Tag: World War ii

War and Weather: A First Look at Damian Lewis’ New WWII Movie “Pressure”

Band of Brothers opens at Upottery Airfield on June 4, 1944, as the Easy Company paratroopers make their final preparations for their highly-awaited Normandy jump. The men of Easy Company are clearly disappointed when the commanding officer, 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III, shows up to announce that the jump has been delayed due to bad weather.

Easy Company, listen up! Gather up around me. Move it up, come on, gentlemen, let’s go! Now, the Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog, high winds on the drop zone. No jump tonight. The invasion has been postponed. We’re on a 24 hour stand down.

As the men grumble about the delay, we meet 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters and 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Nixon. The two men talk about their time together as they expect further announcements. Towards the end of the first episode, there is an exchange about the weather between the two. Continue reading “War and Weather: A First Look at Damian Lewis’ New WWII Movie “Pressure””

In Memory of Major Dick Winters

Major Richard Winters passed away 13 years ago today. He is the real life hero that we all have come to know as the charismatic and compassionate commander of Easy Company in Band of Brothers. His obituary in Washington Post makes a note about his  leadership through a letter written by Floyd Talbert, one of his soldiers, to thank Major Winters for his loyalty and leadership in the war:

“You are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier that ever served under you. I would follow you into hell.”

After the war, Major Winters led a quiet and peaceful life on his farm in Fredericksburg and in his home in Hershey, Pennsylvania until Band of Brothers — the book as well as the TV series — put him into the international spotlight. He was a true WWII hero who was never comfortable being called one. When asked if he was a hero, he liked to answer the way his WWII buddy Mike Ranney did to his grandson: “No, but I served in a company of heroes.” This became a major tagline in Band of Brothers.

Major Winters died like he lived. Quietly. And, upon his request, his funeral service was private and unannounced. We are honored to make a tribute to this real-life war hero on this day.  Continue reading “In Memory of Major Dick Winters”

Band of Humanity

By the end of the World War II, it is estimated that 6 million Jews and another 5 million people (consisting of Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, Soviet PoWs and the mentally and physically disabled) were murdered by the Nazis.

It seems appropriate to post this in April. During World War two many Nazi Camps were liberated. A fair number of the camps were liberated during April 1945, as World War II approached its end. The sheer number of camps is staggering and horrifying. Continue reading “Band of Humanity”