All language subtitles for Band.of.Brothers.Legacy.2026.HMAX.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BiOMA.en-US[sdh]

PLAYTONE PRESENTS

[gunfire]

[helicopter passes amid gunfire]
A NEW WAR PRODUCTION

[thunder rumbling]

Think of being surrounded as

something unusual, horrible.

This should never happen.

No, that was normal.

[warplanes flying overhead]

[footsteps and rustling]

You fight to the north,

you fight to the south,

you fight to the east,
you fight to the west.

You�re surrounded.

[birds chirping]

The poor bastards that�s

on the other side has the
problem. You don�t.

[soldier�s screaming]

Let�s go!

This is the story

of Easy Company.

It was formed in 1942.

[plane engine rumbling]

506 Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Part of the 101st airborne.

It was the best.

This is not Dog Company.

This is not Fox Company.

This, this is Easy Company.

[explosion]

[explosion]

Our country was attacked.

It�s a different-- It wasn�t
like Korea or Vietnam.

We was attacked.

There�s a feeling that

maybe we�re just dumb
country people, but

we had a lot of us volunteering.

Two okay!

One okay!

[music]

I never thought I�d

get through D-Day,

let alone the next phase
or the next phase.

[music continues]

Chances of survival is very,
very slim.

Extremely slim.

[gunfire]

Move out, move out, move it out!

[gunfire]

Easy Company�s actions on D-Day.

How did that happen?

There�s the magic of that
chemistry again.

I can�t explain.

Let�s hope it lives forever.

[music playing]

We were a group of actors.

We were just all ready
to go there.

Young.

Serious.

Bit earnest maybe.

Just really wanting
to do good work,

wanting to do the thing right.

[music playing]

We were blessed and fortunate
enough

to be able to portray
the lives of

absolutely true heroes.

Every single one of them.

Just everything was so big,
so explosive,

and then you get these small
little intimate moments with us.

I don�t know.

It made me realize

just how special it was to
be a part of this thing.

- The daredevil. - It�s
a very sacred thing

to carry someone�s legacy.

And I think there was
that secret sauce

that we were all doing
it for something

other than our careers.

When we got into it,

we didn�t know what it was.

It wasn�t until we really
started getting

into it, you know, like,
oh, shit, this is...

This is intense.

It�s very important
to us that the men

had their legacy intact.

Because what they
did for the world

should be recognized fully.

[gunfire and explosion]

It�s...

a very unusual feeling

and it�s a very unusual bonding.

[singing] A hell
of a way to die!

If you want to call this

story that we�re
putting together

a band of brothers,

this is about as clear
as you can make it.

BAND OF BROTHERS LEGACY

Am I all right here?

- You�re doing great.
- Oh, yeah.

I don�t know.

Don�t forget I�m short,
so I can stand.

Maybe it would be better.

[laughter]

Uncle Paduche they used
to call me.

What does that mean?

Well, that�s the sort of respect
for the elderly people.

We were taught

actually from the day
you were born,

you respect your elders
no matter what.

We weren�t lacking
in confidence.

We felt that

whatever we came up against,

we could take care of.

Now, what was it about
jumping out of an

airplane that appealed to you?

$50 a month.

[laughter]

We were pretty much
in the middle of

things most of the time.

But the whole company was...

You know, was...

Very, very special.

[reflective, uplifting music]

I had always promised
myself that someday,

someday, I�ll write my memories
of World War II.

And like everybody else,

you keep putting it off.

But Ambrose came along, and

he requested this

for the purpose of writing
a book.

He would interview me, share
questions.

One thing led to another, and...

It happened.

Easy Company!

Gather up around me.

The Easy Company story
works because

if you look at all the sort of

big plot points of World War II,

they happen to be there

for a bunch of them.

They�re in Normandy.

Battle of the Bulge.

[explosion]

They were there at the

Eagle�s Nest at the end.

It was just this sort
of confluence of

you could tell the whole story

with just this group of people.

[people shouting indistinctly]

You�ll be okay.

There was no flinching
in Band of Brothers.

It had a docu-drama style to it.

That was its brilliance.

Really gets you among the men.

That�s why it�s endured so well.

Band of Brothers is different.

It�s about supporting
each other,

loving each other,

and going from some guys
who at one point

didn�t know each other at all.

At the end of this
10 episode arc

being guys who would die
for one another

because they love each
other so much.

You don�t get to see that often.

You know, every young
actor in the world,

they�d gone casting
in Australia,

London, New York, LA.

Hundreds and hundreds
of 20-something lads

just thinking, "Oh God, I want
to be in this thing."

Knowing this was World War II

and knowing the history
that I had

with my dad talking
about World War II,

and all the wars
for that matter,

I was really prepared for it.

Seven of my great uncles

served in World War II.

They were all

first generation

Jewish New Yorkers.

Every one of them,

their families had escaped.

It was very personal.

Good luck.

When this project

came to me,

I was all in.

My father was in the Army,
so it was

subconsciously always
right under the

surface and something
I really wanted to

explore if I had
the opportunity.

Good evening, Easy Company.

Good evening, sir.

Ambrose gave me a call.

He�s all excited.

And he said he has some
wonderful news.

And he says, "Dick, I
sold the rights of

Band of Brothers to Tom Hanks

under one condition.

That he does not play your part,

because he�s too old."

I was another, you know,

British punk actor trying to

get his next job.

And

everyone just had a couple
of sides,

which is very typical, you know,
in a big Hollywood production.

They just give you a couple
of pages of scripts.

You learn that. You don�t
know what it�s about.

After the very first
one that I read,

I just started reading this guy.

They kept giving me scripts,
a guy called Dick Winters.

And I still wasn�t sure who Dick
Winters was at that point.

