We stand alone together

The summer before my third year at Iowa State, my roommate Jim got a DVD from his Dad. It was a ten part HBO mini-series called Band of Brothers. Based on the Steven Ambrose book by the same name, the book/mini-series focused on the men of Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th parachute infantry division assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (aka the Screaming Eagles.) Basically, it was about a group of paratroopers during World War II. I immediately became captivated by World War II military history, and in particular this group. I just finished reading Easy Company Soldier by Don Malarkey. This is the fourth book to come out about the Screaming Eagles after the movie. Basically, this group was the most bad-ass military group I have ever read about. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, every able bodied man enlisted. There was no choice really. If you didn't enlist in the unit you wanted, chances are you were going to be drafted anyway. The 101st airborne were 13,400 men who volunteered to be the first official paratrooper unit in American military history. They were dropped into enemy territory on D-Day. They were the front lines in the Battle of the Bulge and Bastogne. They liberated Holland. They were the first American unit into Germany. The book/movie focuses on a specific 150 men (Easy Company). Easy Company was also the first military unit to take Hitler's Eagles Nest. His home and the SS's final stand. Easy Company also discovered a concentration camp. What I have really enjoyed about the books is learning about what these 19, 20, 21 year olds were like. What did they do in their spare time? What were their emotions? What was it like not seeing their family for two and three years? I have incredible admiration for the patriotism of these men. Think about how crazy you must be to volunteer to be on the front lines when America invaded Germany? Think about how even more crazy you must be to be parachuted right down on top of the enemy on D-Day. I have been fortunate that my Dad's Dad, is very open about talking about his time in the service during World War II. He was a bombardier in the Army Air corp. He had two choices: join the army or navy. He didn't know how to swim so he joined the army. He knew he did not want to be an infantry foot soldier so he joined the air corp and he was one of the lucky ones. He had hot meals, a bed to sleep on instead of outside in the winter, and he was much safer. The name Band of Brothers comes from Shakespeare's Henry V:

"From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother."