol: charge a hill and take out several before I go down, but I see four or five of my troops to finish the job. So to those that die when asked of those that survive "No I'm not a hero, but I served in a company of them."
you can get demoted in a unit while maintaining the same rank as someone else, for example, a Brigade Sergeant Major can be transferred to a Battalion Sergeant Major position, same rank, but it is considered a demotion since you are moving down from Brigade to Battalion.
He may not have been demoted from his rank but a reprimand was effectively the end of his career as that will stop any promotions from happening in the future
Winters fired his last shot shortly before Bastogne. He was actually commended for not having fired his weapon in combat throughout the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war.
@Baronarx V Man, you obviously don't know the story of Lewis Nixon. And you are obviously not active military or a vet. Otherwise you would understand the significance of being in combat, but for any reason unable to fire at the enemy. Especially when the enemy has killed your men and even wounded you.
@Baronarx V Disappointing to hear a vet talk like that. At least i have to assume that you are not a combat vet. Please, you do not need to teach me about how military assignments work. I have had both combat and non-combat assignments in several theaters. Surprise, surprise the real Nixon saw action and even got hit. By your definition, this should not have happened, but it did. If you had any combat experience you would know how it feels to be under fire. Sometimes you are unable to do anything about it for a whole lot of reasons. That is one of the worst feelings imaginable, especially if your unit is taking casualties. It gives you a feeling of being victimized by the enemy. A terrible feeling, I promise you that. As a soldier, firing your weapon at an enemy trying to kill you and your unit brings a tremendous feeling of release. Yes, Nixon had an assignment which did not require him to fire his weapon in anything other than self defence. But when you see action, that kind of goes out the window. I am sorry you can not understand that it takes courage to admit not firing your weapon when you have been in action.
I liked Nixon in Band of Brothers. I think his role in the series was very important, as he was Winters' friend and confident. They had a strong friendship which I believe allowed them to get through the war. There's even a scene in episode 7(I think) where Nixon has the opportunity to go on leave for a time, but he declined it and Lt. Peacock was chosen instead. Then in episode 10 he volunteered to go with Winters to war in the Pacific before the end of the war, but it never came to be because the war ended before they could go. Either way, from a psychological standpoint, I believe Nixon was good for Winters as he was really his only real friend, unless you count Harry Welsh. Winters rarely fraternized with the other soldiers in his unit as I think he chose to keep his distance. But Nixon was the one guy he could rely on, the one guy he could turn to, and talk to. That's my theory on it anyway. Some might disagree, but I think they were good for each other. I'd hate to see what would happen if one of them had died in the war.
I agree with everything other than Winters not fraternizing with others. I can't give a list as I don't know the series like the back of my hand but I can think of one example from watch band of brother clips recently. Where William opens fire on the Germans when they were ordered to wait (Ambush) on D-day landing, Winters tells him off and turns and starts walking away, William then mutters "Quaker" under his breath. Again I can't remember I'm assuming it's in the same episode other wise it wouldn't make sense. Once they've done what they needed to do a bunch of the lads are sitting in the back of an army truck having a laugh and Winters comes up lifts the fabric up (I forget why he's there) after whatever happens during that conversation Winters goes to leave but steps back and says, Oh, and Sergeant? William: "Sir?" I'm not a Quaker. There a plenty others I believe. I think it's fine line but I believe at least in the series anyway that he had some sort of friendship with all of them whether it be minor or not and likely in real life they were all probably pretty good buddies. Yes I know the comment is a year old.
He also helped him get through a lengthy bout of depression and alcohol, which we are probably seeing the very beginnings of in this scene. If I remember right, he came home to a second wife who wanted a divorce and almost killed himself, but Winters introduced him to Wife Number Three and they lived happily ever after.
commissioned officers shouldnt fraternize with their subordinates. They should be able to rely on one another no matter what the situation is but officers are commanders, not comrades. It's a fine balance of being super chill and strict as fuck.
This is probably the most keen discussion of the allied moral posture in the entire series. Nixon is suffering because it is not enough to be morally right in a global sense; he sees the arrogance, incompetence, and pointless ambition that drives the needless slaughter that still goes on. Nixon is not willing to surrender his sense of moral judgment to authority, and for that he gets a great big hole in his heart that he has to fill with VAT 69.
Sometime ago I saw the brand here in the supermarket. Usually I drink beer or vodka, whiskey is not exactly "my hit" but since i really like this character I took one bottle of vat69 just to hold my glass in the memory of him.
TheNavyShark Really? he was kind of seeing a lot things like some Colonels want to show off and make the troopers in danger for nothing. They rank up by life of those privates, sergeants or lieutenants. that's why he asked Winters "you still believe that" that's why he got demoted.
I remember when Livingston did that TV movie about the North Hollywood shootout (him and a couple of other BoB allums, I might add); his character was one of the SWAT officers who finally took down the last perp; interestingly enough Livingston's character was seemed to be in the same mental state as Nix was here.
I think he said that because he cared... he feels bad and is tired of having to feel bad... tired of war and men dying and those dying not even dying in combat
Just because they got shot down before they made it to combat doesn't make them any less of heroes. The guys who lived to fight survived because somewhere along the way one of their buddies took a bullet for them.
It is just a case of strange luck! My father was in hospital during 1996 for a heart attack, in the same ward was a British paratrooper from the second world war. On his drop at Arnhem before his feet had touched the ground the Germans filled him with lead some twenty odd rounds and he survived. He did not lose any limbs and was in hospital to remove yet another bullet fragment, that was causing him discomfort all those years later. How the hell he survived this is any one guess but these things happen. My grandfather during the first world war, under heavy machine gun fire, dragged commander Liberty who had just lost his leg, of the field of battle and only got superficially wounded himself, despite all kinds of crap being fired at him. There have been incidents where an enemy bullet has deflected of the barrel or the breach of a gun and killed a man no where near the line of fire. There are many recorded incidents of deflected bullets, killing soldiers behind cover and once again during the first world war, whilst a guy was having a tom tit on a bucket in a trench, took a machine gun bullet deflected off corrugated iron in the arse which then severed his femoral artery and he bleed to death in the opposite direction of the original path of the bullet. Freak occurrences are sadly the very nature of war.
T Green, I enjoyed reading your comment. So true. My father's father fought the Japanese at Iwo Jima. He had scars on his face from where bullets grazed him. He wouldn't go into much detail about the fighting. He did however tell me a funny story about how terrible he was with a pistol. My grandpa was an Arkansas boy. Grew up dirt poor. His father committed suicide when he got into financial trouble during the early years of the Great Depression. So grandpa was the man of the house. The family relied on him to hunt deer for food. He was damn good with a rifle as I saw first hand as a boy when he was teaching me how to shoot. But I digress. He was asleep one night when a starving Japanese guy snuck into camp. The guy tripped over grandpa as he was running away with food. This startled the hell out of my grandpa. He drew his pistol and emptied the chamber. His buddy said "nice shooting Nolan". My grandpa responded "did I get him?" His buddy said "Well you scared the hell out of him. Does that count?" Lol
Matt Williams Liked the recall of your grand par! Its funny but not as many people are that good with a pistol or revolver as they would like to think. The trouble is many here in Britain criticise America, when on our behalf you were put into a number of meat grinders during the first and second world wars and as for Iwo Jima! Well if I was in the middle of that as a young man I would have shit my pants. But then the Americans have never been short on guts.
T Green A friend of mine from the service, while in Afganistan had ribs cracked by an RPG round that went past him and brushed his chest before travelling another 50 or so feet and impacting a truck.
I think youre missing the point of this scene. the war was days away from ending, paratrooping is high risk. the only reason they tried that last jump was just to get to berlin before the russians and to collect more "status" as generals. they could have easily just continued a safe assult on the ground. the men killed died for nothing. the war ended the same despite their failed last minute paradrop. thats why they didnt die as heros but rather as pawns just being used in a political game with the russians. it could have been avoided and in my mind marks the end of WWII and the beginning of the senseless proxy fighting of the cold war
I don't think I could have written "your son is dead" letters to the families back home. I wouldn't know what to say, how to begin...I have no idea how guys like Nixon pulled it off. I'd much rather find myself up front fighting, killing and perhaps dying rather than break that kind of finality to a heartbroken family.
Some of them did wrote something personal, although some officers were among the casualties and an other officer wrote the standard I am sorry to inform you, letter. These could be pre printed forms and only names had to be filled in the blank spaces.
I once had to tell my serving Corporal that his child - his son - had just died. It was one of my toughest emotional jobs as an 18 yr old lieutenant to date. This was on deployment, but just before a specific operation. We never received any training on how to deliver a message like that, but just part of the job.
You rack your brain for a personal moment, some kind of a touchstone to remind them of his life. You tell them the same damn thing you tell anyone's wife or mother - they were brave, they were well-liked, the unit is going to miss them. You tell them they died a hero, doing their job and serving their country. The letter is for the parent.
They probably all followed a similar format, with the higher casualty rates in the Second World War (in comparison to the far smaller losses sustained in today's battlefields), no officer is going to have the time to add a personal touch to each individual letter. Especially if there were some men that the officer perhaps didn't know all too well
"Hey, just dropping you a line. Wars going great! PS your son is dead, but he died screaming and burning in a plane, so wasn't tortured or left to bleed out in a ditch. Good times. PPS got any more sons?
I thought only I noticed this, this little things that separates okay actors from great actors. I wish we had him do a crying scene even if it would be alone not in front of his men. He was fantastic in homeland "Q&A" episode.
im 3 years late but here's my take- When he asked that question back, he was thinking that war and seeing death makes you less hopeful. But being strong and keeping your principles in spite of it all gives meaning not just your service but to those you're serving with. Hope and morale is important to keep up during hardship
***** This whole episode revolving around Nixon was my favorite. The ending when Nixon tells the others that Hitler killed himself is my favorite scene in entire series. The wishful thinking of Leebgotd, saying Hilter should of done it long ago and saved everybody the trouble. Then Nixon's reply....."Yea he shoulda. But he didnt." Just sums it all up, how one man's lunacy, led to such needless human suffering.
I was 12 when this came out and my dad made me wait until I was older to watch it. What a powerful series! Made even more so after I fought in a war and watched scenes like this again.
Definitely high tolerance level now because he drinks so much and it would take more to get drunk. But it would be hitting him somewhere. His liver is probably begging for mercy every time he takes a drink.
He was 100% drunk all the time, the only reason he seems sober is because he is always drunk and like this all the time. You cant tell the two apart with this guy.
I used to drink a liter of vodca a day. I quit drinking now. But back then I could drink 75% of that liter and you wouldnt think I drank anything. Your tolerance goes up the more you drink. Now I take one shot Im feeling it.
Today was the first time I ever watched this scene with subtitles and realized Nix said “not a round” instead of “not around” For 20 years I always thought that line meant he wasn’t present for the fighting because he was a battalion-level intelligence officer.
I just finished ear Jing band of brothers an hour ago. I watch it every year in July to celebrate my grandfather but I didn't get to this year. I'm currently sick with covid with nothing to do so it was time.
The operation Nixon discusses here is Operation Varsity (the airborne portion of Operation Plunder) which was conducted by the newly former 17th Airborne in March 1945 as part of Montgomery's crossing of the Rhine. My father participated in this action as a member of the 194 Glider Infantry Regiment.
@@reidparker1848 Of course. Unfortunately, he passed 21 years ago and getting details on his service record requires a bit of research and time (not to mention background checks). So I don't know that info.
Ron and Eion really have the look like they belong in the time they’re in. They can play early 1900s characters very well. Cudlitz, too. With his cigar.
I think he was just a little more strong willed. That's probably why he had natural leadership abilities. He had the ability to keep his composure under pressure and wasn't deterred by anything really. He was a natural born leader.
It is worth noting the quick reference in the clip to the fact Nixon was one of the handful of soldiers who jumped in all three airborne missions of the 101. (3 stars. ) Pretty darn impressive.
Wasn't until years after watching this great mini-series that I learned Damian Lewis (Winters) is as British as they come! Born and raised in London.. would never be able to tell from his accent though
Over the last 20 years Lewis has played more American characters than British ones to the point where his offscreen voice now sounds like something in between.
Having been sent from Regiment back down to Battalion S-3 myself (actually Squadron S-3), in 1988, I assure you it wasn't a demotion. I kept my rank as did Nixon and we were both happier & closer to reality. Just learned Nixon went from serving in a rifle company, to Battalion S-2, then Regimental S-2, then Battalion S-3 ... so that would be a promotion, not a demotion. [makes for better TV to say it was a demotion]
Some guys would rather be further down the echelon. I preferred to stay down around the battalion level with my last Army job, even though on paper I was a brigade level asset. But I did know officers that went down to battalion from brigade and felt it was a demotion or career set back.
That's true. Probably not a demotion, but not sure its a promotion either. The units I've been in Battalion S2=Captains slot, Regimental/Brigade S2=Major, and S3=Lt. Col., and Battalion S3=Major, so he was still going into a Majors slot. I was a Group/Brigade S1=Majors slot as a Captain and left that for a Bn S1=Captain slot for a Forward Spt. Bn. and did not think it a demotion. Not only was I happier, I was asked/selected by a new Bn Cdr. and was honored (I knew also that I'd have a better chance of getting the company command I wanted).
Having commanded at company, battalion and at brigade, the best command and place is battalion. A company commander still is tied to battalion for support and the politics that go with it. A brigade commander has the politics with the division staff. Battalion commander though you control a lot of the tools and decisions that impact the lifes of your soldiers. So yes for Nixon, he is best at helping those soldiers at the point of the attack. Given the character of Nixon or a new major from CGSC my choice is Nix.
@@destroyer0685 I used to be into military history until I realized that it was mostly flag officer-worshipping crap, as though they determine the outcome of battles/wars to the exclusion of absolutely everything else. Good weapons, good equipment, good tactics, the leadership/aptitude of junior officers, and frequent training in/with them wins wars, not some general pushing division markers around a map from his chatau command post. "Operational" success is nothing more than the aggregate success of "small", "insignificant" units. Weapons fascinate me much more than any military bureaucracy.
I like to watch this scene when I am feeling completely despondent about something. Sometimes it helps to watch a man who is so worn out that he gives less of a flying fudge about anything than I ever could.
2:52 They are working with two definitions of "hero"... Winters: people ready to fight and die for their country; Nixon: people who have done exceptionally brave things in battle that might get someone a major bravery citation. Only Nixon's definition gets someone something like a Medal of Honor. For Nixon, they never got the chance to be heros.
Yes, you got that exactly right. But I also wonder if Nixon had turned sour on fighting Nazis. Not so much that he didn't think they were bad anymore, just that fighting sucks. It's very common. Look at the movie, and TV series, MASH. All of those characters would agree that communism was not good. But none of them were excited to see the byproducts of fighting against it, and the two feelings create an unresolvable conflict within a person. On the other side, someone who never has doubts about the worthiness of a hard fight that kills so many people is probably a sociopath. At least a little bit of questioning is a sign of a healthy moral response. Imagine being a general and sending thousands into harms way, and seeing the lists of casualties every day. It takes some serious mental discipline to keep from going nuts. General U. S. Grant just kept in mind that pressing the enemy as hard as possible with the best strategy and tactics they could think of, was going to end the war the quickest, and ultimately, preserve more lives. At least, it would preserve more of his own men.
Each and EVERY actor who were cast for these parts jumped for joy. (A Steven Spielberg Production) Imagine getting that phone call. I auditioned for a part and didn't get it along with hundreds of others.. Each actor in this series were the top of the line actors. They really were.
Nixon is describing his jump with the 17th Airborne in March 1945 in Operation Varsity...part of Montgomery's crossing of the Rhine. My father was a Glider Trooper in this operation.
Excellent scene. No dramatic music no fluff. Just true genuine human emotion. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have to write those letters.
From around 2:35: Winters: That a problem up at regiment? Dixon: I don't like Regiment, and I don't think I'm gonna go anymore. Winters: You're just not gonna go? Dixon: Yeah. Winters: Won't you get court-martialed? Dixon: I don't know. But I really don't like it, and I'm not gonna go. Winters: So, you're gonna go awol? Dixon: No, not really, I'm just gonna stop going. Winters: When did you decide all that? Dixon: About two bottles of Vat 69 ago. Winters: Really? Dixon: Yeah. Winters: So, you're gettin' transferred back down to Battalion. Dixon: I don't think I'd like it back at Batallion. Winters: What are you going to do? Dixon: Y'know, I've never really liked the war, I don't think I'm gonna do that either. I mean, this whole time, I never fired one round, not one.
this was a great nixon scene and really kinda explain why he drinks so much. I mean by some random luck, he survived a near death experience but lost so many of his men. If i were him, i would've wrote their folks that, their sons, brothers, nephews, grandsons...died doing what they were trained for in the line of duty.
His wife also divorced him midway through the war and took everything from him uncontested, even his dog. He had a selection of reasons for his drinking problem.
He says "Oh well, wasn't me" but the look on his face and the desperate drinking tell us he can't stop thinking about those men, cooked alive or blown to pieces before they even left the plane. He doesn't even care he got demoted, all he cares about is how he has to break the news to all those families that their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands are dead.
Ron Livingstone is an underrated actor. I used to work on a private psych ward with lots of PTSD victims, alcohol addicts, and veterans, and he really nails the darker aspects of the character as the series goes on. The fixed gaze of a depressed person dwelling on their trauma, the subtle gait changes of an alcoholic, the veiled anger in his speech, etc. I didn't realise it when I saw this series in my teens, but he does a frighteningly good job at portraying all of that.
He was awesome in this ep. The Nixon episode for sure
Only just saw this year-old comment but yeah. The grief in his eyes and his smile, the edge in his voice, when he says "Oh well - wasn't me!" Gets me each time I come back to this.
when i was growing up nixon was my favorite, now that i'm older he's the more relatable. when he says "oh well wasn't me" i know he wished it was him
I was tortured as a child 😮 , I never got the ptsd though 😮
I think Dick Winthers treated him like a real genuine friend, apart from all his ups and downs. A true sign of friendship really.
I read they were best friends through the war,and for the rest of their lives! An alcoholic and a man that doesn't drink! Bizarre combination!
smalltown texas man who desnt drink keeps the other from over doing it lol
smalltown texas dick winters laughed about it
My favorite part between these two is when Winters dumps a pitcher of liquid on a passed out Nixon to wake him and then finds out it was piss.
cipher88101 it was his own urine.
"Yeah...demoted, gotcha."
Great scene.
The correct response from any combat officer or NCO who's come to realize how much meaningless bureaucratic bullshit scurries close behind them them into any combat zone, like rats following a plague.
It happened in WWII. It happened in Vietnam. It happened in Iraq.
Demoted. Gotcha.
agreed. Nix is saying combing kids' body parts out of your gear tends to narrow your focus.
Anthony S
I did some looking up. This must have been Operation Varsity, the forgotten jump. It is generally considered to have been a disaster.
***** Exactly.
pinz2022 The military, particularly the British, thought it went wonderfully. But it was completely unnecessary and conducted during daylight hours, so the Airborne took bad AAA and even worse casualties.
In WWII, paratroopers were a rapier that, more often than not, was wielded by a technologically-suspicious Neanderthal.
This scene was really important in showing how survivor's guilt affects people. He's never killed anyone or been injured but he has PTSD because every time he made it out alive he knew the people that died. He had to write letters to the families of the people he knew after seeing them all die. Very powerful scene here.
+spartan1010101 Nixon, like many other soldiers is tired of the war...I agree with you, he must be tired of seeing people die, and living with that survivor's guilt must be impossible.
***** sounds like someone's never heard the empathy song.
+WinMore nixon was drunk too much
Wow, low blow there.
Why is it so that there are angry little people commenting on every BoB video? Does mommy know that you insult people on the Internet unprovoked? Why do you do it? Is it because you've uploaded a shit ton of videos and they have no views whatsoever?
"...because I don't know how to tell them their kids never even made it out of the god damn plane."
That moment gets me every time.
I'd imagine something like "Flew fearlessly into enemy territory... plane shot down on way to drop zone... killed instantly... heroically serving their country..."
I've never understood why it mattered to him whether they were killed on the ground or in the plane.
@degree7 Of course it's not.
They helped other planes get through alive by drawing enemy fire.
That would be like saying all the people at the start of Saving private Ryan who died on the beaches, that their role was pointless because they didn't make it onto the bluffs.
If you only sent the people who survived into combat and left behind all the people who would have died then, the enemy would just have shot at the people who would have survived instead, killing a bunch of them. So if you remove them too, and so on and so on, pretty soon there's nobody left and the mission is a failure.
So the casualties were just as important to the success of the mission as the others who made it though to the end.
@@sergarlantyrell7847 pretty sure he was getting at the mission itself was pointless. Kind of like how operation market garden was pointless.
Ser Garlan Tyrell never understood that tactic why would you just face check German emplacement when storming the beaches??? The strat was to just tank the manchine gun fire in hopes some can make it through?? Definitely the stupidest shit ever tbh this is why I would hate to be a infantrymen just a got damn meat shield.
I think some people are misunderstanding the significance of this quote. It's not about the success or failure of the mission or the war. Those lofty platitudes can always be slapped on a war by soldiers and politicians to give meaning to everyone's sacrifice. In this scene Winters is being somewhat superficial and political in that he is still clinging to that lofty platitude. No matter how we die we all die as heroes. Again, the kind of thing that a politician would say during a speech. Nixon is in no mood for platitude speeches, least of all from his best buddy who he went through the whole war with. Nixon is looking for a moment of comradeship from Winters and a real moment about being honest about the futility of repeated death. He simply wants to know how the hell he can lie to these parents and make it sound good, because the reality isn't good. What he gets instead from Winters is a mini-lecture about being demoted.
