History Professor Breaks Down Band of Brothers Ep. 2 "Day of Days" / Reel History
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- čas přidán 5. 03. 2021
- Reel History delves into historical films to separate fact from fiction. These engaging episodes explore, contextualize, and clarify stories related to the most famous historical movies. In contrast to the more prevalent "reaction" videos, these installments seek not only to entertain but to educate and inform.
For host Jared Frederick and video editor Andrew Collins, these Reel History episodes are a labor of love and a means of expressing passion for the past as well as cinema. Courteous viewer feedback is always welcomed. Contact information for the hosts is available on the homepage.
HBO's 2001 series Band of Brothers brought television to a whole new level. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it brought cinema quality story telling and production to the small screen and has become a classic historical mini series for many.
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.
I watched this for the first time with my parents who were visiting. My dad was in 9th battalion, 6th Airborne Division, landed at 00:50, during the jump scene my mum turned incredulously to dad and said “was it as bad as that” dad shook his head and said “it was worse than that “. We were stunned. Only 150 out of 700 men made it to their prime objective for D Day, the Merville battery. They attacked anyway and took it with what they had. Only 65 left standing. Proud to say my dad was one of them.
Glad To Hear Your Dad's Story ; Glad He Survived, Otherwise .........
Hope You've Had A Good Life !!!
( Aircraft Listed Below Are my Military Life Series )
Best Regards,
David G Zamora
CW2, US Army ( Ret. ), Aviation
TH55 UH1 OH58 TH67
Flight Instructor
Edinburg Texas
😊🙃🙂 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 🌠 🇺🇲 !
Thank you for getting John D. "Cowboy," Halls name right. He was also not from New York, but from Manco Colorado. He was also my Wife's Uncle.
Thats amazing, you should be beaming with pride.
Happy day happy life
Big respect from the UK 🇬🇧
He had one of the best lines in the series: "Shut your f***ing guinea trap, Gonorrhea."
Thank you PFC John Halls for your sacrifice 🪖🎖️
One neat fact that you might not have known or neglected on purpose:
There's a part where Germans are fleeing across an open meadow following the taking of (I think) the second gun. Buck Compton rears up with a grenade and tosses an absolute dart directly into the back of one of the running German soldiers. In the book, one of the E company soldiers, whose name escapes me, recounts that the distance was roughly 100 feet from Compton's position to the German soldier. Or, the same distance as a throw from home plate to second base. Buck Compton, prior to joining the Army in 1943, was an All-American catcher at UCLA. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but that quick reference focusing on Compton's abilities as a catcher is in there. And, as an aside from a diehard baseball fan, it's great to see that the actor portraying Compton, Neal McDonough, threw from the ear rather than using a full cocked back windup, as they teach catchers to "snap throw" when a runner is trying to steal a base.
wow, that's awesome. I didn't notice that. In that last episode Buck plays catcher in the baseball game.
Awesome info! Thanks
Good skills
Thats a fucking nice little tidbit there. Thank you!
Neal McDonough who plays Buck was an accomplished baseball player who turned down a scholarship, in order to attend Syracuse. I believe (but can’t verify yet) he too was a catcher. So he should know.
Professor, my father was a waist gunner on a B-17 with the 15th USAAC based in Italy. When the scenes of the planes flying thru the flak, machine gun AA battery and the plane explosions he promptly got up and left the room. He never did tell me about is combat time but this really hit home for him. Each and everyone of those who sacrificed for this war are true heroes and their effort should never be forgotten.
Much respect to your father.
I couldn't imagine
Thats why they were called the Great generation
My Great Grandfather was with the 506th and jumped on D Day and Market Garden and fought at Bastogne. He was a Master Sergeant
the day winters died was my first day in the army. winters and easy as a whole really cemented the fact I wanted to join the paratroopers when I was 12 -13 RIP to all those men
The pilots are probably the most unsung heroes of the day. Flying straight into a wall of flack with orders not to avoid any of it. Knowing that if you do avoid the flack you could ruin the entire landing but also knowing that if you don't you're probably going to die. All of these men were heroes of mythic proportions.