But then the next audition,
it was Dick Winters again.

The next audition,
and I thought,

I should probably ask
at this point.

They said, "Well, he�s the lead
of the series."

I remember thinking,

"Wow, this could be real."

I didn�t put a lot
of energy into it,

because I kind of judged it.

I was like, World
War II officer.

It�s a certain type.

There�s a look.

I�m not going to get that part.

And I get the book,

and in that same actor way,

you just open it to the index,

because you know...

"This is fine, where�s me?"

And I saw my first picture

of Lewis Nixon in the bed,

surrounded by the wine bottles,

you know, shitty grin
on his face,

and a

big hangover, I�m sure.

And something clicked,
and I was like,

"Oh, I�m going to...

I�m going to get this."

Cheers.

[scoffs]

I think that it was a very
slow burn

on getting to know

how important this was.

I think the real

impact of all that

started happening
when we actually

started contacting the men
individually.

Buck was just bigger than life.

And we were so similar

in so many ways that

he wasn�t a chatterbox.

He was very kind of close
to the vest.

He was so proud to
be an American.

More grenade!

I remember a lot of shooting,

a lot of artillery,

a lot of things happening.

And I always felt like I was

somehow...

As I look back on it,

I thought I was damn lucky.

To jump into those shoes

was the most daunting
task I could

ever possibly imagine.

You won�t need it.

We�re jumping low. Take
the belly back.

Some guys called him Bull, some
guys called him The Bull.

You know, I think

Babe and Bill, The Bull!

[chuckles]

Always The Bull.

Not Bull, but The Bull.

And when I initially
reached out to him,

he was

very non-talkative.

Had you ever been in an airplane
before?

Nope.

So first time up, you
had to jump out.

Yeah.

Which created a situation where

I wound up speaking with
his wife, Vera,

for a good hour, hour and a half

after I spoke with him.

And got

just incredible, incredible,
information from her.

We lost F Company.

Again?

After reading the book and
learning what they went through

and educating myself
on the unit,

I just was in awe of these guys.

We spoke mostly about
family and life,

and he became sort
of a mentor to me.

And when he wanted

to speak about the war

he spoke about it.

I never pronged him or

poked him for any information.

In fact, the way it worked
on Band of Brothers,

none of the guys ever,

ever spoke about themselves.

You�d talk to him
for three hours,

and they would tell you about
everything

everyone in the company
did but themselves.

And for them, you�d have to go
to a different person.

Hey, fellas.

What do you hear?
What do you say?

I called him and I said,
"Hey, is this Mr..."

I didn�t even know how
to pronounce his name.

I was making it much
more Italian.

They had Americanized it a
little bit with Guarnere.

And he answered, "Yowza!"

And I said, "Hi, is
this Mr. Guarnere?"

And he said, "It is.
Who�s this?"

And I said, "My name
is Frankie Hughes.

I�m auditioning to play you.

Mr. Guarnere, is there any
advice you would give me

to play you?"

And he said,

"Yeah, I was a paid killer.

I was a 19-year-old paid killer.

Don�t forget that."

I said, "I won�t, sir."

And he said, "Good luck."

When I jumped on D-Day,

I swore

I swore I was going
to kill every

damn German I came across.

And that�s why I think
they nicknamed me

Wild Bill, because I did

a lot of killing D-Day.

[gunshot]

Joe!

I�m Ross McCool, and I
play Joe Liebgott.

I�m a Scotsman

who sounds English,
who�s Catholic,

playing an American Jew
who spoke German.

So I had a lot to

sink my proverbial teeth into.

Earlier on, I kept getting
told from the men,

"It�s a scrappy guy."

But he had a sharpness in him.

He knew how to soldier.

Skinny little guy?

You got pink to the neck
in Holland.

Sometimes you can�t really
see too much.

You just get a sense of maybe,
you know,

what they look like,

the way they carry themselves,
the hair.

[chuckles]

They carried themselves
like goddamn men.

This is my favorite here.

This is

Winters and Nixon.

Devillish rascal, huh?

- Webbing? - Webbing, please.

Can I have a name, please?

Livingstone playing Nixon.

Looking good.

Lewis had passed,

so it was never really on
the table to meet him.

I reached out to Grace Nixon,
who was

really wonderful
and really open,

as far as inviting me

kind of into her life

and sharing Lewis

the way that she knew him.

- That�s a good picture.
- He�s so handsome.

[laughter]

I think so too.

This guy was handsome. Yes.
He�s got a handsome face.

[indistinct chatter]

[music]

I met Dick,

and I remember a man that was

suspicious of Hollywood.

He had a very interesting
combination of

a good strong ego,

but he had this amazing
humility as well.

As an actor,

what you want always

is you want behavioral.

You want to hear from

someone if something hurt.

You want to hear if something

was joyful, something was sad.

Whatever it was, you can find
ways of

exploring the psychology
of the person

you�re going to play.

To the gang, as we were sitting
there,

I said, "Well, when I
get in the Army,

I�m not going to volunteer
for anything.

B.S. IN ECONOMICS

Just going to do whatever
they tell me

and put my ear in and get out."

And the foreman,

who was a World War I veteran

he jumped on my hind butt good,

and he said, "No, you don�t.

You get in the Army,
and you do your best

each and every day."

I didn�t answer him,

but I never forgot it,

and I haven�t forgotten
it today.

[suspenseful music builds]

WAR DEPARTMENT FILM BULLETIN

THIS FILM IS CONFIDENTIAL

There were people

who thought that trying
to insert people

into combat via parachute
can�t be done.

It�s suicide.

And it was strictly
a volunteer thing.

You didn�t get drafted and told,

"You�re going to go
be a paratrooper."

