By chris zhou on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 10:00 pm:| By chris zhou on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 10:00 pm: |
i would like to know how to watch this cool mini series. i dont have hbo, but is it a movie or what
| By Captnpete on Tuesday, September 04, 2001 - 08:10 pm: |
You're pretty much out of luck until the DVD version of the miniseries is released (which, I hear, won't come long after the end of the miniseries).
| By dtircuit on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 01:06 pm: |
The actors endured a grueling two-week boot camp where they learned the basics, from how to wear a uniform and stand at attention, to sophisticated field tactics and parachute jump training.
The average day was 16 hours long, beginning at 5:00 a.m., rain or shine, with strenuous calisthenics and a three-to-five-mile run, followed by hours of tactical training, including weapons handling and jump preparation.
There were night operations, foxhole digs and guard duty; they crawled through mud, slept on cold, wet ground, and had no showers.
The highlight and culmination of boot camp was a trip to the Royal Air Force Base at Brize Norton, the training site for British paratroopers, where each actor jumped from the 40-foot jump tower and earned his wings.
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 11:25 pm: |
David Schwimmer who portrays Sobel
| By Angela Hmmm (Bob3) (209.255.54.183 - 209.255.54.183) on Saturday, December 01, 2001 - 01:19 pm: |
Hey! It's an awesome show! Does anyone know when it comes out on DVD and casette? I hope it's not too long.
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 01:43 am: |
Damian Lewis as Lt. Richard Winters
Look for Damian in Forsythe Saga just released in UK and Dreamcatchers with Donnie wahlberg which recently finished production in Canada
Ron Livingston as Lt. Lewis Nixon
His newest projects are 'Rumour of Angels' and 'Adaption'; I saw him in 'Office Space', he struck a chord in me as i too slave in an office, OS if for anyone has worked for someone else
Recently learned Dexter Fletcher has been in British show biz from an early age; this accounts for his terrific American accent
Kirk Acevedo has also enjoyed a successful career before BOB. He almost passed up the opportunity to do Joe Toye for fear he would loose his weekly spot on HBO's Oz
Ross McCall too has an extensive resume, mostly UK television
Frank John Hughes does a most convincing job as the abrasive, revenge driven Wild Bill Guarnere
Each of these guys has a website dedicated to him, if you wanna know more, I'd be happy to post it here!
Jane
| By Brook Collins (Brook_016) (216.43.116.199) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 09:21 am: |
Jane,
I'd like to know the website for Ross McCall. Thanks.
Brook
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 10:47 pm: |
Brook,
Hey, another Ross fan, cool! The link is
Ross McCall Fansite
Arlette, the webmistress is terrific. Everytime I visit this site, it seems she’s added something. Are you interested in any other BOB guy? I run a group where members are encouraged to share info on any and all of the actors.
My goal is to add some pics from each of the eps to their corresponding messageboard. Definitely will add more Ross, so keep your eyes peeled.
Jane
| By Brook Collins (Brook_016) (216.43.116.199) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 01:01 am: |
Jane,
Do you have a website for Philip Barrantini who protrayed Wayne "Skinny" Sisk? Thanks.
Brook
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 02:17 am: |
Brook,
Sorry, no one has posted anything yet. Myself, I found Philip to be one those where very little turned up. Do have a fanmail addy, want that?
Jane
| By Brook Collins (Brook_016) (216.43.116.199) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:16 am: |
Sure that would be wonderful.
Brook
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:57 am: |
Brook,
Here it is, it's untested. Some of the addies I've gotten resulted mail being returned. Good luck!
Jane
| By Brook Collins (Brook_016) (216.43.116.199) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 11:09 am: |
Jane,
What's the addy. I don't see it.
Brook
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (67.227.12.254) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 01:51 pm: |
Brook,
Sorry bout that. Was on my way to work. Brain has moved on to the weekend, LOL! Here you go,
c/o Paul Becker
Paul Becker Ltd.
61 Portobello Road
Notting Hill
London W11 3DB
Tel: 44 020 7221 3050
Fax: 44 20 7221 5030
E-mail: info@paulbeckerltd.com
Good Luck!
Jane
| By Brook Collins (Brook_016) (216.43.116.199) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 02:58 pm: |
Jane,
Do you have yahoo messenger so I could add you to my friend's list and we can chat. Thanks.
Brook
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (67.227.12.149) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 04:03 pm: |
Brook,
Cool, my YIM is 'jlindholm2000'. However, I use AOL Instant Messaging more. There my buddy name is 'ScreenCapJane'
Jane
| By Ilja Buschman (Bobandluzfan) (212.129.207.209) on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 08:10 am: |
I want to ask two things about this episode. First, why did only Ranney and another guy get punsihed for the actions against Sobel. They all did the same i think, but only those were punished. The one was bunched out of the regiment and the other demoted to private.
The other thing is a really strange thing i noticed. At the end of the episode when the planes get of for Normandy, there was a trace of a f16 or something high in the sky. Its very strange
| By Donna Lumsden (Ladymadonna) (80.225.79.73) on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 08:32 am: |
I wondered the same thing. When you read the book it becomes a little more apparent that Ranney and Harris (?) were the non-coms who were most outspoken in their distrust and dislike of Sobel. I posed the question to Bill Guarnere's son who very kindly asked the man himself.
Bill Guarnere said that the dislike and lack of confidence in Sobel was an open secret in the Regiment (i.e. Col. Sink was aware of the men's feelings on the matter)and that as he remembers it Ranney and Harris were the 'ringleaders' to a point. I believe this is the reason they were singled out for punishment.
| By Ilja Buschman (Bobandluzfan) (212.129.207.209) on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 04:49 pm: |
thanks for your reaction Donna.
Also i like to know what the song is called what they sang when they ran Currahee. I mean the time that they have to run Currahee after eating spaghetti. The song is going like this: We pull up on the risers, we pull up on the grass. We'll never land apart we always hit our ass. Anybody know the the complete songtext and the title?
| By Donna Lumsden (Ladymadonna) (80.225.13.52) on Tuesday, June 18, 2002 - 04:19 am: |
Ilja,
here is a post that was originally submitted to the HBO BOB boards and then reposted to the Wild Bill Guarnere website by Toeknee when I asked the very same question!:
I came across the following on the HBO discussion boards (thanks to appell8 and others for bringing those boards to our attention). It was posted by rlwtexas on 10/18/01:
"Did anyone ever post the words to the Currahee march
when they're running up the hill after eating
spaghetti? Well, if not here goes (and if I'm wrong
anywhere, let me know):
Fall upon the rises, fall upon the grass.
We never land on our feet, we always hit our ass.
Hidy-Hidy, Christ Almighty, who the hell are we?
Zim-Zam, God-Damn, we're the Airborne Infantry.
Courtesy of my TV Caption"
You can also find details of the song sung in 'Why We Fight' by following this link:
http://currahee.hispeed.com/
and going to the Gallery/Memorabilia page and looking up paratroopers songs.
| By Ilja Buschman (Bobandluzfan) (212.129.207.209) on Tuesday, June 18, 2002 - 05:27 am: |
The song they sang in Why we fight was 'blood upon the risers'
thnx for the website
| By alan james o'reilly (Alanor) (62.254.64.5) on Tuesday, June 18, 2002 - 03:08 pm: |
Re: Song in ep. 1, I think there is a web site linked to this (Mark Bando's?)that has a comment to the effect that the line "We're Airborne infantry" would have been "We're Parachute infantry" in WW2, paratroops being very anxious to distinguish themselves from glider battalions. (The GIR's had their own song(s) with the wry theme of receiving no jump pay and not being volunteers but arguably facing greater dangers on the way down - there is a description in "The Red Beret" by Hilary St. George Saunders of the invasion of Sicily, July 1943, p 130-131, where troopers alighting on the DZ saw "a Horsa glider a hundred feet above their heads with 'five streams of tracer going straight through the fuselage'". Witnessing this and other heart-rending scenes, one trooper recalled "I thanked God that I went to battle by parachute and not by glider".)