Scott Grimes in interviews talks a lot about his conversations with Malarky so he get get an accurate portrayal of the real man. According to the actor, the portrayal of him running into the field to find a Luger actually happened and Malarky recounts it was one of the dumbest things he did in the war.
From all I've read, Malarky was a fascinating man. Winters gave addresses and phone numbers of all the characters who were still living to the actors who portrayed them to speak to make the information more accurate. He told them it was OK to speak about it.
My kid brother wants a Luger I told him I’d bring him back one
The purpose of the hedgerows is primarily protection against wind erosion.
When the earliest farmers in the region worked on the fields, they would pull out all big rocks their plows got stuck on and move them to the edges, where they eventually grew up into walls. And it was later discovered that brushes growing between the rocks help breaking up winds, as the entire North Sea and English Channel coast is always very windy. Maintaining the dense shrubby trees that grow on the mounds by regular pruning was a pretty important part of farm life.
In some areas of Northern Germany, they were removed in the 20th century to make way for combine harvesters, and many of these places now have problems with small dust storms in dry summers. These hedges are not leftover wild greenery, but well designed parts of the agricultural infrastructure.
Important comment; thanks
I watched a show recently that demonstrated how these hedgerows are built. They're literally weaved together to form green walls.
Yup and some of them were hundreds of years old
Thank you for this. Incredibly interesting - while I’m not a farmer, I went to an agricultural school and although we don’t have the hedge rows, the farmers have super impressive tree lines which break the wind in a very similar way.
I wish D-Day planners knew even half this much about the hedgerows prior to D-Day!
They studied every inch of the shoreline, but once inland, US soldiers got their asses handed to them because the hedgeows make great defensive positions---and we didn't know they existed. BoB doesn't really mention this as far as I recall.
One of the amusing scenes in this episode revolves around the map. Winters calls for a light and a map and the men are somewhat astounded when he unbuttons his fly. Officers and some NCOs were issued secret items which the Germans and most of the enlisted men were not aware of. One was a compass that was secreted in a fly button. The button unscrewed and was magnetized to point north. Eventually the Germans caught on...but the British (whose secret ops people thought up most of these devices) simply started making the buttons with the threads reversed. When a German tried to unscrew it, because of the reverse threading, they were tightening it. Of course the paras were in a "what the??" moment, because they didn't know what he was doing. They don't explain in the series so it kinda messes with the audience's minds as well.
My father was a paratrooper (SSG) at D-day with the 507/82nd. He not only had a compass, he had a small saw blade - maybe 1-2" long - wrapped in a small cardboard sleeve.
The "What the??" moment came across to me like, "Uh, is Dick seriously going to whip his dick out right now?"
Nice try stephen fry
Stephen Ambrose, author of the Band of Brothers book and other books about WWII, was a history professor at the University of New Orleans. History professor Stephen Ambrose met WWII veteran Eugene Roe at a restaurant in New Orleans and struck up a conversation and a friendship that led to the book then the mini-series.
It´s is fantastic how small things, like a conversation in a restaurant, can lead to great things.
“Day of Days” is my favorite episode of the series without question. I think the episode stands alone as a brilliant depiction of the paratrooper aspect of D-Day, better than any movie I have ever seen.
My elderly friend who served in the 502nd of the 101st always referred to it as a cricket.
Went in on D-Day, came home wounded from Bastogne.
Enjoy your peaceful rest Jay...you earned the peace.
My uncle, Don Fish, was a signalman with Headquarters Company of the 501st. He dropped on D-Day, was hung up in a tree until there was enough daylight to be able to see how high in the tree he was... and he flabbergasted to find he was about 2 feet off the ground. He was also at Bastogne.
The movie” The Longest Day”
Also refers to the clicker things as crickets
When I was working in commercial nuclear security as a badguy, we tried similar clickers we got from a pet supply store for dog training. Complete failure. Way too loud, and you could hear them from a long way off.
So we tried flicking the dust cover on our M-4s. Sound still carried too far.
So we tried finger snaps. Well, turns out not everyone can snap their fingers, so that was out.
Best thing we found, through trial and error, was to hiss at people, like a snake. Once you get their attention, communicate with hand gestures.
Yes the Cricket was a toy. My Dad had one Grandpa gave him, that he got as a kid from one of the early boxes of Crackerjacks. If I remember right that was how the Military sort of got the notion was from kids playing with the ones from Crackerjacks.
Some information states that the allies were looking for a signal device. There are no crickets in Europe (I've been unable to verify that) so something that made an insect like sound was the perfect choice.
I saw an interview with Dick Winters stating that he has a letter from Spers verifying that all the rumors about him were true. Spers was glad to provide it so the book publisher's attorneys didn't have to fret about a libel lawsuit. BALLS to the end!!
Here's the interview: czcams.com/video/W-V6OAtgr6c/video.html
Winters recalling the phone call with Spiers about it starts around the 2:30 mark.
@@michaelnuzzo5698 Thanks this was very interesting
It's Speirs, not Spers
Truly a great mini series. Showing what happened through the eyes of Easy Company. I really liked Damien Lewis his portrayal of Dick Winters in B&B. 💪🙏🏻✨
Learning that during Brecourt Manor that a grenade landed in front of Speirs and he kicked it away before blew up makes Speirs seem like even more of a bad ass than I already felt he was.
Some men are just born for war, Spiers was definitely one of those men.
@@Will_Parker John Basilone is another man like that.
You misspelled "war criminal"
@@JjackVideocope
I’ve watched a lot of commentary on WWII and of Band of Brothers over the years. Yours is the best.
Love getting the true histroical prospective. I read BoB years ago and read Biggest Brother about 5 years ago. I think i will see if i can find a copy of yoour book. I am a huge Dick Winters fan. I love the fact they made the leadership monument in Normandy based on his likeness. He was a true leader in every sense of the word.
According to Winters, Speirs admitted that he did kill prisoners. Winters claims that the book publishers (I originally mistakenly said "show") was concerned about lawsuits and Winters contacted Speirs and Speirs wrote them indicating that events did take place and there would be no action from him. Winters claims the letter is on file with the book publisher (show possibly incorrect unless they received a copy - which would be wise to get).
There's a vid of Winters on YT explaining this in his own words.
Thought it was for his book. Not the show?
Actually, it was Ambrose's book publisher that feared the possibility of such lawsuits.
@@williamdelmer1869 yes, sorry, it was legal for the book, but Winters did say that Speirs said it was true and admitted to it in writing. Thanks.
@@jonny-b4954 yes, it was for the book.
I can't wait for episode 7 and Speirs' famous run.
Haha right??
That scene is just pure badass !!!
As a former paratrooper this episode struck many chords but what I'll leave with is this:
The Rule of LGOPs
After the demise of the best Airborne plan a most terrifying effect occurs on the battlefield. This effect is known as the Rule of LGOPs. This is, in its purest form, small groups of 19- year old American Paratroopers. They are well-trained, armed-to-the-teeth and lack serious adult supervision. They collectively remember the Commander’s intent as “March to the sound of the guns and kill anyone who is not dressed like you…” …or something like that. Happily they go about the day’s work. ATW
It’s my understanding that the assault on the artillery battery at Brecourt Manor is such a fine example of small unit tactics, the very reason and specialty of units such as the 101st Division, accustomed to operating behind enemy lines and with very little expectation of support, that it is taught, every year, as a field problem at West Point.
I learned a great deal about D-Day from watching "The Longest Day" when I was a kid, including the purpose of the clickers and the fact that paratroopers were mostly dropped in the wrong places. Not surprisingly, this channel also has videos about that movie, which I'll have to watch after this.
He does? I couldn't find any for The Longest Day. One of my favorite movies. I do appreciate how they show all sides not just US based.
@@evancrum6811 czcams.com/video/avPvdbhGTOg/video.html
IMO the most important day of the 20th century, one of the most important days in ALL history.
