BAND of BROTHERS

[LoudEnuf]

http://pds.egloos.com/pds/1/200504/24/75/a0001675_11431939.jpg


I was going through the forum and didnt see my favorite movie, and since this was brought up in a previous thread, I'd thought I'd give it a review to get those who haven't seen it interested in it. I know it was more of an HBO series, but I rented it from Netflix, and bought it the next day. It came on the history channel a couple of days ago and I had to watch it again, even though I had the DVD set.

For me this is the best movie I have ever seen to say the least. It goes through WWII starting you off with the training of Easy Company, to their deployment, to the end of the war.

Here's what I especially like, before the start of several episodes, I few actual veterans would come on and talk about the operation you were about to see. Then it would go on and you would see it happen.
From the beginning I got to know the characters and grew attached to them. Being prior USMC, they did a really great job in making you feel what it's like to be in a infantry company, how they were close and it wasn't about the war but more so about keeping you and your buddy alive.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions. You felt the good times they shared, and even the pain they endured. I grew attached to all the characters and was crushed when one would die.
At the end they passed by several of the characters and told of what has happend to them along with matching them to the actual veterans they were playing.

Here is where I get choked up watching it everytime, Imagining these brave veterans what they went through as they talk about what they experianced, but in the end of the series after capturing the Germans, they have one German Commander who addresses his company, thinking about it gives me chills. What he says, you can feel it was actually what Easy Company had experianced and felt.

It makes me wonder about both sides of the war, everyone who fought in the war were all actually feeling the same fears, the same friendships among one another and the pain when loosing someone close in your platoon.

These brave men who served in WWII I found a new respect. Then naturally it makes me think of those who currently serve and are fighting in the desert and how they must feel facing the fears and hardships of war.

So I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone. A great must see series to watch on Veterans Day or any other day when you think you have it bad.

http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/comments/patrick/uploaded_images/BoB-743281.jpg

[08SGT1234]

+1 This was one of my all time favorites that I watched on HBO. Top notch....

[Tropic Lightning]

LoudEnuf...being a former Soldier, I find it awsome and a true sentiment of Brothers in Arms, that you being a former Marine posted up a thread praising and showing interest in the USA and I posted up a thread on the USMC/USN.

Recently I have visited the USS Wisconsin and all the stuff in Washington DC.

Changing of the Guard at Arlington, reading the Battle Scroll on the USMC Memorial, visiting the Lincoln memorial and understanding our Nations Civil War. All amazing we are a priviledged nation.

At the WWII monument...these tourist were walking on the battle scrolls of the US Navy's fights in the Pacific and Atlantic...made my blood boil. Then I remember they probably never scrubbed, waxed, and polished floors with company/battery crests that had never been walked on.

[COBRA COMMANDER]

Band of Brothers is THE series to see about WWII. There are other great movies out there, but they compress their story into 2+ hours. Band of Brothers, being a mini series, is able to take you through the war and focusing on the main events that impacted these people. And none of the movies get the perspective of the actual person who was there as Band of Brothers does. You can't give this series enough stars. I saw the series when it debuted on HBO and I bought it on DVD the week it came out. I watch the set at least once a year and it by far has a great surround sound DTS track.

A bit of trivia: this story was found when Tom Hanks was doing research for the movie Saving Private Ryan. He approached Spielburg to produce the series and Hanks actually directed Episode 5. There were different directors for the other 9 episodes.

Other great WWII movies that I think fit in well with this mini series is, The Longest Day, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Patton, Where Eagles Dare, Midway, Sink the Bismarck!, Das Boot, U571, and Pearl Harbor (if you can get past the love triangle).

[Ruby SVT]

This is absolutly one of my top 10...I bought it for myself last christmas, it is a great movie.

[SLOWBRA]

Yea, that's is an awesome series.

[Hamadryad]

Wayne, add to your list the movie Battleground. It an old movie that shows the soldiers perpective during the battle of the bulge.

