Tag: Easy Company

On the Horizon: Damian Lewis as Montgomery in WWII Movie “Pressure” *UPDATED*

Band of Brothers opens at Upottery Airfield on June 4, 1944, as the Easy Company paratroopers make their final preparations for their highly-awaited Normandy jump. The men of Easy Company are clearly disappointed when the commanding officer, 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III, shows up to announce that the jump has been delayed due to bad weather.

Easy Company, listen up! Gather up around me. Move it up, come on, gentlemen, let’s go! Now, the Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog, high winds on the drop zone. No jump tonight. The invasion has been postponed. We’re on a 24 hour stand down.

As the men grumble about the delay, we meet 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters and 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Nixon. The two men talk about their time together as they expect further announcements. Towards the end of the first episode, there is an exchange about the weather between the two. Continue reading “On the Horizon: Damian Lewis as Montgomery in WWII Movie “Pressure” *UPDATED*”

In Memory of Major Dick Winters

Major Richard Winters passed away on January 2, 2011 – 15 years ago today. He is the real life hero that we all have come to know as the charismatic and compassionate commander of Easy Company in Band of Brothers. His obituary in Washington Post makes a note about his  leadership through a letter written by Floyd Talbert, one of his soldiers, to thank Major Winters for his loyalty and leadership in the war:

“You are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier that ever served under you. I would follow you into hell.”

After the war, Major Winters led a quiet and peaceful life on his farm in Fredericksburg and in his home in Hershey, Pennsylvania until Band of Brothers — the book as well as the TV series — put him into the international spotlight. He was a true WWII hero who was never comfortable being called one. When asked if he was a hero, he liked to answer the way his WWII buddy Mike Ranney did to his grandson: “No, but I served in a company of heroes.” This became a major tagline in Band of Brothers.

Major Winters died like he lived. Quietly. And, upon his request, his funeral service was private and unannounced. We are honored to make a tribute to this real-life war hero on this day.  Continue reading “In Memory of Major Dick Winters”

It’s Veterans Day! We Salute Major Dick Winters – The Rank and The Man

Today is Veterans Day – a day of honoring all men and women that served in the United States armed forces. And it gives us a great opportunity to salute all war heroes, and in particular Major Dick Winters and Easy Company.

I know a thing or two about war. My day job is to study and understand war. I have written academic articles on war, I have taught on war… and even though I can write about war for pages and talk about it for hours as a scholar, the human cost of war is still incomprehensible to me.

Let me take a moment and look at my own family. My maternal grandmother never knew her father because he was a soldier in WWI in the Eastern Front in Turkey, and he literally froze because of the cold as he fought against the Russians. My paternal grandmother never knew her father, either; because he was also a soldier in WWI and was killed by a shrapnel in Gallipoli as he fought against the Anzacs. Continue reading “It’s Veterans Day! We Salute Major Dick Winters – The Rank and The Man”

Band of Brothers at 24: Revisiting Dick Winters

Damianista’s note: Band of Brothers is 24 years old. Currahee!

As one of the most iconic mini-series of all times, Band of Brothers may have turned 24 but it has never got old. People are still in love with Damian Lewis’ Major Winters and his Easy Company and thousands of families and friends enjoy a Band of Brothers marathon (multiple times!) every year.

To celebrate the the mini-series’ 20th anniversary, HBO had Roger Bennett host an official Band of Brothers 12-episode podcast that followed the Easy Company’s footsteps from Normandy to the Eagle’s Nest, episode by episode, with insight from Tom Hanks as well as actors who brought the members of Easy Company to life  – including Ron Livingston, Donny Wahlberg, Matthews Settle, Scott Grimes and our beloved Damian Lewis.

Please hear Bennett’s Band of Brothers podcast episode with Damian Lewis below…

Continue reading “Band of Brothers at 24: Revisiting Dick Winters”

On the 81st Anniversary of D-Day: Band of Brothers Episode 2 “Day of Days”

source: HBO

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-guarded French coastline to fight the Nazis on the beaches of Normandy. Today, on the 81st anniversary of D-day, we are revisiting Band of Brothers Episode 2 “Day of Days” in honor and memory of all men and women who contributed to the victory in WWII. We are eternally grateful. Continue reading “On the 81st Anniversary of D-Day: Band of Brothers Episode 2 “Day of Days””