By dtircuit on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 01:09 pm:
| By dtircuit on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 01:09 pm: |
More than 10,000 extras worked on the miniseries during the course of production
Around 700 authentic weapons and almost 400 rubber prop weapons were used in production
A heavy day of filming required up to 14,000 rounds of ammunition
The Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, previously host to part of the "Saving Private Ryan" shoot, became the principal location, and sets of the English, Dutch and French sites, including a river and massive dykes, were created there.
Hatfield offered 1000 acres of open space as well as empty airplane hangars - perfect for indoor sets and construction needs - as well as office space.
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 11:36 pm: |
The men of Winters' stick get a prep talk before boarding the C-47.
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 11:38 pm: |
| By steve on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 08:01 pm: |
Why does the episode guide say that its about the loneliness of commands in the winter?! First of all its during the summer, not the winter. Second of all, Its about D-DAY.
Anyways I was very impressed by the battle scene where they destroy the gun posts. The camera views where excellent and fast paced. The whole scene was intense. 1 problem was that I think easy company got a little too lucky destroying the guns. The germans had great cover yet easy company only had a handful of casualties.
| By Anonymous on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 10:35 pm: |
Steve, wake up and smell the gunpowder, would ya?
The command of Winters, as in Richard D. Winters, Commander of Easy during that episode. Geesh, what are you, under a friggin' rock or something?
You seem to think this is fiction.
Maybe you should read the book, or better yet, spend some time talking to the vets. I'd bet they'd love to stomp a mudhole in your ass for that comment.
| By Anonymous on Saturday, September 22, 2001 - 05:29 pm: |
Hey Steve,
Some people are just mean eh? Anyhow yes, the refrence to Winter was about Lt. Winters and Band of Brothers is dramatized non fiction. These things really happened. As unbelievable as it seems Winters took 10 men and took over the entrenched Germans with 4 casulties.
| By Laurie on Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 05:10 am: |
Stranger things have happened during battle. Military history is replete with similar instances from many periods. Where a few overcame many with few deaths or injuries. "Truth is stranger than fiction" is an old saw that is very true.
Training, skill, adapting, and a Huge helping from "Lady Luck".
Read "The Longest Day" to get a veiwpoint of what happened during D-Day. The 1962 movie of the same name is excellent too. Sidebit trivia: Britain's Richard Todd (anyone remember the 50s TV "Robin Hood"?,) was a young British corporal hitting Normandy Beaches at D-Day.... In the movie, he is playing an officer.
Talk about Deja Vu!
| By Derf on Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 11:34 am: |
You are correct in a sense, yes Richard Todd was involved in DDay, but he didn't hit the beaches. He was actually in the British 6th Airborne Division, he was with the Airlanding Brigade that assaulted the Orne River Bridge, just like he portrayed his commanding Officer Major John Howard in "The Longest Day".
| By Lt. Winter USMC of no relation (152.163.201.54 - 152.163.201.54) on Monday, October 08, 2001 - 02:00 am: |
Personally, I like Sean Connery's little part in the "Longest Day."
| By jan dawn doronila (Potatomasher) (202.78.97.12) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 05:46 am: |
Hi,
Today is D-Day Anniversary. I should have posted this poem earlier( Memorial day; but I think it's more appropiate to share it, today)
-----
Requiem For Soldiers
They had not lived, nor they did died-
It is not immortal to subside
In a string of prayers, tears and bells
That give nothing to a round of shells;
Whistling and humming in the sky borne
That of doom sauntering though forlorn.
Speak no last words and lay no bent sighs,
To then born of deeds and made to rise
The light; the strong light we might not see
If the brave fights no more of and flee.
Immortal, 'tis the word may we praise;
So speak no more of those dying days
Earning loud bugles under the stones.
And save no scarce bending for the groans.
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (12.239.86.117) on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 03:40 pm: |
Taken on 6 June 1999 by Dan Potter.
