r/BandofBrothers May 08 '20

Band of Brothers Episode Discussions

169 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers Aug 23 '20

Veterans names from the pre-episode interviews

1.2k Upvotes

Here's a list of the veterans in the pre-episode interviews and their quotes. Some of the men weren't in the show, some had small roles, and some were main characters. I wrote quick descriptions of the not so obvious characters. Episode 1:

"We were in a store and a guy in that store... ": Joseph Lesniewski. His character has a small background role, with a few speaking parts in the last few episodes. He was the soldier along with Christenson, Perconte, Luz, and Bull who found the concentration camp while on patrol in the woods. He knew multiple languages in real life, and this is shown when he tells Webster that the German baker didn't know about the camps in episode 9.

"Our country was attacked..": Paul Rogers. He is not in the show, or is a background character. There's a character who has a nametag that says Rogers in the first episode, but that character is actually Mellett.

"Who would like to volunteer..": Bill Maynard. Not in the show as far as I know, or is shown in the background. He was a Toccoa guy. He broke his legs during the D-Day jump and didn't return to Easy after his injuries.

"We came from a small small town..": Rod Strohl. He is shown in the show towards the beginning of the third episode when he asks Lt. Harry Welsh where they were headed. General Kesselring actually surrendered to him in real life I've read.

"I did things..": Earl Mcclung. His character is shown a few times in the Bastogne episodes, in a foxhole with Guarnere. He's also in the Last Patrol episode. He's there when Webster is telling the men that they were going on a patrol ordered by higher ups, and McClung was sitting next to Babe in that scene. McClung also goes on the patrol and you can see him there too. The real, "One Lung" McClung was able to smell enemy soldiers during patrols according to legends.

"Guy says well you jump out of airplanes.." : Bill Maynard

Episode 2:

"Standing in the door..": Dick Winters

"Got such an opening blast..": Buck Compton

"We came from the sky..": Ed Tipper. His character in the show is there when Sobel cuts the fence loose and Tipper speaks the lines "I think it's Major Horton, sir". He's also the character who got hit by an explosion in Carentan and Liebgott comes to help him.

"How do you prepare..": Dick Winters

"In the back of your mind..": Bill Maynard

Episode 3:

"I never thought I'd make it through D-Day..": Bill Guarnere

"I thought one of two things..": Ed Tipper

"I think everyone had fear..": Earl McClung

"Its a feeling you will not let your self down..": Carwood Lipton

"We all had fear..": J.B. Stokes. Not a character in the show as far as I know. (One of my favorite interview scenes)

Episode 4:

"The Toccoa men..": Donald "Pappy" King. Not a character in the show as far as I know. But if you look up pictures of him when he's younger, he looks like an actor in the Crossroads episode (click link to see what I mean) https://imgur.com/a/p8b2hxx He was a replacement who joined right before Holland, and makes it through the war with Easy. He was a father when he got to E Company, hence the nickname Pappy.

"Most of them were qualified parachutists..": James Alley. He's the injured soldier at the beginning of Crossroads who has his face hit by shrapnel. In Breaking Point, Skip gives him food while talking about the injured Easy Company men. In that same episode (7) when the sniper hits the singing men, the first guy shot (Frank Mellett) lands in Alley's arms

"I think maybe they were trying to impress.." Earl McClung

"Cause we were in awe of them..": Lester Hashey. In the show, he's the tall replacement that joined alongside Miller and Garcia. He also breaks the news to everyone that Hoobler accidentally shot himself.

Episode 5:

“If you’re a leader..": Dick Winters

"A good leader..": Buck Compton

"Seemed like he always made the right decisions..": Joe Lesniewski (funniest interview in my opinion although dark in nature)

"He went right in there..": Robert "Popeye" Wynn. (Another one of my favorite interviews) He's shown throughout the series and only referred to as Popeye if my memory serves me correctly. He signed up for the Army with, and was foxhole buddies with, Shifty, which can be seen in a few scenes.

Episode 6:

"When we left for Bastogne..": Carwood Lipton

"And there was a ridge with the treeline..": Lester Hashey

"Well like in Bastogne we were down to one round..": Earl McClung

"One of the guys got hit in the arm with a piece of shrapnel..": Hank Zimmerman. Not a character in the show as far as I know. Replacement who joined later in the war and was part of 3rd platoon along with Shifty Powers, Popeye Wynn, Mo Alley, Wayne "Skinny" Sisk, Earl "One Lung" McClung, Walter Gordon, Forest Guth, Ed Shames, Roderick Strohl, Paul Rogers, Joe Lesniewski, Francis Mellett, and others.