The "zim, zam" line was in common use in WW2 - Leon Uris cites it in his fact-based novel "Battle Cry" about the USMC, where the ending is "we're the fighting 6th Marines!" There were other similarities as well...
Regards
Alan O'R
| By Tahir Janmohamed (Slaman) (208.236.120.254) on Wednesday, October 02, 2002 - 07:03 pm: |
I have recently found this site and look forward to having some of my questions regarding the series finally answered!
I have been working on compiling a table of military organization and rankings during World War II and placing the characters in BOB with their real-life rankings.
First off, I've learnt that the term "Regiment" was only used verbally and military organization was practically organized Battallion->Brigade->Division. Is this true?
Secondly, Easy Company was in which Battallion, which Brigade, which Division, which Corps? In otherwords, what was their full title?
Thirdly, Lt. Soebel was a Lt. and I assume ran Easy Company - from what I have learnt, the person in charge of an entire Company is designated Captain? What was Soebel's full rank? If he was not the Captain of Easy Company, who was? What was Winters' rank at this point? Was he First Lt. ? Second Lt?
What was the hierchy of the characters at this point?
Soebel>Winters>Nixon>Lipton/Compton>Moose?
What were their ranks?
It may be a bit anal, but this series has really intrigued me and I would love to be able to understand the whole situation. I have watched the series twice now, and will be watching it again and again for a long time to come!
| By homefront41 (Homefront41) (198.81.26.142) on Wednesday, October 02, 2002 - 07:53 pm: |
Tahir, May I suggest that you buy the book, Band of Brothers by Stephen A. Ambrose. Most of your questions will be answered there.
Also, many are answered in the FAQ section on this site. Please check the front page of the site. BK
| By Ebeth (Ebeth) (199.174.65.27) on Wednesday, October 02, 2002 - 08:09 pm: |
Tahir-
Check out the Just the Faqs section- there is a topic on how the 101st and the 506th were organized. If you're asking about the rank of the characters during episode one (while at Toccoa), Sobel was the Lt. in charge, with Winters being promoted to XO (executive officer and second in command) of the company. Winters doesn't assume command of Easy until D-Day, after Lt. Meehan is killed. Nixon is a Lt. as well, but he is an S-3, intelligence officer. Lipton was a newly promoted sergeant (He gets gigged by Sobel for having a loose thread on his chevrons). Compton didn't join Easy company until they were in England, prior to D-Day. He was a Lt. as well, and led one of the platoons. Heyliger doesn't assume command of Easy until Holland. If you look at the Faqs section, it will help you make more sense on what the ranks are, and their order. Keep in mind that the series didn't always follow history faithfully, and that many of the men in the real Easy company weren't shown in the miniseries. Anybody else remember anything from Episode 1?
| By Tahir Janmohamed (Slaman) (208.236.120.254) on Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 06:06 pm: |
Ya, I've been checking out Brando's very detailed site on the Band of Brothers and the real 506th - things have been cleared up a lot.
I have realized that it is impossible to detail out all the people, their organizations, and rankings, without basically accounting for everyone in Easy Company - a task much greater than I have time for at the moment. I will check out the FAQ.
One major cause for confusion is the term "Lieutenant" - there are 1st and 2nd Lt's... as well as Lieutenant Colonels who are in charge of the battallion. Sobel was actually the Captain of Easy at the time. Nixon is a Lt? He is often referred to as Captain later on in the series, yet he did not command his own Company? Lipton is 1st Sergeant? Staff Sergeant? Heh too many ranks to keep track of!
| By Kelly Cooper (Cat) (67.202.4.50) on Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 07:03 pm: |
Tahir,
Nixon is at the Battalion and Regiment levels in the series. He did start out as a member of Easy Company if I remember right. That's how he became such good friends with Winters. He started at Battalion then went to Regiment then was demoted to Battalion again. He is an intelligence officer ei. a staff officer and a Brilliant one at that. Remember in ep 9 when he's telling Winters he's never fired a shot in combat that's because he was a staff officer. Captain's are normally in charge of companies but not always and then there is a 1st Lt that is the XO then there are Lts in charge of each platoon. Lipton as 1st sergeant was the highest ranking NCO and I believe that he was the main go between between officers and the men. Each platoon also has a staff sergeant that is in charge of handing out orders from above and handing out punishments. At least that's how it was explained to me when I asked what the duties of a staff sergeant were. My Grandfather was one. Then each squad has a sergeant that is in charge of it. I think that is a short over view of the chain of command at the company level at least. I hope I haven't just restated things already said and that I'm right. This is my understanding of it at least. Hope it helps!