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 04:05 am: |
Lt. Richard Winters checks his bearings [I didn’t learn until recently the compass was in his pants]
Sgt. William Garner [Frank John Hughes] grumbles to Cpt. Joe Toye [Kirk Acevedo] about Lt. Winters
Winters and Lt. Buck Compton [Neal McDonough, soon to be seen in Minority Report]
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 04:14 am: |
Toye and radio operator John Hall [Andrew Scott] listen to Winters’ plans to take Brecourt
Guarnere finds out no one knows who many men are holding their object
Cpl. Joe Liebgott [Ross McCall] gets his orders
| By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 04:27 am: |
Scott Grimes as Donald G. Malarkey
1st Lt. Winters explains plans for taking Brecourt [this turns out to be Easy’s first victory]
Compton enjoys a joke at Guarnere’s expense
| By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Tuesday, June 11, 2002 - 11:20 am: |
I know that Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg went back and interviewed some of the E Co vets for the filming, but does anyone know for a fact that Malarkey ran into a German soldier from Eugene, OR? While the writers and producers got it 99.9% right, they did take a little poetic license, and I'm wondering if this really happened. I'm a U of O grad myself, and was quite tickled by the Eugene reference in this episode.
Thanks!
Amy
| By Manda (Manda) (131.252.196.183) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 11:45 am: |
Amy, I know the answer to this one! I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Malarkey a few months ago here in Oregon. That scene was one of the first things I had asked him about. Turns out the soldier was not from Eugene, but from Portland. And to make things stranger, before both men joined up in their respective armies, they had worked across the street from each other in downtown Portland. Malarkey said it was very odd to think they could have passed by on the street or had lunch in the same restaurant a few years before they met in batle. (He's not sure why they said the soldier was from Eugene; he thinks they got that confused with the fact that Malarkey went to school in Eugene.)
| By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 11:59 am: |
Thanks for the information Manda. How weird would it be to meet up with someone you worked 20 feet away from halfway across the world?!? If I recall correctly, they were saying (in the episode) that they both worked in some sort of industrial-type job. Was that really the case?
I'm curious to know why they said Eugene, too. It doesn't sound to me like a simple error, as they sort of built the conversation between Malarkey and the German soldier around the Eugene and Astoria locales. I'll have to watch it again and listen closer next time, but it seems to me that there might have been a method to their madness.
If you don't mind my asking, under what circumstances did you interview Malarkey? Were you just curious (and local) and just happened to have the fortunate opportunity? Or was this for a project of some sort?
Again, thanks for response. Regardless of whether it's Eugene or Portland, it makes me smile to hear the local reference! 
Amy
| By Manda (Manda) (131.252.196.183) on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 07:14 pm: |
Actually the chance to meet Malarkey was a bit random. I had bought something from his son, Mike, and when I found out he lived close by, I asked him if I could pick it up, to save him time (and me shipping costs!) He said sure, then asked if I would like him to make sure his parents were at home so I could meet them. At that point I think I uttered something very intelligent like "Oh my gosh! Wow, meet your parents? Oh wow, uh, yeah, sure, that'd be great!" Anyway, I went over to their house (and made a further fool of myself for getting lost and being an hour late!) and had a wonderful time. They all kept me up past my bedtime :-)
Malarkey was there (obviously!) and his wife Irene, and son Michael, and every one of them was incredibly gracious. I'm sure that Michael and Irene had heard some of the stories thousands of times, but they were very active participants and would often remind Malarkey of something. We covered a lot about "Band of Brothers" but also about our experiences in Ireland, our reactions to September 11, various hobbies, Shakespeare, etc... It was quite the experience. If I can figure out how, I'll try and post one of the pictures. I look very, very happy!
| By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Monday, June 17, 2002 - 07:24 pm: |
To be perfectly honest, my reaction would have been the same, and I probably would have gotten lost too (negative sense of direction and all...)!!
There was something else I wanted to ask about...I was hoping you might have further insight...but I can't think of it at the moment. I'm sure it'll come to me. I'll get back to you.