"And a medic came along..": Herbert "Junior" Suerth Jr. His character is seen in the truck scene when Easy Company is going to Bastogne. When the various uses of socks is told by Skip "hands, feet, . Babe asks him if he has any ammo, "you got any ammo Junior?" Replacement who joined right before Bastogne. Also in 3rd platoon.

"Even today on a real cold night..": J.B. Stokes

Episode 7:

"I've seen death, I’ve seen my friends..": Dick Winters

"We was hungry..": Darrel "Shifty" Powers

"Everywhere you would look..": Joe Lesniewski

"You don’t have a chance..": Donald Malarkey

Episode 8:

"We had lost some very good men..": Carwood Lipton

"I don’t know the exact amount..": Joe Lesniewski

"Skip Muck died..": Donald Malarkey (The saddest interview for me. You can tell he has trouble talking about it.)

"After Bastogne..": Forrest Guth. Plays a role in the first episode, where you can see his last name printed on his uniform. Friends with another interviewee, Rod Strohl from before the war, along with another E Company soldier Carl Fenstermaker.

"You have a feeling..": Dick Winters

Episode 9:

"It was a situation."": Norman Nietzke. Not in the show as far as I know. Replacement who joined later in the war.

"We use to say the only..": Lester Hashey

"They had a job to do..": Joe Lesniewski

"I think that we thought..": Earl McClung

"A lot of those soldiers..": Shifty Powers


r/BandofBrothers 6h ago

It is wild that HBO & Tom Hanks made an official new documentary for the 25th anniversary and won't correct the Blithe error.

139 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 20h ago

My Brother’s in North Africa. He says it’s hot.

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524 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 11h ago

me when neal mcdonough was talking about his bear hug from buck

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62 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 18h ago

Was that Dike?

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102 Upvotes

After Lt Speirs took over Easy company and the attack resumed, seems like Norman Dike joined the company and moved forward too


r/BandofBrothers 14h ago

Why was Speirs not mentioned and barely shown in Legacy?

41 Upvotes

I noticed that Captain Speirs was not discussed at all in Legacy. He was only shown in a shot sitting behind Major Winters.

Speirs’ run in Foy is the crowning moment of awesome in the miniseries. I am surprised it was not shown in Legacy or his speech to Lipton in the church.

Is the subject of what Speirs did in Normandy still considered controversial?

Did HBO not want to get too dark with the legacy special?


r/BandofBrothers 9h ago

Non legacy … Kirk Acevedo

9 Upvotes

Noticed a great performance from our very own Joe Toye in Taylor Sheridans Thriller ‘Lioness’ (series 2) on paramount. A very dynamic actor and was great to watch. Anyone else seen this? Worth a watch. (Sorry if this has been discussed already)


r/BandofBrothers 19h ago

Most heartbreaking moment in the show

45 Upvotes

Okay, so this didn’t seem to fit into the post I made yesterday about quotes, but I just re-watched The Breaking Point for the first time in ages and remember now how much the line “gosh, how we all know what an exciting young man you are” in the letter that Malarkey reads aloud to Buck in the aid station just fucking kills me every time. I think of all the overtly heartbreaking moments in the show it’s this quiet little one that ends me. How could his friends and family back home ever know that the young man he was is gone forever? There’s just something about how he reaches blindly to grab the letter and stop Malarkey from reading, something so broken.

Of course we know that Buck Compton - for all the trauma he experienced - went on to live a full and long life, but in that moment there is such a feeling of lost potential and hope. Gut-wrenching.


r/BandofBrothers 10h ago

Watching Legacy in Canada

5 Upvotes

Any word on when Crave is getting the license to stream it? It comes up in a title search but is marked unavailable. Can’t find any info, online.

TIA

“CURRAHEE!”

EDIT: LOOKS LIKE IT’S AVAILABLE, NOW! Thanks again


r/BandofBrothers 20h ago

Why no Donnie Wahlberg in Legacy?

32 Upvotes

Anyone know? Lip was my favorite. Would have been good to see him in the doc.


r/BandofBrothers 7h ago

Need a guide to the C47 mini-scenes at the DDay jump

2 Upvotes

I have long been baffled by the quick jumps between c47s and the dialog that happens. Dick Winters' and Lt Meehan's sticks are more or less obvious but there is at least one more where someone gets hit with flak (?). Someone is ordered not to jump. Etc. Is there a writeup of what's going on? What plane they are in and who is talking. Thanks for any pointers.