My grandfather and his three brothers fought during WWII and I still love to hear them tell thier stories. Its because of them that I've collected an M1 rifle manufactured for each year we were involved in the war (41-45)

[LoudEnuf]

Wow, nice collection of Rifles!!!

[Tropic Lightning]

All I have is one of these.:(


http://www.raacfirearms.com/images/p_308.jpg

[LoudEnuf]

Nice, here's a pic of my collection minus a few....
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/FatalVision555/Georges%20Photos/Guns1.jpg
2HK91's
Remmington Police 600 Sniper Rifle
Colt M-4 Law Enforcement

also not shown i have a S&W .38
1-Glock 22 40 cal
1-Baby Glock 40 cal

[COBRA COMMANDER]

Nice pics of the guns. I'm sure you (everyone posing here) might be surprised by others in the club who also own guns. Maybe another post in the general forums would be better suited?

Soooo back on topic of Band of Brothers....

[LoudEnuf]

But since you insist here's a lil something to get it back on topic.....
*edit* by LE

http://www.majordickwinters.com/images/0102armyCourageous.jpg

Dick Winters' path toward war mirrored that of millions of other American veterans of Tom Brokaw's "greatest generation." Born in Lancaster, Pa., on January 21, 1918, Winters spent his formative years in eastern Pennsylvania. His early heroes were Babe Ruth and Milton S. Hershey, who had founded a school for boys in the town that now bears his name. Graduating from Franklin-Marshall College in June 1941 as a business major, Winters volunteered for military service. His intent was to spend the mandatory one year in the Army, then return to civilian life to pursue a private career. Following his induction in August, he spent his basic combat training at Camp Croft, S.C., where he was stationed when he received word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Winters soon applied for Officer Candidate School and arrived at Fort Benning, where he graduated in July 1942 as a second lieutenant of infantry.

Seeking adventure, he next volunteered for airborne training. In Winters' eyes, the airborne training appeared to be "interesting work." The troopers were "hard, lean, bronzed and tough ...a proud and cocky bunch." Moreover, the physical training was very appealing to Winters. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 177 pounds, he was accustomed to lots of running and outdoor activity. Also, the additional jump pay might help pay off his father's home mortgage.

When the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was formed in August, Winters became one of the original members of Easy Company. Training at Camp Toccoa, Ga., was rugged, but Winters relished the camaraderie and challenges associated with airborne training. Assigned command of Easy's 2nd Platoon, he soon completed his five jumps and received his airborne wings. In mid-April 1943, he had also assumed the duties of company executive officer, a position that he found brought new challenges. Still a first lieutenant, Winters remained with Easy Company when the regiment joined the 101st Airborne Division in June 1943. Three months later, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) deployed to England to prepare for the ensuing invasion of the European continent.

From September 1943 until June 1944, Winters quietly emerged as Easy Company's most dynamic and charismatic junior officer. He later attributed his success to his training and to the relationship that he had developed with the enlisted men. As a teetotaler, he never participated in the social life associated with the officer corps. Winters preferred the life of quiet reflection and organized athletics within Easy. He described himself as a "half-breed," being an officer with the responsibility to train the men, but being an enlisted man at heart. Always weighing on his mind was the tremendous responsibility of preparing his men for combat. In a private letter home, he commented on his personal crusade to improve himself as an officer and to improve Easy Company as Fighters and as men. The net result was a highly motivated company that was poised to inflict maximum punishment on the enemy when the "big day" (D-Day) arrived.

For those soldiers, sailors and airmen who participated in D-Day, June 6 was unlike any day in history. And it was on D-Day that Dick Winters had his rendezvous with destiny. Easy Company's mission, as with the other units within the 101st Airborne Division, was to seize the causeways behind Utah Beach to facilitate the expansion of the beachhead. Jumping from a C-47 Dakota at 150 miles per hour and at 500 feet and less, the Division's drop was scattered across the Cotentin Peninsula. Winters came down near the town of Ste. Mere-Eglise, several kilometers from the intended drop zone. Rallying a couple of troopers, he soon was en route to Ste. Marie-du-Mont, destined to be the Division's headquarters for most of D-Day. En route, Winters stumbled across the battalion staff and 40 men of D Company. By 7:00 a.m., E Company consisted of two light machine guns, one bazooka with no ammunition, one 60 mm mortar, nine riflemen and two officers. No one knew the whereabouts of the company commander, so Winters took command.






COL. COLE C. KINGSEED, USA Ret., Ph.D., a former professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy, is a writer and consultant.
More can be found: http://www.majordickwinters.com/Captains%20Courageous/captains_courageous_january_2002.html

[COBRA COMMANDER]

Hey, have at it. I just thought that you might want to open the topic to others that might just want to join in the fun and who DON'T bother to read movie reviews once or more than once.

This is the great thing about being just a reg. member now. I can go away and let everyone do their own thing to their own tune.

[LoudEnuf]

Your right Wayne, I llove this movie to much to go off Topic so It's my bad.

So to bring back it's true meaning I found this:

Major Richard Winters was the third commanding officer (CO) of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. While initially serving as a platoon leader of Easy as a 2nd Lieutenant, he gained the mutual respect and the trust of the men who later be part of one of the largest invasions known to mankind.
Colonel Sink, who was the first and only CO of the 506th Regiment, promoted Winters to the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and the 1st CO of Easy, Captain Herbert M. Sobel, made Winters the executive officer (XO) of Easy.
When the airborne troops finished jump school and were shipped to England, they prepared for the big invasion of Fortess Europe. Sobel was promoted and transferred to a jump school for civilians (chaplains, priests, doctors, etc.) called Chilton Foliat. Lieutenant Meehan from Baker Company took over as CO of Easy Company. He would remain CO until his plane was shot down during the invasion.
When D-Day came, the paratroopers dropped deep into Normandy under enemy territory. Their objectives were to secure a series of causeways, or roads, that linked to the beaches of Normandy, where the regular US Infantry would make their assault on Utah and Omaha beach. The Germans flooded the fields inland, so securing those causeways was the only option.

http://www.majordickwinters.com/images/winters.jpg

Easy Company's objective was to secure Causeway #2, which linked to Utah Beach. However, during the drop, the planes, desperate to evade the incoming flak from German anti-aircraft guns, dropped troops far from the designated drop zone (DZ). Lieutenant Meehan's plane, which also included E Company's First Sergeant, William Evans, was shot down during the invasion. Lieutenant Winters lost his weapon, which was located in his leg bag, when the bag was torn off from the tether that it was attached to.
Prior to the main invasion, the 2nd Battalion of the 506th, which consisted of Dog, Easy, and Fox Company, set up headquarters near a secured farmhouse. Intelligence reported that 4 German 105mm artillery cannons were aimed and firing at Utah Beach, where the 4th Infantry Division was making their assault. Easy Company was ordered to eliminate those cannons, which were causing massive damage to the beach area.
90 % of Easy Company was still unaccounted for at that time. Lieutenant Winters had no choice but to do his best given the circumstances. He ordered machine guns to create an enveloping fire on the guns, while another squad, led by Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton, took the left flank and tossed grenades into the trench where the first gun was. Sergeant Lipton and PFC Myron Ranney took the right flank. This base-of-fire technique would become a textbook case for assault on a fixed position, and is still taught at West Point Academy today.
When the Germans at the first gun were eliminated, Easy Company began their main assault on the trenches. They spiked the guns with TNT and completed their objective with the aid of Dog Company, led by Lt. Ronald Speirs, who would later become the last CO of Easy Company.
Lt. Winters received the Distinguished Service Cross for taking out those artillery pieces. However, many believe that he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor because of the importance of this assault.