Kelly
| By Ebeth (Ebeth) (199.174.65.27) on Thursday, October 03, 2002 - 07:05 pm: |
Tahir-
I agree, it is very confusing, especially since the Army ranks and tables of organization have changed over the years since WWII. A technical sergeant, staff sergeant and regular sergeant all would simply be referred to as "sergeant", so you would need to see their insignia to determine what level of rank they had. Same with the lieutenants- you would need to see if they had a gold bar or a silver to know if they were a 1st or 2nd lieutenant. Also, during WWII, the number of casualties led to a large number of promotions and changes in ranks, which didn't always match the T/O's for a particular unit or battalion. This also led to soldiers performing duties that didn't match their ranks (such as a non-com leading a platoon, rather than an officer). And, of course, its possible to be demoted as well. In episode 2, one of the sergeants (Ranney?) is busted back to private, losing his stripes and the extra pay.
Lipton worked his way up through the sergeant ranks, becoming 1st sergeant after the company returns to England after D-Day (at least according to the miniseries). He was awarded a battlefield commission during the Battle of the Bulge, and became a second lieutenant (which is the next step up in the ranks). He went from being an NCO (non-commissioned officer) to an officer. Pretty impressive progression that says a lot about his abilities as a soldier.
| By Tahir Janmohamed (Slaman) (208.236.120.254) on Friday, October 04, 2002 - 08:16 pm: |
Thanks for the replies people! It took a lot of reading and brushing up on military ranking and organization to understand everything. I think I've finally got everyone's position straight - so when I watch the series for the third time, I'll be watching for these things.
| By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 11:57 am: |
people; i got this real helpful email yesterday from a guy from england. he figured out what it was exactly that the Brit said to Hoobler in epi 1. he asked me to post it here, so here it is........
'I don't know whether you have found out yet but the Brit is speaking in cockney rhyming slang.
As you probably know the word "Tommie's" is slang for Brit just like the word "Yank" for American.
When the Brit says, "it's for you lads, so you can get your mince pies on some jerry clobber". The term 'mince pies' rhymes with 'eyes' I.e. "so they can get their eyes on German clothes".
Hoobler wouldn't know what he's talking about because the Brit is speaking in this cockney rhyming slang, as they did and some still do in London.
Pukka is like another world to say something is great or brilliant I.e. the luger is pukka/brilliant.
When the Brit said, "your having a bath if you think your half inching that". The word 'bath' rhymes with 'laugh', and the term 'half inching' rhymes with 'pinching' (meaning stealing) I.e. your having a laugh if you think your stealing that.
As I say I don't know whether you've figured this out for yourself yet or whether someone else has informed you but here you are. I just happened to see this as I was skimming through some of the mail at the http://www.tircuit.com/bandofbrothers/ site.
If you wanted to share this with any others that you were discussing this with please do so.
Anyway, I like many others thought BOB was fantastic and as many others are thankful to the men of easy company and others who died for us.'
with thanks to Stephen,
irene
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.170.2.77) on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 04:52 pm: |
Oooops, I see what you meant with the other post. Sorru for that. Thanks for posting that here Irene
gold
| By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.208.172) on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 02:33 am: |
that's ok gold!
have a great weekend!
irene
| By Cesar Elias Sanjur III (Cesare) (200.46.128.91) on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 06:20 pm: |
Hi everyone!
As I watched the "Currahee" espisode on DVD I recalled the deep emotion I felt when the planes started rolling in the runaway... in Ambrose's book the English soldiers had tears in their eyes (this reminds me of another narration of that moment. When Ike Eisenhower was watching the planes fly over him in that night, an American war correspondent who was with him said Ike's eyes were filled with tears). You can feel the nervousness, the tension building inside the men as they departed for the real thing after two years of training.