Nixon could give two shits about being demoted! He just had an entire plane under his command get wiped out and he was one of the only survivors.
Nixon isn't talking about them because he thinks the war is a failure. What he's doing is showing combat fatigue, war fatigue. Another jump. Another bunch of young guys blown to bits in the sky. He's not giving a political opinion of the war here. He's simply expressing his utter frustration and despair over the fact the he's got to tell another round of parents about their sons' deaths.
But it's not ONLY that he has to inform them that they died, but he has to sugar coat it and wrap it in flowery ribbons to give them the impression they died with their faces to the enemy heroically charging forward, firing their rifle while bravely following their commander across the fields.
What Nixon is despairing about here is that those kids never even MADE IT into combat on the ground. They never even fired a single SHOT at their enemy. They were blown up and killed before they even had a chance to shoot back at the enemy. THAT is the futility of what he's talking about. All those planes on D-Day and in the months afterward carrying "all those kids", planes that got hit and blown apart before they even had a chance to jump "out of the god damn plane".
And it also provides yet another excellent reason to be drinking! Who the hell wants to stay sober right after you barely survived a combat jump and everybody else in the plane got obliterated right around you?
"Nixon, if you could just make sure those letters to the families have the new cover sheets on them, that'd be greeeeeeaaat."
Don't forget the TPS reports.
Paul Johnson
And the stapler
Lieutenant Prick Or that stupid fax machine that they pounded the shit out of.
"Yeeeaaaa... I'm gonna have to go ahead and, uh, transfer you back to battalion. Yeeeaaa. If you could just have your things cleared out from regimental HQ by 1700 hours that'd be greeeeaaat."
Yeah well that may be but at least I never slept with Captain Lumburgh
That's a great officer. He doesn't care that he got demoted. He cares about the men lost in the field.
+Cleo Fierro He wasn't happy about it. It was said in a sarcastic and probably somewhat drunk manner in a halfhearted attempt at a joke. He is experiencing survivor's guilt and doesn't know how to cope.
It's called survivor's guilt
im sure a few centurions were having a conversation like this many centuries ago,''nihil novi sub sole'-There is nothing new under the sun'
You try coping with survivor's guilt then. *shrug* I've seen some vets having episodes, and it's not a pretty picture.
Cleo Fierro he's pissed and sad. He's drinking his face off because he feels guilty. They're asking him to write to all these families saying they're kids die. He's having hard time dealing with it.
This is one of the saddest scenes in my opinion. No glorified moments, no music in the background, no fancy camera angles. The scene is what it is which, I think, makes it more powerful.
***** Nixon's life was also going to shit back home as his wife was getting ready to leave him if she hadn't already by that time frame.
I agree 100%, well said!
good comment ma boi, nothing to add thats a pretty damn great scene
Frank Bullitt and she took his FUCKING DOG, IT WASNT EVEN HER DOG IT WAS HIS DOG!
I don't know war.
I do know not giving a shit.
Nixon is there.
“.....then he married a woman called Grace and everything changed. They traveled the world together. My friend Lou died, in 1995.....”
Lew..
50 years later. Not bad, Airborne.
That moment had got to me, I held it in the whole show, but after this line I started crying
@@aryamanachanta Just reading that line made me misty eyed.
If you check Wikipedia, Grace was Japanese. (And Nixon's Grandfather was an industrialist who was everywhere, so to speak, in his day.)
The real Nixon was just as hard drinking. He really did have a hard time with losing young men and he hated all career officers like col. sink. after the war he went back to new jersey and met his second wife who helped him deal with the losses and stop drinking, he and winters remained close friends until the day he died.
Nixon married 3 times.
He took to drink after losing alot of good young men. Can't judge him for that: I would have done the same.
C. S. - Can you imagine....you take fire right over the drop zone...you and 2 other guys get out of the plane... your chute is barely open and the plane you exited a few moments ago gets a direct hit and explodes over Berlin....you watch in numbed horror....Operation Varsity
yup
Wagner27 William good to know not hard to understand.
I really don't get the comments demeaning Nixon for not firing his weapon or being in combat or being Winters. Nixon was a great intelligence officer. He saved lives throughout their entire time, as described in both the series and the book. The series even shows him reminding the acting division commander the battalion's flank is entirely unguarded. Nixon might have been a drunk, but he was a great officer and he saved lives. Also he got Winters a job after the war, so good friend.
It just seems a little absurd that he didn't fire his rifle once at the enemy.
@@Seriona1 he is a battalion level officer, so unless shit really hit the fan he shouldn't be in any sort of fire fight
@@zidan1hao917 Yeah but he was hence why it comes off as a absurd. Even some US generals ended up being close enough to combat that they could of fired their weapon at the enemy.
Holy shit you do understand that 10% of the army actually does the fighting...the other 90% keep the supplies and logistics running so that the 10% can fight. People have to cook, drive trucks, do paperwork. Most soldiers never ever fire their weapon in combat, let alone get within 10 miles of a front line.
@@kakabukkake0 holt shit, do you understand the entire 101st saw combat during WWII.
Both these actors are absolutely brilliant, and grossly underated. Their sublime acting is just right.
Why do people always say this or that is "underrated", please stop misusing the word. This is an award winning show and these are respected successful actors. This show is not under-appreciated. It is like people always have to bitch and complain about things being under appreciated. Just say YOU appreciate the show.
@@nerthus4685 yeah, I dont get why people say its underrated. I mean might not be thought of a whole lot now given its 20 years old... but the show sits at the number 2 (I'm pretty sure its IMDB list?) show all time (number 1 is a documentary so take that as you will) and it sat at number 1 for a long time. Most of the actors either had huge careers and opportunities spawn from this, or were already fairly well known. Fantastic show, I just think a lot of people dont realize the high distinction this show, and all of the actors, received.
@@dizzledshiznit468 I think it is a millennial thing. No one in their generation knows about it or watches it, so they claim it is "underrated" while meaning "under appreciated".
Meanwhile the rest of us remember it as a huge award winning cultural event and appreciate it very much.
In 15 years people will be saying Game of Thrones is woefully "underrated".
@@nerthus4685 Except for _GoTs_ last two seasons. I expect those will be accurately rated.
Underrated? How? This is a critically acclaimed show in which these actors received high praise.
Damian Lewis gets a lot of credit for BoB, and for good reasons. But Ron Livingston especially in this scene was excellent as Lewis Nixon.
Winters was an exceptional soldier and person but Nixon is the one that more of us can relate to,
@@dlxmarks Nixon never firing his weapon makes him even more relatable. He wasn't some killer, he was just going about doing his job the best that he know how.
Joe McKim Damian Lewis has gone on to do wonderful films and even though it got cancelled I really liked him in his TV show”Life”. Very different character but he played him with realism and conviction. Plus Sarah Shahi was perfect to play his partner,and she did a wonderful performance. Great cast too.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@@joemckim1183 And it wasn't like he wasn't near the combat either. He got hit in the helmet in Holland according to the show, and suffered through the Siege of Bastogne along with the rest of them. He was never physically wounded but he came back from that war a wounded veteran just like the rest of them did.