BTW, I'm in Vancouver, WA...we're practically neighbors!
Amy
| By Cesar Elias Sanjur III (Cesare) (200.46.128.91) on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 06:52 pm: |
Hello there!
Wow! I envy you, Manda! I am glad you had the opportunity to meet Malarkey and his family...
In regard of the German-American soldier Malarkey meets, he wasn't the only one to do that. Over the years I have read several stories about Americans of German stock or German-born Americans who, due to a lot of causes or reasons had to travel to Germany between 1939 and 1941 and got caught in the outbreak of the war (September 1st) and the Pearl Harbor attack. As far as the German authorities were concerned, they were Volksdeutschen and had the obligation of carrying arms for the Vaterland. I recall one of those (I read it on Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins' "Is Paris Burning?") about a Wehrmacht soldier who listens to the voices of U.S. soldiers and wants to tell them that he was from Chicago (in fact, that German soldier never returned to the U.S. and lived until his death in Germany).
Bye,
Cesare
| By Tony Cusack (Ant) (195.92.168.163) on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 04:44 pm: |
Excellent portrayal of D-day very realistic, I thought Saving Private Ryan was good but not as good as "B.O.B",especially on dvd surround.
| By Norbert Winzek (Blaubaer1961) (80.131.202.183) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 05:47 pm: |
Hello,
I was just wandering how long a flight will take from England to the Normandie ... In the series the planes start in bright afternoon sunlight (good pictures ...), but the airborne jumped around midnight. Even old pictures from Eisenhower together with the Easy doesn't show any shadows. So maybe the director used a little trick to increase the impression ...
doesn't make any difference ... the series is really impressive
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (12.239.81.247) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 09:38 pm: |
Norbert,
The flight to Normandy took from 2 to 3 hours, depending on where the stick was located (which airfield) and what position it was in the takeoff. All the planes had to circle to wait for the last plane to takeoff so they could fly in formation.
Chris
| By Norbert Winzek (Blaubaer1961) (80.131.194.211) on Saturday, March 15, 2003 - 03:20 am: |
thanks Chris,
I just calculated the sunset in Greenwich for the 5th of June 1944 with shortly past eight (http://www.wettermail.de/wetter/sunset.html).
If they had summertime in Europe in 1944 it was shortly past nine.
3 hours flight plus at least one to two hours circling .... so maybe it could happen that way ...
Norbert
PS: Quite an improvement: Today Frankfurt - London takes around one hour flight - plus one hour circling before landing ... :-))
| By homefront41 (Homefront41) (198.81.26.142) on Saturday, March 15, 2003 - 01:25 pm: |
Thought you might like to see a couple of photos from Brecourt Manor today, taken by a friend who was on the BoB Tour last September. Thanks, Tony! Now if the upload function isn't too cranky ... BK
The tree Sgt. Lipton climbed is nearly dead now.
Well, never mind. It's just being too darned ornery today. Sorry.
| By Antti Särkkä (Andytt) (195.255.136.220) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 01:01 am: |
Hi!
My name is Antti and i'm from Finland.This is the first time I write to this forum.(it's been a while since I've written something in English so I'm sorry about all the miss-spellings...)
I'm a huge fan of B.O.B.It has almost become an obsession to me.Luckily I got the DVD-box for christmas...
One thing that has been bothering me is:Does Ltn.Spiers REALLY shoot those German POW:s?
-Andy
| By Iines (Iines) (195.197.126.91) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 04:55 am: |
Welcome Antti!
I'm from Finland too! May i ask where in Finland do you live? I live in Raisio...
I think that Spiers' thing is a mystery, but in the end of ep.7 when Spiers speaks to Lip, i think it sounds more like he didn't really kill those Germans.
Nice to have other Finnish here too
Iines
| By Antti Särkkä (Andytt) (195.255.136.220) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 08:00 am: |
Hello Iines =)
Glad to know that i'm not the only Finn here!
