A well deserved nap for Major Winters!
Brokaw also called us “heroes,” but I have always been uncomfortable with that term. Only a few heroes came back from the war. The real heroes lie under white crosses in North Africa, Europe, and across the Pacific.
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| — | Major Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers. (via kissablekat) |
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne toast with the Führer’s wine to the capture of “The Eagle’s Nest” at Berchtesgaden.
Men, it’s been a long war, it’s been a tough war. You’ve fought bravely, proudly for your country. You’re a special group. You’ve found in one another a bond, that exists only in combat, among brothers. You’ve shared foxholes, held each other in dire moments. You’ve seen death and suffered together. I’m proud to have served with each and every one of you. You all deserve long and happy lives in peace.
I am extremely proud of my time with Company E. It was the most important thing in my life. I often think that if it had not been for Adolf Hitler I never would have had the opportunity to know all of the great people I served with.
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| — | Donald Malarkey (via frankjohnhughes) |
One of my favourite memories was on the day that Bill and Babe landed in England while we were shooting. Bill, Babe and I went to Tom Hank’s office and Tom played a rough cut of a few scenes of us doing the Normandy drop.
Bill and Babe sat on chairs in front of the TV – their eyes glued to it as they watched themselves jumping out of c-47’s right down into those German guns. It was very emotional for them. Tom and I sat together on a couch with tears in our eyes as we watched them reliving all this and Tom looked at me and said, “This is why we do this work.”
Another favourite memory was when I introduced Bill and Babe to Richard Speight who played Muck – Babe looked at him and said, “Jeeze kid – I was there when you got it.” It was such a powerful moment for all of us because it drove home the point that this was not just another war movie – these names were real men – friends of Bill and Babe and meeting the actors playing them was like meeting ghosts for them.
It once again showed how important all this was – and that we had to get it right.
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| — | Frank John Hughes (via frankjohnhughes) |
Unfortunately, Eugene Roe had passed away a few years before the miniseries. But I met some of his family on a coach, when we were on way to the premiere on Normandy beach. One of Eugene’s daughters, Maxine, overheard one of the cast members call me ‘Doc’, and as soon as we locked eyes, we knew. It was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever experienced.
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| — | Shane Taylor (via frankjohnhughes) |