I currently in Chapter Six of Hang Tough. I've waited for almost a month for the book to be delivered to Indonesia (delivery delayed so much due to Covid). I love the book because I can see more human aspect from Winters. He's witty, sarcastic and sometimes petty. It's very refreshing. And to see his inner thoughts about the war and leadership...this man was a true leader.
Thank you for doing this! This show is very special to me, and your insight is beautiful.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I said the backstory is tremendous! Your presentation is insightful and well presented! It should be studied in the military! Thank you!
Fantastic! To me band of brothers is the best film ever made regarding WW2. Given its production quality, acting…every possible variable by which movies are judged, nothing compares to it. Just remarkable.
Your videos are a terrific compliment to the series.
I'm extremely impressed with the portrayal of some soldiers talks and behavior because they come from humble (read: less educated) background, for example Guarniere's laughs after Winters said he's no quaker and also Liebgott's conversation with Webster on the truck in later episode, they just made the characters so real, so believable.
I loved the video and the commentary especially and I'm looking forward to viewing more of them. I did have some insight I wanted to share with regard to the treatment of Lorraine by the other Paratroopers, I wanted to offer some context and reasoning behind that. Lorraine himself was not being denigrated; it was his position as a command driver that brought on that negativity and disrespect from the regular Line Infantryman. This is due in large part to the fact that this position keeps that Soldier from having to do many of the other tasks that a regular Line Infantryman have to do. These include but are not limited to, KP Duty, Physical Training, foot marches, and even long, grueling field exercises. The last one mentioned there is key as fellow Paratroopers would consider him less well-trained (and rightfully so) than others in their Company. The Soldier "gets out of" these tasks not because they necessarily want to, but because they have to be available at all times to drive a Commander wherever and whenever they need them. That's not at all to say that these are incapable Soldiers (and it's important to note that no one seeks to become a command driver; they are selected), but this is how they are viewed in general and this is why the series addressed that as it is extremely accurate. As a former member of both a Mechanized Cavalry Squadron, a Light Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, and a veteran of multiple combat tours, I can personally attest to that.
An important thing to note about the chaotic drops was that the troops being so scattered inadvertedly aided the airborne units; in combination with other operations to convince the Germans that Normandy was just a diversion for the real landing, the men being dropped so chaotically made it that much more difficult for the Germans to figure out what their objectives were and where to concentrate the forces they had in the region (to be fair Hitler's rigidity in regards to control over the armor units also helped). Elite units are able to function far batter than standard ones in these kinds of "fog-of-war" conditions and it's rather noticeable how much these hindered the German reaction to Normandy.
By comparison, the Market Garden drops were made in far more ideal conditions but that organization made it that much easier for the Germans to identify where to send their men (and importantly, armor) which helped contribute to it's failure.
What makes the reluctance of Dick Winters drinking alcohol extra funny is that Damian Lewis, the actor who portrays him, showed up with a severe hangover at the casting of band of brothers. In the end het got the role.
Wonderful commentary......Thanks for providing the historical context behind the series.
I love learning new things about this amazing story and the real heroes that lived it. A different kind of reaction than most others but really appreciated. So thank you.
So much better than those reaction vids with them just watching the show like normal. Like laughing and shit. Like, why am I watching you watching a show if you have no info to offer? Just had that happen yesterday before i found these.
I really enjoyed this breakdown! Thank you!
On the subject of Lorraine getting a bad rep in the series, the scene where they show Guarnere kill the fleeing Germans that Halls couldn't, it was actually Lorraine that did the shooting there.
Wonderful job with this video. Looking forward to enjoying the rest of them, and learning along the way. Also nice to see the Ivy patch, brings back a lot of memories seeing it again.
Thank you, Professor, for producing this material. You are a true teacher.
My friend Chris bought the 4th gun used in this mini-series from the production company. It is a 105MM cannon serial number 19 made in 1940 by Krupps. She weighs 7500 #. It has its original rubber tires. The cool thing is when folded up for travel you can balance it with 2 fingers. During filming they had sleeves made to fit on the barrels to blow up for the film thereby not harming the cannon.
they dont look anything like 88's
@@icwarhol1 An 88mm aircraft gun is not the same as a 105mm howitzer. I assume you have problems in your everyday life distinguishing between objects. Must hurt using the toilet brush instead of toilet paper.