He's just an all around great example of how you don't have to be a killer to be in the military. He did his service. Probably saved some lives too with how good of an officer he was.
@@fw1421 Life was excellent. He was also great in Homeland.
"Yeah, demoted, gotcha" - Livingston bringing some Office Space to WW2
Now he’s got to put cover sheets on all the TPS (To Parents of Soldiers) reports.
One of my favorite things about Damien Lewis's performance in this series is that once in a while you really see the hint of a ruthless edge in Winters. He's gracious with Nixon here but he's not fucking around.
I actually disagree. He approached the situation with a lot of caution. He didn’t get straight to the point with Nixon. Kind of danced around the sentence he knew he had to deliver.
@@SpiritMatthias I agree with your comment. Nixon was always special to Winters and he wouldn't take that tone with him.
Despite Nixon's flaws, he, and along with Richard, are my favorite characters in the series.
JerrytheBaum
*real people
She hates that dog
If she hated it then why did she take it?
Bet she took the ice trays too. What kind of sick demented bitch leaves her husband during a war and takes everything including a dog she hated and the ice trays?
@@MATTNMEMPHIS what a despicable she devil like what do you expect your husband is at the war just becuase your lonely doesnt mean you have to take everything to get back at him
*Throws helmet*
Nix married three times. Like 75% of the soldiers I've served with, he was lousy at finding himself a stable Army Wife. There's lots of "boot chasers" out there who enjoy a fling with a military man but lose their stomach rapidly once they realize (within a year) that their husband is already married to his job. Typically they don't divorce him while he's at war; since most of them are floozies they just fuck all the other guys on base and then divorce him AFTER he gets back from war, so they can keep living in a free house while he's gone.
I just love how Ron Livingston plays Capt. Lewis Nixon. Anyone else ?
i agreed
"Swear to God if I end up having a boy named Gibbons who's the bitch of a slimeball like this Major here..."
I like the entire casting including Herbert Sobel
Ron should be in every movie ever made.
Agree. Actually all the actors did a good job. A great series. IMO one of the best films ever made.
Nixon, in my opinion, is an underrated and under spoken of character in BoB. Even Ron Livingstone doesn't get much appreciation for playing Nixon so flawlessly.
I'm not going to talk about what makes a hero or not (I feel slightly out of my depth talking about that). But it's certainly interesting in this scene how Winters still sees the honor in what they are doing no matter how you die. Whereas Nix just can't see anything good coming out of young men dying far from home before even making it into the War. Neither of them are necessarily wrong.
Well put, and very true. War is hell. That is perhaps the best way to put it.
One can argue if dying on the plane is heroic. But in a war against Nazist in Europe there is no question of honor.
There’s no glory, no victory. A bunch of teenagers called “men” burned alive in a fucking C47 plummeting to the earth. War is hell.
Disce_Aut Discede oh I’m sorry, what branch of the military are you serving in right now? Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?? Until you pin a CAR on your chest maybe you should shut the fuck up about who is and who isn’t a coward.
Matan Levy hey man I’m 18 and infantry in the marine corps. I’m not sure about you but I’ve accepted the responsibilities of a man but I sure as fuck am still a kid. As are all my brothers. Most of us are younger than 20
Ron Livingston really showed his acting chops here. This was a great scene for him.
One of my favorite parts of this whole series is the smirks Nixon and Winters would give each other.
There is a scene where Sobel doesn't salute Winters and after their interaction Winters looks at Nix and Nix doesn't even bother to look back, just give that "what an asshole" smile.
Every man who doesn't drink has a alcoholic friend that's always real and loyal. 👌
Airborne
Jajajajaja no mames Rusito, ¿qué haces aquí?
Qué inesperado fue esto.
@@BrighterSun ?
I do not.
I don't drink and I don't have any alcoholic friends.
I love how winters doesn’t knock Nixs drinking just talks to him like a friend
Well, he is his friend.
The moment they set foot in that plane they were heroes.
All those poor young men. 😔
nathan smith
You want an army of paid mercenaries or an army of armed slaves?
They weren't heroes. We should see them for what they were.
Selfless victims who wanted to see an end to a conflict that many of them didn't ask for.
Same sentence can be used to describe the Wehrmacht, but that doesn't many any of them heroes.
This has already been solved I'm Homer's Illiad. The young lakonian. Was a devout son, skilled Hunter and great Commander whom the ferocious Hector struck down in an instant. He lay wilted like a young poopy plant stuck in a storm" (something like that) it's not heroism but tragic.
@@GeneticDrifter Every battle needs its vanguard, and there lay the biggest casualties. They died so others can go, I do it all the time on BF1 lol: charge a hill and take out several before I go down, but I see four or five of my troops to finish the job. So to those that die when asked of those that survive "No I'm not a hero, but I served in a company of them."
He didn’t get demoted in rank, but in billet and responsibility for the record.
Isaiah B I didn’t realize that till I read your comment even after have been in the army myself lol
you can get demoted in a unit while maintaining the same rank as someone else, for example, a Brigade Sergeant Major can be transferred to a Battalion Sergeant Major position, same rank, but it is considered a demotion since you are moving down from Brigade to Battalion.
Jeremy Casper tracking
He may not have been demoted from his rank but a reprimand was effectively the end of his career as that will stop any promotions from happening in the future
@@johnreed9050 He wouldn't care; he had no desire to have a career in the Army.
It takes some bravery admitting that you haven't fire your gun in combat like that. He could easily have lied, but he didn't
If anyone fro your battalion S3 is engaged in combat, youre in a very bad situation.
Didn't he almost get a chance to shoot his rifle, but it jammed?
Winters fired his last shot shortly before Bastogne. He was actually commended for not having fired his weapon in combat throughout the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war.
@Baronarx V Man, you obviously don't know the story of Lewis Nixon.
And you are obviously not active military or a vet. Otherwise you would understand the significance of being in combat, but for any reason unable to fire at the enemy. Especially when the enemy has killed your men and even wounded you.
@Baronarx V Disappointing to hear a vet talk like that. At least i have to assume that you are not a combat vet.
Please, you do not need to teach me about how military assignments work. I have had both combat and non-combat assignments in several theaters.
Surprise, surprise the real Nixon saw action and even got hit. By your definition, this should not have happened, but it did.
If you had any combat experience you would know how it feels to be under fire. Sometimes you are unable to do anything about it for a whole lot of reasons. That is one of the worst feelings imaginable, especially if your unit is taking casualties. It gives you a feeling of being victimized by the enemy. A terrible feeling, I promise you that.
As a soldier, firing your weapon at an enemy trying to kill you and your unit brings a tremendous feeling of release.
Yes, Nixon had an assignment which did not require him to fire his weapon in anything other than self defence. But when you see action, that kind of goes out the window.
I am sorry you can not understand that it takes courage to admit not firing your weapon when you have been in action.
Nixon is my favourite character-- he carries a lot of depth in every scene.
I liked Nixon in Band of Brothers. I think his role in the series was very important, as he was Winters' friend and confident. They had a strong friendship which I believe allowed them to get through the war. There's even a scene in episode 7(I think) where Nixon has the opportunity to go on leave for a time, but he declined it and Lt. Peacock was chosen instead. Then in episode 10 he volunteered to go with Winters to war in the Pacific before the end of the war, but it never came to be because the war ended before they could go.