And what happened

was it took you out of the

standard pool,

made you something special.

Well, at ease, paratroopers.

I got a couple of phone
calls from

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

They wanted to say, "Look,

how would you approach this?"

I said, "Well, look.

You�re going to hire young men

with no military experience.

And the only thing they really
know about

World War II is the last

bad movie they saw."

And I believe that the way
to fix it

was to give actors

some fleeting acquaintance

with what a soldier�s
life is really about.

And I thought, "Look,
here�s a chance

to do it right."

The first thing they did for us

was they set up

a 10-day actor boot camp.

They train us in the same
way that they

train military people.

From here on out,

you�re no longer called

by your civilian name.

What�s up, yo, dog?

All that stuff�s gone.

1940s, right?

We are so f-*-*-*ed.

Name?

Luz, George.

Dirt in the rear sight aperture.

Pass revoked. [rifle clicks]

George was from Providence,
Rhode Island,

and so he was a tough guy,

and he

and he made people laugh,

and a lot of people loved him.

Are those dusty jump wings?

How do you expect to slay
the Huns with

dust on your jump wings?

I got a chance to talk
to Bill and Babe

and Carwood, and Bill said to me

constantly, we�d be sitting
around,

he�s like, "I hope you�re funny,
kid."

So I�d be like, "Oh,
man, oh, man,

I�m going to ruin this thing."

How you cut that fence
and get this

goddamn platoon on the move!

[cow mooing]

Yes, sir!

[fly swatted] My grandpa Ron,

he told me when I first
told him that I

got this job, and they were

going to send us to a boot camp.

I remember him saying,

"Start running now.

The rest of it�s a duck walk,
but just

make sure you can run
your dick off."

You know? I was like, "Okay."

[laughing]

What company is this?

Easy Company!

What do we do?

We stand alone!

[singing] Hey young punk,
don�t you be so fooled.

[singing] I�m an instructor
at the Airborne School.

[singing] I�m an instructor
at the Airborne School.

And everybody�s a little
apprehensive

about meeting Captain Dale Dye,

military advisor to the movies.

You have three tries.

Snap, and surge of power.

You can make it.

I snuck into platoon

when I was 10 years old.

I saw Dale Dye up
on that screen.

I�m like, "I want to work with
these people someday."

And I knew it right then.

And then 13 years later,
there I was.

I think it�s looking good,
Webster.

I was cast to play this role,
who clearly

was a man who questioned
authority.

This guy was going to Harvard.

He had his ticket
out of the war.

He didn�t have to go.

I knew David Webster�s

spirit was a powerful one.

Perconte.

[rousing patriotic music]

I was ready.

I will say, physically,
I was ready.

I couldn�t have been any
more ready.

It was trying to understand

the chain of command,

and who people were.

He just couldn�t understand that

Captain Dye was just a captain.

He was such a force
over our lives that

you�ve got to be a general.

Like, you�ve got--
And he meant it.

And he�d go, "General,
I was just trying--

He�d go, "What?

Perconte, get down and give
me 50."

And Jim could just do push-ups
till you�re tired.

Like, he�d just-- He�d go--

[mimics push-ups rapidly]

"Okay, what were you saying?"

"General, I was saying--"
"50 more."

Like he would just start. You
know, he was unbreakable.

[rousing patriotic music]

Dale did a really
smart thing where

he put Damian and I
in the same squad.

He made me the squad leader.

And then at a certain
point it shifted.

And then he got sort
of promoted past me.

And Dale was like,

"You know,

I think it probably,
always really

stuck in Lewis Nixon�s craw.

I think there was probably
a little

competitive thing between

these guys a little bit."

And I found that really helpful.

I moved up from a private
to a sergeant

almost immediately.

Not even knowing what I
was doing.

And they�re like, "Oh, take
charge of your platoon."

The hell does that mean?

Halt!

Platoon Sergeant, take charge.

I mean, you could have read
it in a book

and you wouldn�t have gotten it.

You could have been told
it six times and

you would have messed it up.

And you realize, "Oh my gosh,

this full immersion

is how boot camp works."

People came and asked
me for advice.

What are we to do, sir?

It was like a crash course

in leadership.

People want your authority.

They want you to be Dick
Winters.

They want you to be in charge,
so you�ve got to deliver.

I want concentrated bursts
of machine gun fire.

Do not waste your ammo.

Go, runner, go. Cover him.

You get scared a little bit,
and you�re like,

"I don�t know what I�m doing.

I don�t know what this is."

And then the second
thought I have

after that was like,

"Well, neither did they."

[military drumbeat]

Now, this is a brand new idea.

It was the first time

that it had been tried.

It becomes a very easy decision
to make later on.

"I�m going to volunteer
for the paratroopers."

Your parents say, "No, please
don�t do that.

That�s the wrong thing to do."

And so forth.

But you want to be
with the best.

Every one of the
requirements was

something to conquer because

we wanted to be in the 506.

There were all kinds of

exercises that you had to pass.

The ones who couldn�t measure up

were moved out of the company.

This training at Toccoa,

which lasted roughly 13 weeks,

let�s start off with

physical training.

Learning left face, right face

and you get them in shape.

Some of them lost as much
as 40 pounds.

But I didn�t have nothing
to lose.

I weighed about 130.

If I�d have lost 40 pounds,

I wouldn�t have been big
enough to stay.

[military drumbeat continues]

[indistinct chatter]

[whistle blows]

Orders changed.

Get up!

Lectures are cancelled.

Easy Company is running
up Currahee.

Move! Move! [chairs and tables
scraping]

[inspiring music builds]

Currahee.

That was the big obstacle.

To be able to run that.

And I shouldn�t say run.