@@SKeeetcher Im very sorry if you have problems with the english. The movie guns are not 88's, as above. In the movie it calls them 88's, is that easy enough for you to understand. By the way the 88 was used in a variety of roles.
@@icwarhol1 I have no issues comprehending "the english".
They call them both 88s and 105s in the episode, the former is a mistake used as a narrative tool for the audience. I can barely decipher what you just wrote, so Ill just wait for a response.
Using the 88m as an indirect fire? That's a stupid waste.
@@SKeeetcher Ok then your just plain stupid. I do believe that as a "narrative tool" it could at least be correct, elsewise the "narrative" seems to create more problems than it fixes. If you do not know the 88 was used in a variety of roles and the weapons in the movie are not 88's then, if you want to pay 250 dollars an hour i'll happily school your dumb arse.
Hester is visible very briefly in this episode in a couple spots, despite being absent in the portrayal of the Brecourt assault. He was played by Andrew Howard.
Born in 97 // 6:58 I remember watching this scene with my Dad back in I think 2004 or 2003 and even as a young kid I knew Wild Bill didn’t wait for Winters command! Very nostalgic moment for me especially when rewatching the scene many many years later as an adult
Amazing video, thank you!
This is incredible. Keep it up!
Another great vid !
Dude Band of Brothers hit me HARD when my Dad got it on DVD back in my teen years. I grew up playing Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty II on Xbox 360 around the same time period as watching the DVD's.
Thanks for bringing to light more of the realities of this phenomenal series!
Amazing breakdown and very informative. Thank you!
The ambush he refers to at 7:00 is recreated somewhat more accurately in the 2005 video game Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. LTC Cole is present but it does not feature any of the men from Easy company.
One of the best or the best episode of cinematography I ever seen!
One of the issues about the book and the series arose from the fact that Ambrose wrote much of the book based on individual testimony of the men of Easy company. Many reviewers fault Ambrose for these errors, but it was more misinformation he was provided and faulty memories. Many of his interviews were conducted many years after the events and memory is not perfect. For example, the depiction of Edward Blythe in the series infers that he was not very brave, that his wound was extremely severe and not only put him out of the Army but eventually lead to his death just a few years after the war. In reality he stayed in the Army, fought in Korea, was decorated several times and died in 1967. Ambrose was relying on the testimony of the men of Easy, and most of them thought Blythe was evacuated to England (as he was) with a severe wound that was probably mortal. They simply didn't know his later history and were conveying rumors they had heard. Classic case of "fog of war" and incomplete memories.
In fact, Winters said that Blythe was awarded both the Silver and Bronze Stars in Korea. Winters also points out that Blythe's unit in the Korean War made a combat jump that landed them in the middle of a Chi - Com army division.
I'm enjoying this BoB breakdown so much! Thanks for it!
Thanks for tuning in! More to come.
Really enjoy this narration you're doing. Subscribed.
My Uncle from Brooklyn was in Anti-Aircraft stationed outside of London before the invasion. His gun crew shot down the first German Buzz Bomb ever shot down. He and his crew were interviewed by NBC Radio. One of his gun crew, a guy from New Jersey named Louie Quattrone, said in the interview (in a NJ accent) , "eh....I seen mosquitos bigger than that in NJ". NBC sent my grandparents back in Brooklyn a 78 record of the interview. My uncle then went on to the D-Day invasion, Battle of the Bulge, etc, but by that time the Germans hardly had an Air Force left.
Thank you for putting together this commentary and historical background. Love finding out these details from the actual accounts. I gotta think the smoking boot grenade kick might have been a little too much for the series! But that is pretty Incredible.
Now that was Interesting. Great to get facts , even the small details that I didn't know. It was a great series to watch but nice to know the bigger picture. Now on to episodes 3
Really enjoying the in-depth report of what happened
Certainly the best dramatization ever done on TV or feature film, that is BAND OF BROTHERS. SO MANY INCREDIBLE INSPIRING MOMENTS. Thanks for your analysis.
My favorite episode!
I am enjoying your commentary on this series. Thanks Jared. Noticed the 4th ID insignia. I served with the Ivy Division back in the 70's.
It's a absolutely brilliant series
Thoroughly enjoying this series to accompany me through another viewing of BoB, Jared! Very well done.
Thank you!
Due to Dick Winter's guidance in his plans in taking the 88s out of commission and the possible 100s of lives he saved in doing so, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. Due to the number of men who received or also nominated they decided to award him the Distinguished Service Cross. Of course, this maneuver has been taught at West Point ever since.
@2:06, preparing for a jump, it's not so much robotic as rote. It's between hard and impossible to carry and use a checklist (like a pilot uses) when jumping. So we use routine and lots of practice to go step by step, making sure we're fully prepared to jump.
I was enlisted in an Army National Guard Field Artillery Unit in Evansville Indiana. 82-88. 38th inf-163rd FA. My 1st summer camp was at Ft Campbell,KY. Home of the 101st. We also trained there many weekends during my service. I have nothing but much respect for the 101st. I've watched BoB many times. They were the best of the best !
Such a crazy coincidence. I’ve only seen the tv series very recently. I found your series this evening and had just ordered a copy of your book earlier today. Really looking forward to checking it out. Keep up the great work,
from down under 👍🏻
Back in about 1996 I led a platoon attack on that very same bridge that the ambush is set under. The said bridge in on Longmoor Training Area in Hampshire, England not far from the FIBUA Village which can be seen in the documentary about the casts 'boot camp'.
When I did the attack, there was an 'enemy' GPMG on top of the bridge, I got one section of my Troop to lay down covering fire, whilst I led the rest in a flacking movement. All very similar to the attack at Brecourt Manor depicted later in the episode. I had to laugh when I saw it when I watched the episode for the first time back in 2001.
Very cool story!
Just random comment right now. Been binging this all day. Great series, great breakdown.
While an extremely well done series, as you point out, there are many small goofs. Some are simple liberties taken to condense an event or people so the story flows better or is easier to follow. Others are wardrobe or continuity goofs.
My pick for a goof that stood out to me in this episode, which I was surprised you didn't comment on, came in the iconic scene of Winters making his jump.
Somehow, despite all the practice with the gear and with everyone watching, nobody seemed to notice, not even Damian Lewis, that for the jump sequence they had forgotten Winters' reserve chute. He's wearing it for the shots while boarding the plane and while in transit. I don't recall ever reading that Winters had opted to jump without a reserve, so I'm fairly certain this was an oversight. One that I can't unsee, which bothers me with how wonderfully shot that continuous shot of Winters' decent is!
Just incase anyone is interested, available for order now. Fierce Valor The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers. www.amazon.com/dp/1684511992/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_YKVCCDMS88TEKVXFSB9C
I can watch these all day
Great job dude.
Interesting - gonna be watching VERY carefully when you get to Market Garden, "buddy". Cheers, mate, a valuable new take on BoB and the truth of men in combat.
Great series, prof! Can't stop watching! Would love to see this guy nit-pick-apart my graphic novel about the 331st if it gets finished someday :)
First off, thank you for providing background information to the episodes. A lot of really interesting information. Next, I wanted to mentioned a really interesting book about the ETO and personal account is If you Survive by George Wilson. Finally, Many thanks.
These reaction videos with proper experts are so good.
I just fully watched BoB straight through for the first time then found your channel, its awesome thanks for making it. they still use that attack as a teaching moment on how to take stationary targets
Aw man, i love this reaction so far
And i was actually expecting more context on the Malarkey and the german POW scene
Editing part 3 now, it gets touched on more since it's a bit of a recurring theme throughout the series.