Also another moving moment for me was the scene when you can see the aerial armada flying over the ships below and you can see the Normandy coast as a dark line...
The only bad thing is that Spielberg filmed the C-47s takeoff as if it was made during daylight, when everyone knows that the planes took off at 11:00 p.m. (my brothers say that it was made so in order to have a more dramatic effect).
I can recommend also the reading of Ambrose's "Pegasus Bridge" (the story of the airlift which took the paratroopers to Normandy) and Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day".
Bye,
Cesare
| By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.24) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 05:01 pm: |
Cesar, i watched first episode a little time ago too when i got my DVDs. Really, the men in the plane almost made me cry too...they didn't know who of them will survive. And they had much more dangers than original soldiers. They first had to survive from plane to sky with parachute, then to earth and not until then go to fight.
I think the most horrible thing was when that one plane catch fire and they showed the men inside, screaming, and couldn't do anything
I have one question: i understood that Moose Heyliger was in the plane that catched fire. But how did he survive? It's propably said somewhere, in book or series, but i haven't heard anyway...
Iines
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 09:31 pm: |
That plane was Lt. Meehan's plane Iines. I don't know about Moose Heyliger in there though...
gold
| By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.234) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 12:30 am: |
Moose was not on that plane(No.66). There were no
survivors.
Gary
| By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.168) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 03:39 pm: |
Thanks for answers. I think i mixed up Moose and Meehan. They are quite similiar names
Iines
| By Penil Chhiba (Penil) (80.225.65.119) on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 04:20 pm: |
Hi, in this episode Colonel Sink tells Sobel that LT Meehan was transferring from Baker Company to take over command of Easy. However, I've just read on http://currahee.hispeed.com that Meehan transferred from HQ Company, 3rd Battalion. Does anyone know if the series made a factual error in this case?
| By Brook Seifert (Brook_Seifert) (209.227.119.199) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 10:13 am: |
When Winters and Sobel were discussing how in Sobel's mind, Winters disobeyed an order, I swear I heard a British accent from Damian Lewis. They were walking up the stairs, and Lewis commented how the family he was quartered with does not have a phone. Anyone else notice this?
| By Stephanie Ambroos (Freaky) (80.200.248.201) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 03:52 pm: |
Hi brook
I noticed it to! I thought I amagined it but know I now I was not, thanks [:-)]But I have heard it in a number of other episodes really funny I think! And really strange because when I looked at BoB for the first time I really thought he was American and when I saw the intervieuws then!! is it hard to hide your accent when you are Britisch?
Stephanie
| By Brook Seifert (Brook_Seifert) (209.227.119.199) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 04:07 pm: |
My guess is that it wasn't noticed until it was too late, and perhaps they couldn't reshoot the scene.
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 11:16 pm: |
You mean the way he said "I'm quartered with a family that has no telephone." bit?
gold
| By Brook Seifert (Brook_Seifert) (24.239.146.113) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 05:59 am: |
Yes, that's exactly it.
| By John Wood (Woodman) (66.112.102.46) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 01:52 am: |
If you listen in the series, Damian says "Leftenant" instead of "Lieutenant" as well. I heard this once in "Day of Days" or "Carentan". I only heard this once, but I am sure that there are other clues that he is indeed not from Pennsylvania.
For the record, I think that Ron Livingston really looked like a man from the '40s, though it is hard for me to see him as anyone other than Peter Gibbons in "Office Space".
| By Martin Sandbekken (Wiking) (80.212.153.155) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 06:54 am: |
When col. sink is yelling at the sargeants for the notes about sobel he says "I ought to have you all shot" and to me it sounded like a slight british accent in there. But i don't know if the actor is british or not.
| By stephen stallebrass (Drstallebrass) (62.253.32.5) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 11:09 am: |
Martin:
thats Captain Dale Dye (Retired), he is THE FAMOUS features Technical Advisor, which is his primary role but he usually has cameo parts in the movies that he gets involved in including Band of Brothers. By the way he's American born on the 8th October 1944 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, US.