You get the wrong impression.

We didn�t run it.

You did a parachute shuffle,

which is a small shuffling step.

You couldn�t possibly
run that thing.

Nobody could.

Come on, you can make
it up there.

Come on. Come on up. Let�s go.

Come on, Guarnere. Christenson,
come on.

Come on.

They put the fear of the devil
in me

when they started
telling me about

that mountain, you know.

That you�re going to have to run
that mountain.

You run that mountain
or you�re not

going to be, you won�t
be in this outfit.

You have 50 minutes
to the top and back

and I will be watching you.

What are you waiting for?

The way he trained them,

an unforgiving way,

hardened them.

Hi-Ho, Silver!

[multiple footsteps running]

Now when we talk about

our original company commander,

Captain Sobel,

he did his best,

but he was in the wrong job.

They�re right out
there somewhere.

Let�s just get them.

Sir, we have perfect cover here.

Lieutenant, deploy your troops.

I mean, here�s a Jewish, urban,

like an older guy,
in the Deep South,

training a bunch
of 18-year-olds, and...

You know, there was a lot of

anti-Semitism at the time.

He knew he was

beating the shit out of them
at times.

You look tired.

There�s an ambulance
waiting for you at

the bottom of the hill.

It can all be over right now.

No more pain,

no more Currahee,

no more Captain Sobel.

He was a horse�s ass.

[chuckles]

Lieutenant Sobel does not hate

Easy Company, Private Randleman.

[multiple footsteps]

He just hates you.

[soldiers chuckle]

Thank you, sir.

His message to us is

that you lead men

by fear.

You lead men by strict
discipline.

I said, "No, you lead
it by example."

And we had two different
philosophies.

I performed my duty as I
was ordered, sir.

And I disagree.

So,

your options are quite simple,
Lieutenant.

What is it about Winters that

makes him such a good leader?

Well, he takes his duty

a heck far ahead of
his privilege.

And you give your life to

make him look good
instead of doing

what you�re told or ordered
to do.

Dick Winters was a very

good leader, excellent leader.

The men would follow him
in the name of it.

Sobel, they wouldn�t.

Easy Company, you passed
your final field test.

Bootcamp was arguably
the pivotal point

because it was a group of men

who just understood the mission.

And by understanding
the mission,

it became a brotherhood.

Through your eyes, through
your actions,

through your gestures,
through your

handling of weapons,
through your wearing

of the uniform, everything.

The truth is there.

Let it shine, boys.

Make the world proud

of Easy Company

and the world will celebrate
our forefathers.

Let�s not f-*-*-* it up.

Yes, sir.

Not bad for a bunch of actors.
[chuckles]

H-Hour.

D-Day.

We were thoroughly prepared.

The men were

trained, hardened,

Physically and mentally,

and they were ready to jump.

[rousing patriotic music]

[military aircraft
engine roaring]

Confidence depends
on the success of

whatever you�re trying to do.

Courage

is what inspires you
to do the things

that are needed to get
the things done.

I�ve always said courage

is not the absence of fear.

Courage is going ahead
and doing what

needs to be done, even
if you feel fear.

[rousing patriotic
music continues]

D-Day was not an accident
that had worked,

it had been prepared for.

We just didn�t know what we
were doing at the time.

We found that out later.

[aircraft engines roaring,
suspenseful music builds]

When you reach that point that

you�re standing in the door,

you�re asking yourself,

"What the hell am I doing here?"

It�s only one thing to
do and that�s to go.

[indistinct radio chatter,
tense music]

The routine was the pilot
would turn on a

red light by the door

and that was supposed
to indicate

that you had, I don�t
know whether

it was five minutes
or three minutes.

When you got the red light,
you would

stand up and hook up.

Hook up!

See out the door

and I could see the flak,

the tracer boards and

the stuff in the air coming up.

And then he said to me, "Red
light."

Well, by the time I
had to go through

that thought process,

he says, "Green light."

And I�m still sitting
there on the deck

of the plane

and all the guys
are sitting down

and so I said, "Oh God,
let�s go."

[wind rushing, gunfire
whizzing past]

We were sort of the guinea pigs.

Everyone wanted to get
out of the planes.

Let�s go, let�s go, let�s go!

Does that light look
green to you?

Let�s go, let�s go, let�s go!

No matter where you�re
at, get them out.

The flak was terrible.

And the aircraft was

absolutely horrendous.

It was like a

July the 4th celebration

ten times over.

[aircraft engine roaring]

I was the first to jump.

Let�s go!

[dramatic music swells]

And Randleman was the last
to jump.

[wind rushing]

I was supposed to push
everybody out.

It was like jumping
off a two-story

building where it was.

There was nobody landing

where they were supposed to.

I was ten miles from where
we jumped.

[footsteps rustling through
tall grass, gunfire]

We were just scattered

from one end of the peninsula
to the other,

men as far as

30 kilometers from their drop
zone.

So they�re on their own.

But somehow or another
those fellas,

individuals of

Joe Toye,

Popeye Wynn,

they found the objective

and they found it on time.

We were all lost,

but we got to the objective

and we took the objective.

[music swells]

Well, on the next morning
after daylight,

I�m in this group, we�re
moving up along

this road, and I run
into Winters.

What�s going on?

What�s the holdup? Not sure.

[distant explosion]

Five�ll get you ten it�s got
something to do with that.

So Winters is telling
me, he says

there�s some guys out here,

some Germans out here

firing some artillery pieces.

He said,

"We�d like to find out

what�s going on out there

and see what we can do about
it."

There�s some Kraut Eighty-Eights
up ahead,

up ahead and to the right
about what?

300 yards?

Up through those gardens.

Now they�re right between us

and causeway number two.