Either way, from a psychological standpoint, I believe Nixon was good for Winters as he was really his only real friend, unless you count Harry Welsh. Winters rarely fraternized with the other soldiers in his unit as I think he chose to keep his distance. But Nixon was the one guy he could rely on, the one guy he could turn to, and talk to.
That's my theory on it anyway. Some might disagree, but I think they were good for each other. I'd hate to see what would happen if one of them had died in the war.
I agree with everything other than Winters not fraternizing with others. I can't give a list as I don't know the series like the back of my hand but I can think of one example from watch band of brother clips recently. Where William opens fire on the Germans when they were ordered to wait (Ambush) on D-day landing, Winters tells him off and turns and starts walking away, William then mutters "Quaker" under his breath. Again I can't remember I'm assuming it's in the same episode other wise it wouldn't make sense. Once they've done what they needed to do a bunch of the lads are sitting in the back of an army truck having a laugh and Winters comes up lifts the fabric up (I forget why he's there) after whatever happens during that conversation Winters goes to leave but steps back and says, Oh, and Sergeant? William: "Sir?" I'm not a Quaker. There a plenty others I believe. I think it's fine line but I believe at least in the series anyway that he had some sort of friendship with all of them whether it be minor or not and likely in real life they were all probably pretty good buddies. Yes I know the comment is a year old.
MrRiddleAW. Also. In the real world, after the war, MAJ Winters went to work at the business owned by CPT Nixon's Family
He also helped him get through a lengthy bout of depression and alcohol, which we are probably seeing the very beginnings of in this scene. If I remember right, he came home to a second wife who wanted a divorce and almost killed himself, but Winters introduced him to Wife Number Three and they lived happily ever after.
commissioned officers shouldnt fraternize with their subordinates. They should be able to rely on one another no matter what the situation is but officers are commanders, not comrades. It's a fine balance of being super chill and strict as fuck.
@@CountArtha true, sometimes it takes a couple of wives. Just ask Johnny Cash :)
This is probably the most keen discussion of the allied moral posture in the entire series. Nixon is suffering because it is not enough to be morally right in a global sense; he sees the arrogance, incompetence, and pointless ambition that drives the needless slaughter that still goes on. Nixon is not willing to surrender his sense of moral judgment to authority, and for that he gets a great big hole in his heart that he has to fill with VAT 69.
VAT 69 is quite a decent whisky to be honest.
Sometime ago I saw the brand here in the supermarket. Usually I drink beer or vodka, whiskey is not exactly "my hit" but since i really like this character I took one bottle of vat69 just to hold my glass in the memory of him.
Nice
I agree
It has become my scotch of choice after watching BOB too many times. Its best with a touch of coke in my taste
@@boybumbatso1582 is it expensive
Band of Brothers did a good job in casting people who look very similar to the real life people. Livingston looks a lot like Nixon did.
Winters himself said on the bus when he saw the actors that he was looking at a bunch of ghosts. That’s how good the casting was
The real tragedy is he didn't use the new cover sheets for the tps reports
+MrDagassman omg this is gold!!!!
+MrDagassman That's the real reason why he was demoted.
And he drank Vat 69 on the route march - Sobel will not be happy about that.
TheNavyShark Really? he was kind of seeing a lot things like some Colonels want to show off and make the troopers in danger for nothing.
They rank up by life of those privates, sergeants or lieutenants.
that's why he asked Winters "you still believe that"
that's why he got demoted.
Apparently he didn't get that memo.
He's a superb actor Ron Livingston, wish he got the roles to match his talent.
I remember when Livingston did that TV movie about the North Hollywood shootout (him and a couple of other BoB allums, I might add); his character was one of the SWAT officers who finally took down the last perp; interestingly enough Livingston's character was seemed to be in the same mental state as Nix was here.
That's OK, he got the girl. He is married to Rosemarie DeWitt, AKA Midge from Mad Men.
"Oh they blew up over Germany somewhere. Boom." Nixons drunk witty comments
+m e e c o s "oh well wasn't me"
Nix had zero fucks to give by then.
I think he said that because he cared... he feels bad and is tired of having to feel bad... tired of war and men dying and those dying not even dying in combat
He can't really articulate how he feels. He's guilty about living and crushed by their deaths.
Survivors guilt.
Youth is wanting to be Winters.
Maturity is accepting you're Nixon
The acting in this series was just...sublime. I mean, there wasn’t a weak performance by anyone.
That actor who played Blythe was horrible
Just because they got shot down before they made it to combat doesn't make them any less of heroes. The guys who lived to fight survived because somewhere along the way one of their buddies took a bullet for them.
It is just a case of strange luck! My father was in hospital during 1996 for a heart attack, in the same ward was a British paratrooper from the second world war. On his drop at Arnhem before his feet had touched the ground the Germans filled him with lead some twenty odd rounds and he survived. He did not lose any limbs and was in hospital to remove yet another bullet fragment, that was causing him discomfort all those years later. How the hell he survived this is any one guess but these things happen. My grandfather during the first world war, under heavy machine gun fire, dragged commander Liberty who had just lost his leg, of the field of battle and only got superficially wounded himself, despite all kinds of crap being fired at him. There have been incidents where an enemy bullet has deflected of the barrel or the breach of a gun and killed a man no where near the line of fire. There are many recorded incidents of deflected bullets, killing soldiers behind cover and once again during the first world war, whilst a guy was having a tom tit on a bucket in a trench, took a machine gun bullet deflected off corrugated iron in the arse which then severed his femoral artery and he bleed to death in the opposite direction of the original path of the bullet. Freak occurrences are sadly the very nature of war.
T Green, I enjoyed reading your comment. So true. My father's father fought the Japanese at Iwo Jima. He had scars on his face from where bullets grazed him. He wouldn't go into much detail about the fighting. He did however tell me a funny story about how terrible he was with a pistol. My grandpa was an Arkansas boy. Grew up dirt poor. His father committed suicide when he got into financial trouble during the early years of the Great Depression. So grandpa was the man of the house. The family relied on him to hunt deer for food. He was damn good with a rifle as I saw first hand as a boy when he was teaching me how to shoot. But I digress. He was asleep one night when a starving Japanese guy snuck into camp. The guy tripped over grandpa as he was running away with food. This startled the hell out of my grandpa. He drew his pistol and emptied the chamber. His buddy said "nice shooting Nolan". My grandpa responded "did I get him?" His buddy said "Well you scared the hell out of him. Does that count?" Lol
Matt Williams Liked the recall of your grand par! Its funny but not as many people are that good with a pistol or revolver as they would like to think. The trouble is many here in Britain criticise America, when on our behalf you were put into a number of meat grinders during the first and second world wars and as for Iwo Jima! Well if I was in the middle of that as a young man I would have shit my pants. But then the Americans have never been short on guts.
T Green
A friend of mine from the service, while in Afganistan had ribs cracked by an RPG round that went past him and brushed his chest before travelling another 50 or so feet and impacting a truck.
I think youre missing the point of this scene. the war was days away from ending, paratrooping is high risk. the only reason they tried that last jump was just to get to berlin before the russians and to collect more "status" as generals. they could have easily just continued a safe assult on the ground. the men killed died for nothing. the war ended the same despite their failed last minute paradrop. thats why they didnt die as heros but rather as pawns just being used in a political game with the russians. it could have been avoided and in my mind marks the end of WWII and the beginning of the senseless proxy fighting of the cold war
All of the acting in this series is just impeccible.
I don't think I could have written "your son is dead" letters to the families back home. I wouldn't know what to say, how to begin...I have no idea how guys like Nixon pulled it off. I'd much rather find myself up front fighting, killing and perhaps dying rather than break that kind of finality to a heartbroken family.
Some of them did wrote something personal, although some officers were among the casualties and an other officer wrote the standard I am sorry to inform you, letter. These could be pre printed forms and only names had to be filled in the blank spaces.
I once had to tell my serving Corporal that his child - his son - had just died. It was one of my toughest emotional jobs as an 18 yr old lieutenant to date. This was on deployment, but just before a specific operation. We never received any training on how to deliver a message like that, but just part of the job.
You rack your brain for a personal moment, some kind of a touchstone to remind them of his life. You tell them the same damn thing you tell anyone's wife or mother - they were brave, they were well-liked, the unit is going to miss them. You tell them they died a hero, doing their job and serving their country.
The letter is for the parent.
They probably all followed a similar format, with the higher casualty rates in the Second World War (in comparison to the far smaller losses sustained in today's battlefields), no officer is going to have the time to add a personal touch to each individual letter. Especially if there were some men that the officer perhaps didn't know all too well
"Hey, just dropping you a line. Wars going great! PS your son is dead, but he died screaming and burning in a plane, so wasn't tortured or left to bleed out in a ditch. Good times. PPS got any more sons?
The way Damian Lewis tilts his head when he asks "Don't you?" at 3:10. Very good acting right there.
I thought only I noticed this, this little things that separates okay actors from great actors. I wish we had him do a crying scene even if it would be alone not in front of his men. He was fantastic in homeland "Q&A" episode.
im 3 years late but here's my take- When he asked that question back, he was thinking that war and seeing death makes you less hopeful. But being strong and keeping your principles in spite of it all gives meaning not just your service but to those you're serving with. Hope and morale is important to keep up during hardship
That's not planned. That was lived.
Pretty normal, I see no big deal in this little act. Nice serie btw.
Livingston really showed his acting chops in this series.
Winters: Hear me Nix? You've been demoted.
Nixon: Demoted yea. Gotcha.
Lawrence: Hey Mix man, check out Channel 9, it's the breast exam! Woo!
Lol
the best
"What the F**k is that?"
Oh he's cool.
This is my favorite scene in the whole series.
***** This whole episode revolving around Nixon was my favorite. The ending when Nixon tells the others that Hitler killed himself is my favorite scene in entire series. The wishful thinking of Leebgotd, saying Hilter should of done it long ago and saved everybody the trouble. Then Nixon's reply....."Yea he shoulda. But he didnt." Just sums it all up, how one man's lunacy, led to such needless human suffering.
shibby dibby He may have been sane...but he was not a good man by any stretch of the imagination.
shibby dibby Hail Hydra.
Fun fact: Captain Lewis Nixon and the actor who portrayed him, Ron Livingston, both studied at Yale University.
Nixon to Colonel Sink: You see Bob. It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.
Ron Livingston is a top notch actor.
After all these years it's still staggering how many powerful scenes this series has! Nothing like basing a show on the realities of war I suppose.
I was 12 when this came out and my dad made me wait until I was older to watch it. What a powerful series! Made even more so after I fought in a war and watched scenes like this again.
funny how that wiskey has totally no effect over him, he was pretty much 0% drunk
yea, I was talking about the stage of drunkenness he was in tho, not why he drank :)
Definitely high tolerance level now because he drinks so much and it would take more to get drunk. But it would be hitting him somewhere. His liver is probably begging for mercy every time he takes a drink.
He was 100% drunk all the time, the only reason he seems sober is because he is always drunk and like this all the time. You cant tell the two apart with this guy.
Not nearly enough time for an experienced drinker to be affected yet.Alcohol is not instant.
I used to drink a liter of vodca a day. I quit drinking now. But back then I could drink 75% of that liter and you wouldnt think I drank anything. Your tolerance goes up the more you drink. Now I take one shot Im feeling it.
Goddamn, Nixon drank that stuff like it was water.
Today was the first time I ever watched this scene with subtitles and realized Nix said “not a round” instead of “not around”
For 20 years I always thought that line meant he wasn’t present for the fighting because he was a battalion-level intelligence officer.
I just finished ear Jing band of brothers an hour ago. I watch it every year in July to celebrate my grandfather but I didn't get to this year. I'm currently sick with covid with nothing to do so it was time.
Doing nothing: gets promoted
Doing something: gets demoted
that's bureaucracy for you
The reason why Nixon drinks so much while Winters doesnt is because Nixon drinks for the both of them
The operation Nixon discusses here is Operation Varsity (the airborne portion of Operation Plunder) which was conducted by the newly former 17th Airborne in March 1945 as part of Montgomery's crossing of the Rhine.
My father participated in this action as a member of the 194 Glider Infantry Regiment.
Which company? Better to know his actual combat unit than some massive organizational "regiment/brigade" or "division"
@@reidparker1848 Of course. Unfortunately, he passed 21 years ago and getting details on his service record requires a bit of research and time (not to mention background checks). So I don't know that info.
Ron and Eion really have the look like they belong in the time they’re in. They can play early 1900s characters very well. Cudlitz, too. With his cigar.
"Only the finest for Mrs. Nixon's baby boy."
I feel for Nix... he was clearly frustrated. I honestly don't know how Winters was able to remain so largely optimistic throughout the war.
I think he was just a little more strong willed. That's probably why he had natural leadership abilities. He had the ability to keep his composure under pressure and wasn't deterred by anything really. He was a natural born leader.
He believed they were fighting for a just cause.
"Uh, yeah.... Captain Nixon, if you could tell the parents of those paratroopers that they died before they got out of the plane, that'd be great."
@@strikerdelta Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays
@@strikerdelta I think Ron Livingston will be just fine. Get triggered over jokes somewhere else. pErIoD
@@strikerdelta "Grrrr fuckity fuck fuck fuck" -You, a tough guy. I think a safe space is missing its snowflake somewhere.
@@strikerdelta look at this clown getting absolutely butt-blasted by jokes
Ron Livingston needs more movie roles. He really nailed the role of Nixon and portrayed him well. "It's MY Dog!"
I remember when I got demoted and my first article 15
It's a question of intoxication, really.
My first was a field grade letter of reprimand; I got my rank back year later and then got the art15 to do it again.
It is worth noting the quick reference in the clip to the fact Nixon was one of the handful of soldiers who jumped in all three airborne missions of the 101. (3 stars. ) Pretty darn impressive.
Wasn't until years after watching this great mini-series that I learned Damian Lewis (Winters) is as British as they come! Born and raised in London.. would never be able to tell from his accent though
Over the last 20 years Lewis has played more American characters than British ones to the point where his offscreen voice now sounds like something in between.
Nixon was a straight up legend. He served through the entire European theater and had 3 combat jumps without ever firing his weapon.
Having been sent from Regiment back down to Battalion S-3 myself (actually Squadron S-3), in 1988, I assure you it wasn't a demotion. I kept my rank as did Nixon and we were both happier & closer to reality.
