new titles and empty uniforms

"we few, we happy few

we band of brothers"


[Still from Band when Lt. Dike, "an empty uniform," loses it during an assault on Foy.]

It began here.

Which lead to this.

Then Major Winter's account.

Now there are new memoirs.



If you haven't watched Band of Brothers yet, rent it or buy it asap. Set aside some time-it's several episodes, so dig a fox hole and stay down.


This series is so different. Early films about war always had that patriotic flag waving and while these men are true patriots, the flag does not cover the rougher edges of reality. It is not sentimental about the horrors of war, no John Wayne moments, but neither is it told without a deep sense of humanity. In short, it's remarkable and glued-to-your-seat viewing. When the action isn't making you grip the arms of the chair, the "characters" are compelling.

These men made incredible sacrifices and for years afterward, never opened up. We are richer for their stories. Had they failed, the whole world would be a different place right now.

It was difficult for these men to talk about what happened, but telling a soft truth wasn't for them. "Once you start lying and trying to change things, it's no good," Bill Guarnere, who just released his own memoirs, says. "You tell the truth, and that's it."

Where, in the sea of empty uniforms, do we hear this simple testament to character? You tell the truth and that's it.

Lt. Dike? Can you hear that?