Firing onto the boys
landing at Utah.

Think Easy can handle it?

Yes, sir.

There are two guns
that we know of,

firing on Utah beach

[distant explosion continues]

and planning on a third
and a fourth

here and here.

The Germans are in the trenches

with access to the entire
battery.

How many Krauts do you think
we�re facing?

No idea.

No idea.

Nothing in the manual
tells you how to

react to how to attack
these guns.

You have no idea what�s there,

how many people are there.

All you know is there�s
a battery of guns

firing at these beaches.

If you knew at the time,

you would not do what you�d
done.

There could�ve been 200 men
there.

It could�ve been 10 there.

You don�t have no idea.

Captain, second squad.

- Yes, sir. - All right,
you heard the word.

Let�s move, let�s move.

[explosion, tense music builds]

I divided the group
into two units.

Lieutenant Compton was with me.

I gave him half the men

and I took half the men.

Gave instructions, I went,

"Compton, crawl through
the grass.

And as you throw your grenades,

I�ll charge up with the rest
of the guys."

[tense music continues]

[rapid gunfire begin,
soldier scream]

I get out through this hedge,

and I peek.

I look up and I peek
through the bushes

and I see a couple of Germans
over here

about 30, 50 yards away.

And about that time,

Guarnere comes running across

and he jumps in beside me.

[rapid gunfire continues]

[grunts]

[explosion]

Buck Compton, yes.

Him and I were tossing some
grenades, just attacking.

It�s stupid when you look
at it, but we were lucky.

Very fortunate.

I think the Germans were very,
very surprised

that we attacked them.

They thought they were being
attacked by a greater force.

Let�s go! Let�s go!

Follow me!

[explosion]

[rapid gunfire continues]

Compton, covering fire!

You know, when Popeye was hit

on D-Day morning, he was right
beside me.

So I can speak firsthand
on this.

And when he was hit and he

went down, he was hit hard.

[Popeye screams]

After I got hit,

[grunts and screaming]

and I didn�t want to leave him,

you know.

I�m sorry, sir!

I screwed up!

You don�t want to get in another

situation with people
you don�t know.

And I�d been with these
people for

going on three years.

He said, "I�m sorry, Lieutenant.

I goofed.

I�m sorry."

For the simple reason
that in crawling

across that field of grass,

he had got his butt
a little too high

and he got one right
through both cheeks.

And he was hurt hard.

But he said, "I�m sorry,
I goofed."

He didn�t say, "Help."

That is a man.

Oh shit.

Hey Popeye, how bad is it?

I�m sorry sir, I didn�t mean...

He did all the rest of it.

He is a good man.

One, two, three.

[grunts]

Get down.

Get down.

I needed to get

this guy�s journey across,
you know?

I needed to tell Popeye�s story

for his family

and not mess it up.

He felt like he�d
let people down.

It�s just a testament to...

to these guys and

the...

the brotherhood they had, I
guess.

Don�t that make
you our commanding officer, sir?

Yeah, it does.

Your big fear is the fact
that you don�t

want to let your buddy down.

You don�t want to let the fellow
down beside you.

And if you�re a leader,
you don�t want to

let your men down.

I think we had made a decision.

Let�s not make this guy

Superman

from episode one.

Let�s see him become Superman.

Let�s see him do incredible
things.

But there�s still doubt.

He�s a young man.

He�s just jumped in to

liberate Europe

out of an airplane.

He�s 26 years old.

He�s got control of 50 men.

And let�s just see him grow.

And I don�t think
Dick liked that.

He wanted to characterize
him thinking,

growing into the role.

He said, "I just knew."

I came back to him after

he�d seen the whole thing.
I said, "Now what do you think?"

He put his hand in my shoulder
and went,

"Kid, you nailed it."

[airplane engine roars overhead]

This is called "Operation
Market Garden".

In terms of airborne
divisions involved,

this one�s even bigger
than Normandy.

We�re dropping deep into
occupied Holland.

Winters came out when
we were shooting

episode four, and we get
ambushed.

[gunshot, body thuds]

Jump off when one of our other
lieutenants

gets shot, and guys
jump off the tanks.

[gunfire]

Dick Winters left.

He went home.

He said, "I�ve seen enough."

They couldn�t watch it.

It was too real for them

to watch what we were doing.

That was the biggest
compliment that we

could have been given.

[rapid rifle fire, indistinct
shouting]

Were people shooting
you when you--

Oh, yeah, that�s
when I found out

that when you can hear
bullets sing,

it ain�t going to touch you.

But when they snap like
that around your ears

ears, they�re getting close.

[chuckles]

And were they whistling
or snapping?

Snapping.

[tank approaching]

[grenade explodes]

Fall back!

Fall back!

Fall back!

Let�s go, let�s go, let�s go!

Keep moving, keep moving!

In Holland...

Let�s go!

And we have a tough, tough

battle there

so that

as far as the regiment�s
concerned,

yes,

we survived it and we won it.

But we lost many engagements.

[somber music]

Come on!

Quiet!

Elements of the first and sixth
SS Panzer Division

have broken through in
the Ardennes Forest.

We�d been in Normandy.

We�d been in Holland.

We knew that we were a

capable fighting outfit.

When we left for Bastogne,

we were short of equipment.

We didn�t have enough
ammunition.

We didn�t have enough
warm clothes.

But we had confidence.

Hey, pal.

Hey, pal. Hey, pal.

What happened?

Where the hell are you going?

They came out of nowhere.

They slaughtered us.

You�ve got to get out of here.

We just got here. Get your ammo.

The soldiers that we saw
as we went in

were completely demoralized.

I mean, they were just

trying to get out of there.

[honks]

Make a hole! Hey!