He actually has quite a long list of credits his most well known are Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and Platoon in my opinion. But check ot all the others at:
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Dye,+Dale
Although he has done just straight acting jobs.
I assume you aint got the DVD or seen the special features otherwise you'd know who he is but watch the special features on the Band of Brothers DVD if you can. He gives quite a moving speech at the end recorded by Ron Livingstone who plays Lewis Nixon. Also you all gotta love the impression of Dale Dye by Michael Cudlitz who plays Bull Randleman.
Hope this helps Martin.
Kind Regards
Steve Stallebrass
England
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.93) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 05:07 am: |
I'm really curious about something...maybe someone can help me...
After Winters reprimands Buck Compton for gambling with the men, he gets out of the jeep and says to Lt. Meehan,
"On the last training jump, I had a compass."
Then Meehan looks at him wierdly and says "close the flap".
What is going on here? Man I'm confused!
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.112) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 05:36 am: |
I'm really curious about something...maybe someone can help me...
After Winters reprimands Buck Compton for gambling with the men, he gets out of the jeep and says to Lt. Meehan,
"On the last training jump, I had a compass."
Then Meehan looks at him wierdly and says "close the flap".
What is going on here? Man I'm confused!
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.92) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 05:43 am: |
I'm really curious about something...maybe someone can help me...
After Winters reprimands Buck Compton for gambling with the men, he gets out of the jeep and says to Lt. Meehan,
"On the last training jump, I had a compass."
Then Meehan looks at him wierdly and says "close the flap".
What is going on here? Man I'm confused!
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.92) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 05:50 am: |
I'm really curious about something...maybe someone can help me...
After Winters reprimands Buck Compton for gambling with the men, he gets out of the jeep and says to Lt. Meehan,
"On the last training jump, I had a compass."
Then Meehan looks at him wierdly and says "close the flap".
What is going on here? Man I'm confused!
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 07:20 am: |
they were discussing about the big jump...
gold
| By Tim Ross (Ghosthunter) (24.71.223.140) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 09:16 am: |
Because of Operation Jubilee (Invasion attempt in Dieppe) many percautions were made so another such disaster didn't happen again. Along with improved recon and intel the men were never told where they were going to jump or when. The troops never knew where they were going to jump but the pilots had to make the turns as if they were flying to Normandy. During one of these Winters hid a small compass and noted the direction and when the changes were made. When he went to Lt. Meehan, he had found that they were going to jump into Normandy when Meehan pulled out a map.
A bit long winded but that is the basis of that scene.
| By Chris Saunders (Space_Cowboy) (195.92.194.15) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 03:08 pm: |
Another thought on the "Close the flap" remark. When Winters meets up with the 82nd boys in Episode 2, he unzips his fly to get a compass he has hidden there. This may be where it was hidden on the previous jump hence the "close the flap" remark although he was probably just referring to the tent.
Just a thought!
Chris
| By stephen stallebrass (Drstallebrass) (62.253.32.5) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 06:19 pm: |
Hi:
Absolutely, although everyone knew there was gonna be an allied invasion, the location was kept as secret as possible. With as few people knowing the final location as possible, the location wasn't revealed until it was absolutely neccesary and then it was passed down through the ranks. Remember operation fortitude, the great deception plan to fool the Germans of the final location. Even Winters and the pilots were kept in the dark until they absolutely needed to know. But practice always makes perfect and that was what the exercise are for to mimic as much as possible the actual mission and this included the flight times, directions and everything else. Winters made notes of bearings and time travelled ie distance etc in each leg of the journey and when this is transferred against likely points where they would fly out (and there aint that many) they could deduce dropzones and the invasion area. Meehan knew this immediately and asked him to close the flap of the tent so that no one else could overhear them or catch them in their deduction.