Just learned Nixon went from serving in a rifle company, to Battalion S-2, then Regimental S-2, then Battalion S-3 ... so that would be a promotion, not a demotion. [makes for better TV to say it was a demotion]
Some guys would rather be further down the echelon. I preferred to stay down around the battalion level with my last Army job, even though on paper I was a brigade level asset.
But I did know officers that went down to battalion from brigade and felt it was a demotion or career set back.
That's true. Probably not a demotion, but not sure its a promotion either. The units I've been in Battalion S2=Captains slot, Regimental/Brigade S2=Major, and S3=Lt. Col., and Battalion S3=Major, so he was still going into a Majors slot. I was a Group/Brigade S1=Majors slot as a Captain and left that for a Bn S1=Captain slot for a Forward Spt. Bn. and did not think it a demotion. Not only was I happier, I was asked/selected by a new Bn Cdr. and was honored (I knew also that I'd have a better chance of getting the company command I wanted).
Having commanded at company, battalion and at brigade, the best command and place is battalion. A company commander still is tied to battalion for support and the politics that go with it. A brigade commander has the politics with the division staff. Battalion commander though you control a lot of the tools and decisions that impact the lifes of your soldiers. So yes for Nixon, he is best at helping those soldiers at the point of the attack. Given the character of Nixon or a new major from CGSC my choice is Nix.
@@destroyer0685
I used to be into military history until I realized that it was mostly flag officer-worshipping crap, as though they determine the outcome of battles/wars to the exclusion of absolutely everything else. Good weapons, good equipment, good tactics, the leadership/aptitude of junior officers, and frequent training in/with them wins wars, not some general pushing division markers around a map from his chatau command post. "Operational" success is nothing more than the aggregate success of "small", "insignificant" units.
Weapons fascinate me much more than any military bureaucracy.
N Wheeler: You are correct. Both Regimental S-2 and Battalion S-3 are major's positions.
I'm so glad this collection was one of the things I kept when I had a big DVD exodus 😔
It's right in front of me and I need to start it up again ASAP
He got demoted because he didn't put the new covers on his TPS reports.
I like to watch this scene when I am feeling completely despondent about something. Sometimes it helps to watch a man who is so worn out that he gives less of a flying fudge about anything than I ever could.
The look he has when he says "You really still believe that?" Terrific portrayal
Ron Livingston's performance as Nixon, really shines in this episode.
Nixon: demoted for caring too much
Gibbons: Promoted for not caring at all.
Interesting roles this guy plays..
The acting is just superb.
Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays
Very powerful scene between two best friends. I hope I never have to experience this.
2:52 They are working with two definitions of "hero"... Winters: people ready to fight and die for their country; Nixon: people who have done exceptionally brave things in battle that might get someone a major bravery citation. Only Nixon's definition gets someone something like a Medal of Honor. For Nixon, they never got the chance to be heros.
Yes, you got that exactly right. But I also wonder if Nixon had turned sour on fighting Nazis. Not so much that he didn't think they were bad anymore, just that fighting sucks. It's very common. Look at the movie, and TV series, MASH. All of those characters would agree that communism was not good. But none of them were excited to see the byproducts of fighting against it, and the two feelings create an unresolvable conflict within a person.
On the other side, someone who never has doubts about the worthiness of a hard fight that kills so many people is probably a sociopath. At least a little bit of questioning is a sign of a healthy moral response. Imagine being a general and sending thousands into harms way, and seeing the lists of casualties every day. It takes some serious mental discipline to keep from going nuts. General U. S. Grant just kept in mind that pressing the enemy as hard as possible with the best strategy and tactics they could think of, was going to end the war the quickest, and ultimately, preserve more lives. At least, it would preserve more of his own men.
How is literally every second of this show a masterpiece?
This reminds me of when he thought his girlfriend was sleeping with Lumburg
There will never be another Band of Brothers. Perfect casting, actors , directors
Each and EVERY actor who were cast for these parts jumped for joy. (A Steven Spielberg Production) Imagine getting that phone call. I auditioned for a part and didn't get it along with hundreds of others..
Each actor in this series were the top of the line actors. They really were.
This is one of those series that will live on forever. Dynamic acting by all. The real Soldiers that are portrayed in the series are heroes!
Nixon is describing his jump with the 17th Airborne in March 1945 in Operation Varsity...part of Montgomery's crossing of the Rhine.
My father was a Glider Trooper in this operation.
This is acting at its finest in my opinion. This scene is done so perfectly you’d think he was the real Nixon.
Probably the character I identified with the most in the series.
They don't drink to remember. They drink to forget.
Ron Livingston is so underrated.
He went through the WWII Europe being drunk and not firing a shingle shot. What a man.
Looks like someone's got a case of the mondays
Listen to the Happy Mondays. They'll cheer anyone up. Bummed to Pills n Thrills : )
Naw, man.... Hell naw! I believe you'd get yer ass kicked fer sayin' som'thin' like 'at!
Its not that Nixon was lazy, it was that he just didnt care.
Depression in a nutshell
The way Nix said, “Oh well wasn’t me” damn....😔
One my favorite characters in the series. He brought depth of a real person.
My god! It's amazing his liver survived the war.
Sorrow is better than laughter for by sadness of the countenance the heart is made better
It's not that I'm lazy...it's just that I don't care...It's a problem of motivation, Bob...
Excellent scene. No dramatic music no fluff. Just true genuine human emotion. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have to write those letters.
Nixon made three combat jumps without firing
Those men never even got out of the plane. Demotions? His demotion was that he survived
He got demoted for drinking I think.
From around 2:35:
Winters: That a problem up at regiment?
Dixon: I don't like Regiment, and I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.
Winters: You're just not gonna go?
Dixon: Yeah.
Winters: Won't you get court-martialed?
Dixon: I don't know. But I really don't like it, and I'm not gonna go.
Winters: So, you're gonna go awol?
Dixon: No, not really, I'm just gonna stop going.
Winters: When did you decide all that?
Dixon: About two bottles of Vat 69 ago.
Winters: Really?
Dixon: Yeah.
Winters: So, you're gettin' transferred back down to Battalion.
Dixon: I don't think I'd like it back at Batallion.
Winters: What are you going to do?
Dixon: Y'know, I've never really liked the war, I don't think I'm gonna do that either. I mean, this whole time, I never fired one round, not one.
this was a great nixon scene and really kinda explain why he drinks so much. I mean by some random luck, he survived a near death experience but lost so many of his men. If i were him, i would've wrote their folks that, their sons, brothers, nephews, grandsons...died doing what they were trained for in the line of duty.
His wife also divorced him midway through the war and took everything from him uncontested, even his dog. He had a selection of reasons for his drinking problem.
CognizantCheddar
also he apparently never fired a gun during action, for the entire WW2. compared to Lt. Winters.
+perfecttrunks2000 He was an intelligence officer, they don't really see combat. I think that's the reason why he never fired his gun.
Didn't Nix almost get his 'hair parted' during the ('composited') battle in Nuenen, Holland?
Looks like Captain Nixon has a case of the Mondays
He says "Oh well, wasn't me" but the look on his face and the desperate drinking tell us he can't stop thinking about those men, cooked alive or blown to pieces before they even left the plane.
He doesn't even care he got demoted, all he cares about is how he has to break the news to all those families that their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands are dead.
Nixon speaks for all us functional alcoholics who can be highly productive, not care about the little things, and have a great time doing it.