Band Of Brothers Us Tie In

Stephen E. Ambrose’s iconic story of the ordinary men who became the World War II’s most extraordinary soldiers: Easy Company; 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment; 101st Airborne Division; US Army. They came together; citizen soldiers; in the summer of 1942; drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than the other guy. And at its peak—in Holland and the Ardennes—Easy Company was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From the rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to the disbanding in 1945; Stephen E. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company. In combat; the reward for a job well done is the next tough assignment; and as they advanced through Europe; the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments. They parachuted into France early D-Day morning and knocked out a battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down Utah Beach; they parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne; brought in to hold the line; although surrounded; in the Battle of the Bulge; and then they spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally; they captured Hitler's Bavarian outpost; his Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. They were rough-and-ready guys; battered by the Depression; mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much French wine; looted too many German cameras and watches; and fought too often with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war; men who loved life would give their lives for them. This is the story of the men who fought; of the martinet they hated who trained them well; and of the captain they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry; froze; and died for each other; a company that took 150 percent casualties; a company where the Purple Heart was not a medal—it was a badge of office.