Make a hole!

I got ammo!

Grab what you can!

Lieutenant, you�re a godsend.

I played Lieutenant George C.
Rice.

He made nine runs,

which is unbelievable.

I�ll try to make another
ammo run if I can

but don�t count on anything.

Thank you, sir.

I�ll take this guy.

Panzer division is about
to cut the road south.

[engine starts]

Looks like you guys are going
to be surrounded.

We�re paratroopers, Lieutenant.

We�re supposed to be surrounded.

I remember my grandfather
didn�t really

talk about the war, what he went
through.

Even my own dad didn�t
talk much.

Just that generation, just

they�re just pretty humble
and they�re just quiet.

And so to get these
stories is rare.

It�s a gem, and it really
happened.

And I think, you know,

when you look at this, it�s like

it�s a history lesson.
And you go, "Whew!

Can you just imagine?"

Good luck.

Thanks.

[clattering]

Really, when you�re into it,

you kind of start feeling

how young everyone was

in World War II and how you go,
"Wait, these were kids."

I don�t remember whether it was,

the coldest winter on record,
the coldest in

30 years or 50 years.

But it was a terribly
cold winter.

[sombre music]

I mean, I can�t imagine what
these guys went through.

I would guess that

the glaring part of Bastogne

would be how vulnerable you are.

[anticipatory music builds]

As they start to surround us,

and the defense continued
to build,

until we had this 16-mile
perimeter

around Bastogne,

which we ended up holding.

We got a man down!

We referred to this later

as the hole in the donut.

They got donuts. They got
a hole in the middle.

There�s no way you can miss
that hole.

You�re surrounded.

All they do is just
keep shelling you.

There�s no way you can miss
shelling.

[explosion, indistinct screams]

Get your boys out of here!
Pull him back!

-[explosion] -Let�s go!

I remember up in Bastogne,

I was wondering, "Guarnere
and I would

share this hole together."

And we got very close.

And you, wild Bill.

I�ve invested too
much goddamn time

-shaping you into something
useful. -[chuckles]

Guarnere, no question
about Guarnere, is

that tough, hard...

type of guy.

There were others, I�m sure.

Well, a guy by the name

of Joe Toye, I remember.

He was a tough guy, you know.

And I don�t mean that in a

pejorative. I mean tough...

in terms of fiber.

[explosion]

Incoming!

Take cover!

[explosion continues]

Take cover!

[explosion continues]

Shit!

You know, in Episode 7, Bill

and Joe Toye lose their legs.

[explosion]

Shit!

-Come on, Joe. -[screaming]

Come on, buddy. Come on!

Hold on! I�ll be there!
I�ll be there!

[explosion, soldiers yelping]

No!

[explosion continues]

I wanted to know how Bill

handled that.

He talked about how horrible
Bastogne was

and how that constant

bombardment was really terrible.

But

he said, he wouldn�t--

"Yeah, I got hit. And I
was, you know."

He really played it down down,
so I called Carwood.

And I talked to Mr. Lipton
and he said

I said, "When he got hit..."

And he got very quiet

and I realized he was upset.

And I said, "You know what,

Mr. Lipton, we don�t have
to talk about it.

I know it was so raw."

I went over to Guarnere.

He was sitting on the ground.

His leg was badly mangled.

He was holding his leg and

it was jerking like that.

And...

He said, "Lip,

They got old Guarnere
this time."

He had been hit before, but

they really got him there.

[emotional, somber music]

-[grunts] -I got you.

I didn�t save Joe Toye�s life.

Maybe I did. I don�t know.

But like I say, he�s my buddy.

I�d have done it for anyone.

It helped so much as an actor

when you had the practical
trees blowing up.

It wasn�t on a green screen.

It was...

You know, I really felt like

Buck was with me on that moment.

[indistinct shouting]

[shaky breathing]

Medic!

And to see my buddies getting
blown up in front of me,

I felt like Buck.

And I think that�s why that
moment was so truthful, because

we were a band of brothers.

[sighing]

We were meant to survive.

All right.

And we mourn and grieve
in a bunch of

different ways, and we hold
the weight of

a situation with us.

And these men held the weight of
the situation with them for

the rest of their lives.
And they only know the

thoughts they had in their head.

And they only know how difficult
it was

to go to sleep or not

for them.

That was deeply personal
to them.

[grunts, explosion continues]

To lose those two men, it...

It shook him up.

Winters decided he
was shaking...

shaken up too much to stay
in the company,

so we transferred him out.

Compton was a fine officer.

A fine soldier.

It just happened to hit him
at the wrong time there.

You know, he would never say,

"This is how I felt when
this happened."

It would be like that

thousand-yard stare

when I�d ask him

what it was like on that day.

Guys like that

speak volumes by saying
very little.

[mournful violin music]

He got to know his men really
well and cared for his men,

which, of course, Dick
Winters was like,

"You can�t get too close
to your men."

But that just wasn�t

who Buck Compton was.

If he loved something,
he loved all in.

And I admire that so much
about Buck

and that�s why it was so hard
for him in the end.

There wasn�t a thing called
PTSD back then.

[mournful hymn]

101st Airborne had been made

famous by what it did in
the Battle of the Bulge.

The newspapers called them

the battered bastards
of Bastogne.

These were ghosts for these men.

When you call yourself Penkala

or Muck or Luz,

these were not character names.

They had deep, intimate

relationships with these guys.

They loved these guys, and

you were representing them.

[car speeds along highway
as mournful music fades]

We toured

in the footsteps
of Easy Company.

We bonded, Frank and I.

So this is the only
original house?

No, at the other
side in the road

at the headquarters
of the Germans-

I remember the minute we all
got off the bus in Bastogne.

