Category: Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers at 15: Bastogne

battle of the bulge, bastogne, band of brothers
Source: http://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2014/12/22/held-bastogne-2-americans-strike-back/

The Seige at Bastogne was a pivotal confrontation in Battle of the Bulge, which saw the Allied forces assert their most courageous and bloody defense against the last big push by Nazi forces in WWII.

The Bastogne episode of Band of Brothers was arguably the most emotionally intense and beautifully filmed of the series. It was like watching a dream sequence through a filter of constant snow, a bitter cold that you could almost feel in your bones as you’re watching. Or an opera of bodies, bent over, running for cover, crouching near trees, or frozen solid to the ground. You could watch all the action without sound and still feel it viscerally.

Continue reading “Band of Brothers at 15: Bastogne”

Band of Brothers at 15: Episode 2 Day of Days

After successfully parachuting into Normandy on June 6, 1944, Dick Winters leads an attack on a German artillery position at Brecourt Manor where he and his men disable 4 German heavy guns that have been threatening Allied forces coming from Utah Beach. Winters is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service at Brecourt Manor.

This very medal and much more is on display indefinitely at the Gettysburg Museum of History exhibition “Major Dick Winters Collection” honoring Winters.

realdickwinters5

Lancester Online quotes museum curator Erick Dorr: “Winters personifies the World War II combat leader. In my opinion those men literally saved the world. We need to honor that. We need to remember that.”

We cannot agree more with Mr. Dorr. And, the 15th anniversary of Band of Brothers gives us a unique opportunity to make a tribute to this real-life hero and his Easy Company. We bring our favorite episodes of the series to the blog this week.

My personal favorite is Episode 2: Day of Days.

As I already told you in my Memorial Day post, there is no way I can comprehend the mind set of a soldier on a boat approaching the shores of Normandy or on an airplane about to make a jump into Normandy. What do these guys think? What thoughts go through their minds? Home? Family? Death? Or do they just try to get it all out of their minds and focus on getting the job done? How can one pull it off knowing his own death may arrive the moment he lands? Continue reading “Band of Brothers at 15: Episode 2 Day of Days”

Band of Brothers at 15: Before and After 9/11

onecollageFifteen years ago today, September 9, 2001, a documentary-like mini-series tribute to D-Day and to WWII, Band of Brothers, aired its two first episodes. Two days later that same year the world turned upside down. It was very difficult for any entertainment to be very entertaining in the days after September 11, 2001. If there were people who looked at ratings, advertising revenue, critical reviews and other such metrics to gauge the success of a series, chances are that they, like the rest of us, were distracted by other headlines. On this anniversary, I wanted to examine how Band of Brothers was perceived by critics, before and after September 11, 2001.

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Throwback Thursday to D-Day’s 70th Anniversary on Utah Beach

source: HBO
source: HBO

One of the scenes that I find most memorable in Band of Brothers is in Episode 2: Day of Days which I reviewed for the 72nd Anniversary of D-Day here.

As I have already told you again and again and yet again, there is no way I can comprehend the mind set of a soldier who is on a boat approaching to the shores of Normandy or who is about to embark from an airplane with a parachute like Dick Winters. You may just wanna see the para-drop scene from Band of Brothers one more time below and good luck with comprehending it all.

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to D-Day’s 70th Anniversary on Utah Beach”

For the Anniversary of D-Day: Band of Brothers, Episode 2, Day of Days

Today is the anniversary of the D-Day landings.

On June 6, 1944, after successfully parachuting into Normandy, Dick Winters led an attack on a German artillery position at Brecourt Manor and he and his men disabled 4 German heavy guns that were threatening Allied forces coming from Utah Beach. Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service at Brecourt Manor.

This very medal and much more are on display at the Gettysburg Museum of History at the “Major Dick Winters Collection” honoring Winters.

realdickwinters5

Lancester Online quotes museum curator Erick Dorr: “Winters personifies the World War II combat leader. In my opinion those men literally saved the world. We need to honor that. We need to remember that.” We cannot agree more with Mr. Dorr. And, to remember D-Day and to honor all D-day heroes, we bring Band of Brothers Episode 2: Day of Days to life today on the blog.

source: denofgeek.com
source: denofgeek.com

As I already told you in an earlier Memorial Day post, there is no way I can comprehend the mind set of a soldier on a boat approaching the shores of Normandy or on an airplane about to make a jump into Normandy. What do these guys think? What thoughts go through their minds? Home? Family? Death? Or do they just try to get it all out of their minds and focus on getting the job done? How can one pull it off knowing his own death may arrive the moment he lands? Continue reading “For the Anniversary of D-Day: Band of Brothers, Episode 2, Day of Days”