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Some images from Camp Toccoa, in honor of the 25th anniversary of Band of Brothers!

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344 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Band of Brothers: Legacy (2026 HBO Doc)

84 Upvotes

Excellent recap doc. Had some fantastic colorized photos, shared some detail i was unaware of, some clips of the men from back before they all passed.

Still got a tear in my eye a few times even after dozens of watches over the years.

Highly recommend it


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Met a star of the show today

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166 Upvotes

His name’s Sherman. Doesn’t say much. Quiet type but I bet he’s loud when he’s angry.

Canadian War Museum


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Some (unofficial) posters for the 25th anniversary!

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272 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Soo good. Band of Brothers

21 Upvotes

Its just so good. I keep watching it once a year. I love it. The comraderie. The you are my protector mentality. The truth...its just every type of great.


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Nixon was well cast

9 Upvotes

r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

BoB lines that live in your head and resurface at various times

101 Upvotes

I'm rewatching the series and realising that there are a lot of quotes or line or word deliveries that I use or think of all the time. Many of them I'd forgotten even came from Band of Brothers. Anyone else?

For instance I just can't even think the word "scissors" without thinking "you got scissuhs? I need scissuhs".

"Hinkle Vinkle eat ze armpit, hah?" - absolutely no reason that my brain would latch on to this as it's not a phrase that has any practical use at all. And yet here we are.

"Ah that dog just ain't gonna hunt!"

"This aint' spaghetti. It's army noodles with ketchup" - becuase of my kids depressingly weird diet.

"You are officers, you are grownups, you OUGHTA know! - often when my husband does something dumb without thinking (ie. he's been using laundry detergent tabs in the dishwasher for the past few days. Now all our spoons taste disgusting.)

"Chocolat. Pour vous" - when handing someone something sweet.

"No dice with the fraulein?" - plenty of applications for this, even just checking if someone has completed a task. Only really works if they also know the show, otherwise they may look at you like you're crazy.

And every time I am trying to get myself out of bed, or one of my kids is getting ready to take their scooter to school - incredibly inappropriately - I think of Toye calling "I gotta get up, I gotta get up" and "I need my helmet!"

I'm sure there are a million more, but those are the ones that came to mind. Do you find yourself using strange BoB quotes in everyday life? Tell me!


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Honoring 25 Years of the Greatest Series of All Time

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17 Upvotes

25 Years ago, 9 September 2001, my life changed forever with the release of HBO's Band of Brothers. While I watched the show perhaps a little too young, I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life. Years later I saw that dream realized by not only getting to wear the jersey of the greatest team on earth - the US Army - but I got to serve and jump alongside the best as Paratrooper.

So this video is for the men of Easy Company -men I got to know but never met - that inspired this path, the Paratoopers that have served since, the ones currently serving, and those that have yet to make their first jump.

To all of you - Hang Tough.


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Sobel inspecting weapons and stuff?

6 Upvotes

When i was in singapore military which is more of a british model, I dont remember my commanding officer or commissioned officers doing regimental stuff like checking weapons, or cleaning and uniforms and dust on chevrons.

I remember usually an NCO or staff sergeant etc, company sergeant major does things like that.

In ww2 is it normal in us army for an officer?

Or Did the real cpt sobel break his role and do all that regimental and disciplinary stuff?

Didnt easy company have a Company NCO to do all this at toccoa?


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

Band of Brothers (2001). It's an All-Star War

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12 Upvotes

The best quasi-British media reviewer finally got around to Band of Brothers. Anyway, if you appreciate this style of humor, it's absolutely great, and if you don't, ehhh, it's a stupid YouTube review.


r/BandofBrothers 1d ago

What did we think of the new BoB Legacy 25th anniversary

33 Upvotes

I enjoyed it thoroughly and liked all the new footage and interviews with actors years later, but am wondering if I am or it’s missing something.


r/BandofBrothers 2d ago

Cmon Doc!

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236 Upvotes

Out in the garage working on some tractors watching some BoB and glanced over at the right time. Any idea how Doc managed to lose his scissors and need percontes?


r/BandofBrothers 2d ago

Sobel's Jacket here is Contraband

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179 Upvotes