We all started to walk in.

A lot of these men have never
been back,

most of them have never
been back.

And...

we kind of pulled back.

Okay.

Home sweet home, Bill.

Yes, it is.

Yes, sir.

Who knows who laid in this hole
today?

[coughing]

So walking through there,

you would just see them.

"Well, I would...

Well, if he would have been
right here, well...

Well, yeah, I probably would
have been right here.

I would have been right here."

And you�d just go, "Wow."

We had our foxholes
right over here,

and the other area,
and the other area.

Wherever we had to move
out and dig in again.

Because the Krauts had plenty
of artillery.

Most intentional-

That went through right here.

Shelling.

Most intentional one of them.

You couldn�t believe it.
You had to be here.

You just dove in the hole

and just pray, that�s it.

If it comes in, you ain�t
going to know it.

A couple of arms

went around each other.

Crying, some of them
were crying,

and some of them would make
a joke,

and there�d be a laugh cry.

This is where you can�t believe
that shell�s going, sir.

-Yeah. -Shelling, I don�t
remember no shelling.

[chuckles]

-Or no Snow, I said. -[laughing]

-You don�t believe this guy.
-[laughing]

[melancholy music]

It was just so impactful
for a young man

for me, and I know
it�s not about me,

to be there and witness that,
because it changes you.

[melancholy music continues]

[rapid footsteps, crow cawing]

He said, "Come with me, sir."

What, what, what, what?

Frank, Frank, what is it?

[breathing heavily]

I don�t know, sir.

I don�t know.

Took me up to this fence, and

I was looking at some victims.

Were in a concentration camp.

And this was, of course,
turned out

to be called a Holocaust.

And they had killed them,

starve them to death, and

buried them like we do garbage
in this country.

Make a ditch and push them all,

wad them all in there

and cover them up.

So you opened the gates
and went in?

[nods]

There�s no words to describe it,

but as you looked at them
in the eye,

they would drop their head,

they would drop their eyes.

And it would remind you of a,

a dog that

was mistreated and been beaten.

And frankly to myself

I said, "Now I know
why I�m here."

You�ve been starving to death,

you�ve been freezing to death,

people have been shooting
at you.

Why am I here?

And after you looked at that,

you�d say, "I know."

[sombre music continues]

Nobody had any concept or idea

that we would see anything
like this.

Ask them what kind of campuses,

what, uh...

So when we...

Saw it for the first time,

it was a shock.

But uh...

I had no idea what to do.

And... [inhales]

Our mission

was to push on to end this war.

By design,

production hid that set from us.

We were not allowed to see it.

We didn�t even know
it was being built.

It was built on the other side.

So when we got to that episode,

David Frankel,

who directed the episode,

he had family on both sides

in camps.

So it was really, really
personal to him.

You know, that episode
in particular was

a very, very tough episode
for everybody.

And I think it�s because
it�s the one that

really hits home, and again,

the clue�s in the title,
"Why We Fight".

They�re Jews.

You just really recognize

the weight of the series,

and what it�s gonna mean

to an audience.

[sombre music continues]

It�s very difficult
to find a war

where there was a clear
cut right

and a clear cut wrong.

And...

The Second World War

is that.

I think there is a real sense

that if we had not won it,

we would be living in
a different world.

[soldiers cheering and running]

[hopeful music swells]

We took Berchtesgaden
May the 5th.

Had no fighting, no shooting.

The war was over May the 8th.

Throughout the world,
throngs of people

hailed the end of the war
in Europe.

The only thing we cared about,

Easy Company was gonna watch it.

If this thing won every
award and they went,

"I don�t know.

I don�t know."

"Very Hollywood."

It would mean nothing.

[upbeat, anticipatory music]

I don�t think you can

get anything bigger in life

than to be on Normandy Beach

for the premiere of Band
of Brothers

with the actual Easy
Company men.

Even more important than what

we thought of it, was gonna be

what these guys thought of it.

And I remember just being like,

"I hope we did them proud."

I think all the actors
are a little nervous

waiting to see

how the veterans will respond
to the

portrayal of that man.

Immediately after the screening
and they saw it,

immediately half of them were
like, "You son of a bitch."

You know? [chuckles]

It was so visceral for them.

I�d never seen Buck

get emotional.

And to get a bear hug

from Buck Compton was...

[sighs heavily]

You can keep the Academy Awards.

You can keep the Emmys, keep
all that stuff, but...

That was my greatest award.

You never know.

You can look around the room

at the cast and crew screening.

You can go and slap backs

with the executive producers.

And they were like, "This
is quite good."

But you never know how the
market is gonna respond.

Well, it was crazy.

We premiered on

9/9,

and then two days later
the towers came down.

A few moments ago, something,

believed to be a plane, crashed
into the south tower

of the World Trade Center.

And smashed directly

perhaps purposefully, into...

-Oh my goodness. -Oh, God.

-There�s another one.
-[clears throat]

So we�d only aired one episode.

HBO took a big breath
and was like,

"Well, we�re gonna
let it air out and

then we have bigger things
to focus on."

Tipper!

Answer me! Tip!

-Hang in there, buddy.
-[breathing heavily]

Okay, we�re gonna get you fixed
up, all right?

-Okay. -Is this the last thing
people want to see?

Other people dying
when the country�s

grieving so deeply for what�s
happening?

But it kind of became

this rallying point to kind
of unite people.

That�s when I heard
the explosion.

That�s when the second
tower came down again.

I would always ask Bill,

"If it happened today,

do you think today�s generation

would do the same thing?"

And he said,

"If it happened today,

kids would do the same thing."

[sombre music]

And 9/11 happened.

My phone rang and it was Bill.

