Band of Brothers: Episode 8 (The Last Patrol) | First Time Watching War Series! | TV Series REACTION

[@duanetelesha]

Lipton had to be discharged as an enlisted man then sworn in as an officer. FYI Lt. Jones is Tom Hanks son.

[@scottdarden3091]

😢😢 you beat me to my comment 😂😂

[@John-qf6dw]

Yeah the Lipton scene is confusing the first time you see it if you have no military background or knowledge like me

[@MysterClark]

Colin Hanks is Tom Hanks' son. Colin Hanks played Lt. Jones. Sliiiiiiiiight difference. :P haha But yeah, I wanted to make sure the enlisted NCO to commissioned officer difference was noted. I know some people think he was being sent home. I'm sure I was confused by that too when I first saw this show.

[@MysterClark]

​@@scottdarden3091 Yeah... Give the guy back his comment!! :P

[@ArturttleistZuh]

Btw Easy didn't really criticize Webster for his absence during Bastogne. Infact they are glad and relief that he and the rest wasn't there because they didnt want to see more of their comrades die in the battlefield, Webster even wrote that in his own book. They just did that to give the show a little drama... Can't wait for Episode 9... Literally made me tear up!

[@Educated2Extinction]

I suspect it's a composite character thing that writers tend to use, though it's a bit different when it's a real person.

[@benvsreality]

They also switched some other stuff around, like Webster and Cobb by all accounts were friends in real life, but Cobb and Martin didn't get along. Also, if I remember the book right, Webster was manning the .30 on the riverbank and Liebgott was actually on the patrol.

[@ronweber1402]

@@benvsreality The real Cobb was likely one of those guys who was a good, fun guy when sober but once they got drunk a switch flips and all their demons come out.

[@SG-if8iw]

In order for Lipton to be promoted to lieutenant he had to first be discharged as an enlisted soldier. He stayed with E company till the end of the war.

[@kenfreeman8888]

Webster was the soldier who gave the Dutch kid his first taste of chocolate episode 4. His diaries during the war form part of the background for these stories.

[@MauriceCalis]

One thing I didn't understand at first was that in order to go from Sergeant to Lieutenant, you have to be discharged as an enlisted man. Private, Corporal, and Sergeant are considered enlisted men. Lieutenant and up are officers. That's where the term NCO comes in (non-commissioned officer), which includes Sergeant and Corporal (sometimes you'll hear them say Non-comms). After about 50 times thru the series you start to pick some things up, haha. Seriously, though, that's what makes Band of Bros great is that you see something new every time, and because it captures the best in humanity.

[@randyronny7735]

In that closing scene, there was a shot of Cobb in a jeep with MPs. He was arrested for being drunk and attacking a lieutenant. Col. Sink wanted him shot, but higher-ups did not let that happen. He was eventually released.

[@8AFM4]

Current Army ranks: E1 - private E2 - private E3 - Private First Class E-4 Specialist / corporal E-5 Sergeant E-6 Staff Sergeant E-7 Sergeant First Class E-8 Master sergeant or First Sergeant if part of a company command E-9Sergeant major or Command Sergeant Major if part of the command structure WO1 - warrant officer CW2-5 - chief warrant officer O1- 2nd Lieutenant O2 - 1st Lieutenant O3 - Captain O4 - Major O5 - Lieutenant Colonel O6 - colonel O7 - Brigadier General O8 - Major General O9 - Lieutenant General O10 - General

[@geetarbube]

E4 was “Corporal” only until 1955 when “Specialist” ranks were established.

[@saaamember97]

That is correct, for the Army, but not for all ranks in each of the other services. The Army, Air Force and Marines had similar rank structures, with only slight variations. For the U.S. Air Force (When I was Active Duty 1977 - 1997) it was like this ..... AIRMEN E-1 Airman Basic (No stripes) E-2 Airman (One stripe, without center Star emblem) E-3 Airman 1st Class (Two stripes, without center Star emblem) E-3 Senior Airman (Three stripes, without center Star emblem) NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (NCOs) E-4 Sergeant - or - Buck Sergeant (Three stripes, with center Star emblem) E-5 Staff Sergeant (Four stripes, with center Star emblem) E-6 Technical Sergeant (Five stripes, with center Star emblem) E-7 Master Sergeant (Six stripes, with center Star emblem) E-8 Senior Master Sergeant (Six lower stripes, One upper stripe, with center Star emblem) E-9 Chief Master Sergeant - or - Chief (Six lower stripes, Two upper stripes, with center Star emblem) NO WARRANT OFFICERS OFFICERS O-1 2nd Lieutenant (One gold bar) aka. "Second Louie" or "LT" O-2 1st Lieutenant (One silver bar) aka. "First Louie" or "LT" O-3 Captain (Two silver bars) O-4 Major (One gold oakleaf) O-5 Lieutenant Colonel (One silver oakleaf) aka. "Light Colonel" O-6 Colonel (One silver eagle) aka. "Bird Colonel" or "Full Bird" GENERALS (OFFICERS) O-7 Brigadier General (One silver star) O-8 Major General (Two silver stars) O-9 Lieutenant General (Three silver stars) O-10 General (Four silver stars) O-11 General of the Air Force (Five silver stars)

[@Gankhisprawn]

E-7 Sergeant First Class was Technical Sergeant at this point and wouldn't be changed until 1948. Also E-4 wasn't a Specialist, but either a Corporal or a Technician Fifth Grade, denoted with the letter T under their Chevrons.