The one Winters pulls out of his pants in episode 2 is a botton compass for survival and Escape and Evasion. Probably lost his main one in the jump, this would be a bulky prismatic version and not all troopers would carry a compass. Probably not every trooper would have a survival kit or compass, either because they were not issued, not thought of or already had enough kit and didn't consider it a priority (Joe Toyes jump list) or whatever. In contrast to modern infantrymen where it is common practice to have one, ususally made up by oneself. Thats why the 82nd trooper was shocked to see him reach into his pants, its hid there so the enemy won't find it.
Kind Regards
Steve Stallebrass
England
| By stephen stallebrass (Drstallebrass) (62.253.32.5) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 06:36 pm: |
Hi:
I ment to type button compass not botton. You knew what I meant.
Got my 2 weeks booked in a lovely Caen cottage for the big 60th in Normandy. It'll be a great touring base, I have 4 days of various tours booked and I can't wait, it'll be great. Tour all the great WW2 site, pay my respects and meet some Vets.
If anyone else is planning to travel there during this period and you have not booked anything yet then I strongly suggest that you do it now because they are starting to get snapped up very quickly.
Of course I'll take loadsa pics and I will keep a diary and share my experience with all of you that can't be there in person here on this great website. If there is anyone here that has got relatives or friends buried in Normandy and you can't be there for the 60th and you would like me to lay some flowers on their grave or something then just contact me.
Kind Regards
Stephen stallebrass
England
| By Simone (Sirwen) (202.93.175.1) on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:49 pm: |
thanks heaps for that! I get it now! By the way sorry for the message repeated 4 times...my PC went a bit mental! Once again I much appreciate the response!
Simone
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.104) on Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 08:09 am: |
I was just wondering.. In the beginning when Easy Co. gets ordered to change into their PT gear, why doesn't Pvt. White. Lipton tells him to get moving but he doesn't say anything and has a really forlorn look on his face. Lipton ends up leaving him. What is White's dilemma?
Simone
| By Chris Saunders (Space_Cowboy) (195.92.168.173) on Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 02:37 pm: |
I do not believe that Pvt White is mentioned in the book, so this character may be purely fictional. However the book does talk about the tough training and, like many other soldiers training to be in the paratroopers, White could not cope with Sobel's tough schedule. In brief, he basically decided to pack it in. The possibly fictional character of White represents the many anonymous men who couldn't hack it and gave up.
Hope this helps,
Chris
| By Simone (Sirwen) (203.12.97.47) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 05:58 am: |
Thanks, that does make sense :D
I should know that...!
Simone
| By stephen stallebrass (Drstallebrass) (62.253.32.5) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 09:31 am: |
Hi:
Yes, His mind was made up and Lipton knew it too, he was gonna quit. And fair enough because the training was as we all know, extremely tough especially with Sobel running the show.
I'm just thinking out loud here but I wonder what he did next whether he's a fictional person or not. I think he would probably have been called up anyway. Did he go to a regular army unit? Did he serve with distinction? Did he just keep his head down and get on with it? Who Know's?
Remember though training is not real combat, and outstanding acts of bravery in the face of the enemy and whilst under intense fire etc don't just come from these super fit guys that pass the training for elite and specialist units. I think this kinda stuff comes from deep deep down in a person and no amount of training can tell if you have it in you or not! Just my opinion. Just cos he was not fit enough to handle training ect doesn't mean he was not capable of great things. He was just not the right material for what the Airborne deemed an acceptable standard. Fair enmough they have to draw a line some where.
Maybe he was a complete dropout and failed miserably as a soldier and as a person? NO WAY I DON'T BELIEVE THIS don't forget he would have to have volunteered to join the Airborne and that must have took guts and that is a testament to his likely character. It's great that there was a 'White' scene because it makes you think doesn't it? well just like the whole series does.
So "Who was White?" If he was fictional, how do you imagine he would be and what would he do next, answers on a postcard.
I still can't believe that its not yet been realeased in some countries. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my two copies of BoB on DVD.
Thats right I have it twice, one is the series in the metal tin and the other the Rare
(Asian) military pack with all the other extra goodies. Such as dog tags, maps, booklets, newspaper clippings from D-Day etc. This one I keep just as a collectible along with all my other BoB stuff.
Kind Regards
Steve Stallebrass
England