At the moment I live Mäntsälä,going to move to Helsinki or Tampere at fall.
Guess you're right.I don't really want to believe he did it,because he is one my favourite characters in the series.But still it's a little disturbing that they don't tell what really happened.I wonder if there's more information about it in the Ambrose's book... or maybe I'll have to watch the whole series all over again,DAM! ;)
-Andy
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.161.234) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 08:34 am: |
Hello Andy and welcome to the site!! Glad to know you have good taste too. ;) Enjoy the site Andy...
gold
| By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.102) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 09:42 am: |
Andy
Welcome to this site. If you want to learn more about Ron Speirs, go to the beginning of this thread, click on "Easy Company Medic Eugene Roe". Then, scroll down to "Easy Company" and click on that. You will see the names of the men of Easy. Scroll down to Ron Speirs name and click.
There is the story that for the beginning of the invasion the men were told to take no prisoners, mainly because they had no way of handling them.Think of the situation with the paratroopers being dropped all over the Cotentin Peninsula with no real organization.
If you can' t get enought of the show, try www.WildBillGuarnere.com also.
Regards, Gary
| By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.14) on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 03:55 pm: |
Andy,
Funny that there are two people from Finland now, though it's so little country. Well, we're not from the same city anyway
Yes, annoying that they didn't tell what really happened... I just watched that scene from ep.3 when Malarkey and other guys are talking about Spiers, and about was that thing true. And then it's seen pictures from that happening...and they show how Spiers gives light to Germans and graps the gun, but next some other guy is shooting those prisoners...? I don't know if those pictures are just about how the men imagined the happening, or are they about what really happened.
I noticed one other thing too: when they show how somebody shoots prisoners, that somebody shoots them to legs! I mean, that's really cruel! I hope it isn't true
Iines
| By Stephanie Ambroos (Freaky) (80.200.248.200) on Sunday, March 23, 2003 - 05:21 am: |
hi Iines
I've seen that part to and I was thinking just the same thing.I thought Malarky had seen in happen but I don't understand why he's telling something differend when he's lying with the men.
and the other thing I saw it in other movies to and it is cruel but I think they really do that so the other man can't run anymore but he isn't dead so they can take him prison I think :-D
xxxStephaniexxx
| By Antti Särkkä (Andytt) (195.255.136.220) on Sunday, March 23, 2003 - 02:47 pm: |
Thanks gary!
That was a good tip you gave me.This site is wonderfull!So much information and good discussion!Could spend a lifetime here...=)
Still this matter bothers me.I'm going to buy the book first thing tomorrow!
-Andy
| By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.174) on Sunday, March 23, 2003 - 04:36 pm: |
Thanks, Andy
The book discusses this topic but the closest it comes is one of the vets assuming that there was a kernel of truth. Apparently only Speirs knows. The vet' s observation of men in combat is interesting.
Another interesting book is "Parachute Infantry" by David Kenyon Webster. Go to www.DavidKenyonWebster.com for more information on the book, Get the new Random House edition. The site is run by his family.
Gary
| By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.54) on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 09:50 am: |
Stephanie,
Yes, Malarkey really saw what happened so he should be right
That leg shooting is so horrible...hurts just thinking about it!
Iines
| By Martin Sandbekken (Wiking) (80.212.153.155) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 07:10 am: |
If u see the taking of the guns without knowing it is a reall story u can easily think it's fiction. But if u read the Medal of Honor citations that makes Arnold schwarzenger movies look real. Check out the links below, this is all of the Medal of Honor citations from WW2 sorted by name, it sometimes seems like u're reading fiction.
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiia1.htm
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiia2.htm
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiib1.htm
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiib2.htm
| By christian s. (101stfreak09) (68.21.93.145) on Monday, January 26, 2004 - 06:11 pm: |
Hello I am Christian and i was looking for a good band of brothers site and i found it right here. Well just so you know my favorite one out of the series was numbers 1 and 2.