[@John_Locke_108]

My brother was in the Navy and we call him E4. Our step-dad was a Sea Bee in Vietnam and we call refer to him as E5.

[@caras2004]

After the war, Jones stayed in Germany and became a Captain in a detachment troop. He died in an automobile accident July 21, 1947. He's buried at Arlington National Cementary

[@andyt9296]

The little interviews at the beginning of each episode is from a documentary about easy company men called we stand alone together it’s a must watch you hear their stories

[@buddystewart2020]

It's strange how they chose to portray Webster in this episode. In Webster's wartime diary, he made note of six or seven guys that welcomed him back warmly. He also stated how shocked and heartbroken he was to see how depleted Easy comapny was, so many men he knew were gone. He said he almost broke down in tears over it. Also, Webster didn't even go on this patrol. Forrest Guth was the interpreter that was on this patrol. Webster was actually manning a machine gun covering their withdrawal back across the river.

[@TeeLow]

I think they were just trying to drive home the point that while Tacoa men were very close - the ones who made it thru Bostogne were altogether different once they got to the other side of that.

[@otis_4446]

TeeLow is correct, but also they had to condense all of the activities down to a manageable crew. By that I mean what may have happened to several guys in real life was portrayed by one or two of the actors. They wanted to get as much stuff in as possible but were limited with how many actors they had. I hope I made sense.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

​@@otis_4446On the nose, my friend! Good response!

[@buddystewart2020]

@@otis_4446 ... I know they had to do it like that, they couldn't have 200 main cast, I get it. I still think it's worth knowing what actually happened. Like, watching the Crossroads episode. It's easy to come away thinking Dick didn't have a very good time in Paris, when in truth, he did. He did most of the typical tourist stuff most people would do and enjoyed it. We know this because of letters he wrote to his long time pen-pal DeEtta Almon. So, they also made some Hollywood choices, they chose to show us Dick's Paris trip in the way they did, which frankly, is misleading. But don't get me wrong, I love the series, I've watched it at least 80 to 100 times and I own the box set. I just disagree with some of their choices they made when representing these men.

[@otis_4446]

@@buddystewart2020 "it's worth knowing what actually happened" You are absolutely right, it is good to know.

[@8AFM4]

West Point is the premier academy for the Army. You can become an officer through other forms of training such as ROTC, OCS, or battlefield commission. But, especially at this time, only a relatively small percentage of officers are come from the academy. Getting in to this day is very difficult and is the equivalent of an Ivy League school. Typically at this time, if you went to the Academy, it meant you were also very likely a career officer as most other officers at this time were expected to go back to their old lives. A west point grad was seen as a future leader of the Army

[@lobokurg2786]

Every west point officer I ever met was either the absolute best or the absolute worst. No middle ground.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

@@lobokurg2786 Education changes knowledge but it doesn't change character or wisdom.

[@danielconley7042]

That's my favorite episode! The discharge confusion is that in order to move up the ranks and receive an officer's commission, you have to be discharged as an enlisted man or drafted man in order to become a commissioned officer.

[@Knowledgeispower482]

During WW2 unless it was something permanent, soldiers recovered and then were sent back to a unit. In many cases, they might go to another unit and that is why so many did go AWOL and try to get back to units like the 101st or the 82nd. They did not want to end up in a unit that was not as good. In Websters case, he was actually more seriously wounded and he recovered in England and was not able to make it to the front until he was released. This is one of the places that BOB does a disservice, the mean of Easy did not give him that hard of a time when he returned.

[@benschultz1784]

Webster's wound was serious enough that he had to be medevac-ed to England, so once he recovered, he was forced to re-enter service through a replacement depot. At hospitals closer to the frontlines troops would go AWOL to rejoin their old units before being dismissed to the replacement depot. Webster got lucky that he was transferred to Easy Company again.

[@utf59]

Winters was already filling a position normally occupied by a major. Even though he was leading the battalion in the field, he was second in command (XO). A battalion commander is normally a lieutenant colonel (one step up from major).

[@tamberlame27]

Winter’s is such a good leader. Knew exactly when to prioritise the mission and when to prioritise the man.

[@prp2]

You two are awesome, great to see you appreciate the sacrifices paid by our fellows. Thanks Chandra and Jordan.

[@iambecomepaul]

Don Malarkey in the shower (Scott Grimes) is some of the best acting in this series, IMHO. That’s a guy looking death in the face and dealing with it. And it felt real. Great job by Mr. Grimes.