And I picked it up and he said,

"See what I mean, kid?
They�re doing it.

They�re just dressed like
firemen and cops now.

And EMTs.

They�re going right into those
buildings.

Same thing."

[indistinct overlapping
radio chatter]

All of us were glued
to the television

and we had it on

and there was a

firefighter that came on.

And they were asking
him a question

and he said, "I don�t
know if you guys are

watching that series,
Band of Brothers,

but that�s who we are. We
are a band of brothers."

And we were all just
floored by that.

Something like that really
hits home

and you realize, "Man,
this project is doing

more things than I could ever
imagine."

[truck rumbling, mournful music]

I don�t think anyone
realized that it was

going to sort of become the

sort of warm hug that

that the country was going
to need,

especially the military
families and

specifically the moms
and dads who were

sending their kids off to war.

In a weird way,

I think

it let them know that
they were going to be

taken care of by each other,

even if they couldn�t take
care of them anymore.

And knowing that they wouldn�t
be alone,

knowing that they would have

found family with them.

[indistinct chatter as hopeful
music builds]

[engine rumbling]

A good friend of mine said,

"Hey, have you seen this book

called Band of Brothers?"

And I said, "No, I
haven�t seen it."

So I read it and

absolutely clearly

fell in love with the story,

but in particular, incredible
respect for

Dick Winters.

I started getting
all these letters

from all the members
of Easy Company.

One of the last letters
I got was

actually from Dick Winters.

He was just a really good guy.

He became like almost

the grandfather I never had.

And whenever I read that book,

I took my book

and I gave it around
to everybody

and said, "Hey, you have to read
this book.

This guy�s the model

for who we have to become."

-[bullets whizzing past]
-Get them going, Buck!

Follow me!

Move up!

Move out, men!

Go!

They knew

that he loved them.

His way of showing
love to them was

he treated them

as men.

He treated them with respect,

but he held them accountable.

Understand?

Yes, sir.

And it wasn�t just
in World War II

where they got

the moniker of the Greatest
Generation, right?

It�s what they did after
the war as well.

Nobody has ever asked
me that question.

About...

About adjusting to civilian
life.

Nobody has brought
that thing up.

Trying to get adjusted
to civilian life

was very difficult.

To go out and

communicate and talk to people.

It was up to me to make the
adjustment, not them.

I was the one who
was out of line.

They weren�t out of line.

But it was very, very difficult.

Lewis was around.

So from time to time,

maybe once or twice,
I�d get to see him

and I could sit and talk to him.

And he could talk to me.

That was a big help.

But it took time.

I think we�re all looking for
heroes right now, aren�t we?

I think we could all say that

the world needs a hero.

[chuckles]

And these guys were our heroes.

They were all our heroes.

I don�t think I�m a hero.

Because part of that time,

what I have done is

saving my own hide first.

[chuckles]

Well, unless you were running
out into

-...a rain of fire to go get
your friend... -Yeah.

to throw him over your back.

I mean, you did some
heroic things.

Two Bronze stars

would argue with you.

[chuckles]

I just figured I�d done
what needed to be

done at the time
and had done it.

I think, and this is my personal
feeling,

that accomplishing something

is what makes a man a hero.

Not what happens to him,

but what he gets done.

And so, as I say,

I think the word "hero"
is overused.

How can they say you�re a hero

or you did what you...

Nah, it�s...

Them kids that didn�t come back.

They�re the guys.

They�re the guys.

They didn�t have to make
a judgment call.

Their judgments were already
being made.

That�s...

I don�t want to get
sentimental, but

this is what you live with.

And it�s not easy.

Believe me.

[rousing, inspiring music]

We were ready to hear
the stories

of our veterans.

We were ready to

allow them to be

not flawed, I would say, but

hurt and in need of things.

This came along at the time

when it was needed.

It was an honor. It was a
privilege and an honor.

[hopeful music]

The show is never
about celebrity.

We�re honoring them.

It was about

a legacy

of a company who

saved the world.

I�m proud to have served

with each and every one of you.

We lost all the guys now.

So, I guess we are

the guys that keep that little
fabric,

that little through
line to them.

We wear it as a badge of honor.

[solemn music begin]

When I got the news,

it was...

It was heartbreaking

because this

incredible energy had left
the world.

It was not a tragedy
in that sense.

You couldn�t have lived your

life fuller than this guy did.

It�s hard to put into words

how much Buck means to me

and still means to
me and how much

I think about him
all the time and

all the guys and everything else

and how much I draw from that

as an artist.

But even more importantly,
how much

I draw from that as a man.

I was just asked, you know,

"What does Dick mean to me now?"

13 years, 14 years
after he died.

I...

I think about him a lot.

A lot.

I defy anybody

not to get a lump in the throat

at the end of episode ten.

We cut to all the veterans
after every episode

and then you cut to Dick

and he tells the story.

Do you remember

the letter that Mike
Ranney wrote me?

You do.

Do you remember how I ended it?

I cherish

the memories of a question

my grandson asked
me the other day

when he said,

"Grandpa, were you a hero
in the war?"

Grandpa said, "No."

But I served in a company
of heroes.

It�s the most moving thing.

And his mouth goes to the side
and he just

so you can just see
him hanging on.

I remember our chats.

You know, those two
days in Hershey.

I remember thinking,

exactly as the men
must have thought

that fought with him,

"I don�t want to let him down.

We�ve got to honor him
the right way."

[music swells]

I�ve lived through the day

that I did my job.

I didn�t leave my men down

and my men are in pretty
good shape.

I�m very thankful.

Do your best.

And the ones that
did their best,

you never forget them.

You�ll never forget them for
the rest of your life.

[music swells and fades]

[bittersweet, hopeful
music begins]