@@ReelHistory I can't wait,
I bought Stephen Ambrose's book last year on Christmas, for so long i tried to get my hands on it after seeing this series for the first time when I was 7, 14 years ago and been rewatching every year as a habit of mine
Also books are really hard to come by in my country, i was surprised when i saw it, bought it for 2 dollars, a bit damaged and old
I'm trying to find "Hang Tough", David Webster's book and possibly even Eugene Sledge's book from "The Pacific"
@@lt.pineapples8772 try bookdepository.com. I bought all the books you listed from there, including Hang Tough that Jared's co-wrote.
Cole won the Medal of Honor for a bayonet charge into Carentan. His blackened face shows up in the newsreels when Ike shows up to chat with the paratroopers. He was killed a few months later.
From what i recall from interviews with members of Easy was that Brecourt Manor was thier objective planned from before they dropped into Normandy.
I enjoy your history videos and imagine your classes are great. Being a retired Marine and having a grandfather who was a retired Marine also and a veteran of Guadalcanal Canal and Iwo Jima as well as the Korean War (he was at the "Frozen" Chosin Reservoir, I hope youbdo a historical review of the TV series the Pacific from HBO in the future
The first time I saw this episode was during jump week in jump school at Ft. Benning GA in 2005. They would show us movies in the hanger while we were geared up waiting for our chalk's turn to jump. I really remembered this episode vividly just because of the opening jumps and how viseral it felt at the time, almost was able to forget we were sitting in a hanger waiting to jump ourselves. On our second jump a soldier in my stick, PFC Megan Adelman died from improper exit of the C-17, she was only 19 years old at the time. RIP Megan. Seems like a lifetime ago.
This was two years ago?! Man, time is very wonky lately. Stoked to see how much the channel has grown. Thanks for the hours of entertainment. 🥂
Thank you!
The men in Lt. Meehan's plane are buried in a mass grave in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. My dad is also buried there. Whenever I visit him I take extra flowers and visit those brave men.
I think taking something that is tactically valuable to you and your squad like a watch to tell time is very different then souvenir hunting which is just about value in the real world.
Haha nah. Just an excuse. I personally dont see problem with looting enemy dead. Its war and that's as old as war itself. But I highly doubt they actually used the watch for a valid, tactical reason.
@@jonny-b4954 you obviously don't know the type of man winters was if you think he didn't use it for tactics
@@Nerdy_The_Punk I don't know. I guess, maybe. Still, the simplest answer is generally the correct one in absence of anything concrete. I'd wager it was typical looting. But who knows. It's tv show anyways, who knows if it really happened or happened like that.
@@jonny-b4954 well as a person who has read multiple books about easy company I can tell you right now that he was not to type to loot.
How is looting a simpler answer then a watch being tactically useful? Both are pretty simple and common answers so what you said just makes my point more valid.
Lastly if you actually read and learned about dick winters it was definitely not the type of thing he would do. He was a model leader in every regard. He just wasn't the type of guy who broke the rules. If you argued this about any other character I might say you are right but definitely not winters. He was the definition of a proper officer. Trust me learn more about the guy and you will realize why I say he was not souvenir hunting. Also if all he took through the whole war was a watch on d day that makes it even more clear it was for tactical reasons.
@@Nerdy_The_Punk Honestly, I didn't even know we were talking about Winters to begin with. So I'll just concede the point to you.
Very good video and I think it's important to point out some of the differences between reality and what we were presented on television from this fantastic show.
One thing I noticed from the military breakdown of the guns at Brecourt is that they are facing the wrong way in the TV show. Also, whenever I saw the ambush scene in this show I always thought it was a polite nod to the longest day which had a similar ambush scene.
Band of Brothers and the subsequent series The Pacific were so good. Hopefully the upcoming Masters of the Air will be equally good.
Can’t wait, nothing like watching an hbo mini series to get your mind off shit! Little bit of escape if you know what I mean. BoB, Generation Kill, and The Pacific = ❤️
unfortunately, the Pacific doesn't have the same magnetic force that BOB has. I own both and have watched BOB from beginning to end about 7 times. I have yet to finish The Pacific. It just doesn't click with me for some reason
Hey There Jared- I Very Much Look Forward to reading your and Erik’s book “Hang Tough” as well as “Fierce Valor”! Many Blessings to you and your family and Keep up the Great Work!!
Thank you!
I watch war movies all the time and some things really hit me hard. For example, getting shot and killed on the ground (quick death version) seems one of the best ways to go. Also, having a bomb dropped on me and blown to bits. I never knew what hit me.
But being in a plane going down and there's nothing I can do about it and I can't even get out to try to parachute to the ground just terrifies me.
Winters went and reconed the areas himself before the assault and then went back and updated his men on the objective.
You’re right! It didn’t take long to scroll down these comments to find somebody who knows what they’re taking about. The sequence gives the impression that they somehow winged the whole operation . Silly. I’m surprised the professor doesn’t mention the is very important point. If you haven’t already check out the Operations Room channel for a great a feature on this operation.
another reason winters didn't drink was cuz his grandfather i think it was, had a bad drinking problem and winters himself said he didn't want end up like that.
The scene where Lorraine has trouble hitting a target, Guarnere knocks the guy down, then curses Lorraine for being a driver; it actually played out the other way around. I think it would have been nice to give Lorraine his moment, as he was a paratrooper, like the rest.
You mention that the hedge rows had existed for thousands of years yet in another Ambrose book, Citizen Soldiers, I learned that their size and scope was vastly underestimated by Allied air reconnaissance prior to the invasion. As a result, troops were initially unprepared to deal with these obstacles and had to improvise quickly to manage them - a significant training failure.
It bears reflecting that the mis-drops of the parachutists all over Normandy could not have had a better result if it had been planned. A swarm of badass 19- and 20-year-old Americans roaming the landscape, totally unsupervised, shooting and blowing stuff up at random.
One shout out for the C-47 pilots. I flew one during the Vietnam War. You will note they were not wearing parachutes. WHY? No room! So if the plane was disabled and going down, there was no time to put on a chute and bail out. They, like we, went "down with the ship".
Fun fact! LtCol Robert Cole of the 502nd PIR who’s mentioned in the first ambush, is essentially the reason Dick Winters wasn’t awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Brecourt Manor! There was a policy in place to award just one Medal of Honor per division, and LtCol Cole was himself awarded the MoH for leading a bayonet charge on, I believe, June 11.
Not so Fun Fact! LtCole Robert Cole was killed in Holland during Market Garden
I have to say, this is a genius concept of a channel. If you get off to a slow start, just give it a year or 2 and it will catch on. "Reel History" and its a channel about movie reviews from a history professor. WHAT DIDNT I THINK OF THIS!?
All I have to say is that I hope you are right. This is a side project a friend of mine and I have had in mind for awhile now and that it is fun to actually see it happening. Thanks for the encouragement!
YOU WERE RIGHT! except it took 10 months. the channel is taking off!
6 months later....just hit 10,000 subs!
Wonderful Wonderful
Great extra info. Can you PLEASE have a look at the Longest day!?
PFC Lorraine was promoted to Technician 5th Grade and was awarded two silver stars, one for Normandy and the other during Operation Market Garden (Holland)
I believe that the soldiers on D-Day were told to not take prisoners, most due to the fact that they didn't have to ability or man power to hold them, also because it was imperative for them to advance inland. I could be mistaken.
I believe you are correct.
It should be noted that, at least at this point in the conflict, US paratroopers ‘chute harnesses were secured using, time consuming, multiple hooks, rather than the single ‘twist and strike’ release used on British ‘chutes. This resulted in many of these brave pioneers being drowned in the areas flooded by the Germans, as they were unable to quickly release themselves from their ‘chute and harness.
The breakout from Normandy and Chosin Reservoir are two stories I believe deserve a movie. The few Chosin Reservoir scenes seen in Devotion were bloody intense.
We couldn't agree more!
I remember reading that the reason Lt. Peacock tells Sgt. Martin to tap his leg when the light turns green is that he was colorblind, so he couldn't tell whether the green or red light was on. He couldn't tell Martin why, because he could have been drummed out of the service, so he just told him what to do. If true, that's a great detail.
Great point!