[@jillfromatlanta427]

Good in Mystery, Alaska with Russell Crowe

[@krisfrederick5001]

Tom Hanks even enlisted his own son into the War, that's dedication...This is when Winters essentially "Dad arms" and protects his men of Easy Company in anyway he can, even by lying to command. I love the way they express so visually the soldiers experiences by the appearance of their uniforms. Webster's guilt is what leads him to volunteer...to earn the respect back from the men of Easy. The shear pain in Malarky's eyes is overwhelming...Currahee ♠

[@optimega]

2nd Lieutenant, Jones, who is a West Point graduate. Winning acceptance from Easy members is just as hard for the young lieutenant as Webster's attempts to rejoin them are.To this day enlisted and NCOs will make fun of West Point graduate's walk and more would like to have an officer who is coming off an ROTC program instead.After the war, Jones was not discharged and remained in Germany where he was promoted to the rank of captain 970TH CIC DETACHMENT REGION VIII . He never returned to the United States. He died after an operation following an automobile accident in Berlin while stationed there on 21st July, 1947.The combat experience was just a formality before moving him up to regiment,the Army was protecting their career officers,it was a West Point protection society. Also the need for officers not over-exposed to combat and the start of rotating guys home.

[@davidwoolbright3675]

Lt Jones was also with Easy Company for longer than the show represents. It seems he was liked by the men.

[@frankmartin3600]

We called them " ring knockers." Almost without fail miserable pricks.

[@charlesh796]

I have commented before . I LOVE that you are now part of Easy . You no longer say they you now say we . As a combat vet I love that. You two are the best. God bless you both

[@christophercurtis-71]

Thank God for Winters and Nixon for canceling the second patrol and writing the bogus report. And seeing Lipton getting his battlefield commission to Lt. was so satisfying. I was an enlisted man in the Navy and I still know all the enlisted and officer ranks. I finished my time in the Navy as a Petty Officer Second Class(E-5).

[@keithsimpson6563]

Are you guys planning to watch the documentary " We stand alone together: the man of easy company " story's of the men of band of brothers. ITS A MUST WATCH. no joking guys. It's like part 11 of band of brothers. It closes it up

[@caras2004]

Reason Cobb is in the back of the military police jeep at the end of the episode. The following Band of Brothers scene, where a drunken Cobb baits Webster and calls him "college boy," is also only part of the true story. Cobb actually got drunk after a "daytime scrounging mission" with another private, during which they were shot at by Germans and the other trooper got hit in the knee. They drank a bottle of schnapps each, and when Cobb was reprimanded by 1st Lieutenant Jack Foley for his drunk and disorderly behavior, he became violent and charged at Foley. Cobb was arrested and later court-martialed for his behavior.

[@garyseward1641]

I read that Tom Hanks was in this episode as well as his son. He was the voice of the dying German soldier left on the river bank.

[@JimFinley11]

West Point is a university as well as a training facility for Army officers. Graduates earn a bachelor's degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants, pay grade O-1 (the most junior commissioned officer rank.) fThe Naval Academy at Annapolis is the same thing for the Navy (in the Navy, O-1s are called ensigns, except that a percentage of Annapolis grads choose to go into the Marine Corps rather than the Navy - in the Marine Corps they are second lieutenants.) The the Air Force has the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating second lieutenants in the Air Force. Within the services, academy grads are an informal aristocracy - they have class rings, and because some supposedly knock their rings on tables to call attention to them, they have a somewhat derogatory nickname of "ring knockers." Other than academy grads, commissioned officers in all the services either (1) graduate from ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) units at universities all over the country and then go through OCS (Officer Candidate School), (2) enter the service from civilian life with bachelor's or higher college degrees and then go through OCS, or (3) complete a specified amount of college as enlisted service members and compete for admission to commissioning programs, going to OCS if selected. In wartime some enlisted members are commissioned directly, as Lipton was, but that's extremely rare and you have to be absolutely superb and be unlucky enough to end up in a situation where you prove that. I was an enlisted Marine for nine years, and then went to OCS after I applied to the Enlisted Commissioning Program and was selected. I got to OCS as a sergeant, was discharged and became a candidate, and graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. I served another eleven years as a commissioned officer and retired at the twenty year mark as a captain. Other than not having to go to OCS, the other difference between academy grads and the rest of us was that we were commissioned as reserve officers with a three year active duty commitment and had to compete again after three years to be transferred from the reserves to the regular service, but the acadamy grads got regular commissions when they graduated from their academies. Marine officers go through another school after OCS called The Basic School, TBS, that lasts six months. You get enough infantry training to be able to take over an infantry platoon or company if necessary, and get an overview of the other MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) fields. Then after TBS, you go on to your MOS school and from there to your first duty station. The Academy grads from Annapolis entered the Marine Corps at TBS. Because they hadn't gone through Marine OCS, they hadn't gotten the field training OCS included, so they struggled at TBS to catch up with the rest of us in that respect. Winters didn't change jobs when he was promoted to major. Battalion executive officer is an assignment that's supposed to be filled by a major anyway. He was the acting battalion commander at that point, which is a job calling for a lieutenant colonel. Major is one rank above captain, and lieutenant colonel is one above major, but when the services are shorthanded, people often fill assignments that on paper call for people of higher ranks - when I was commissioned as a second lieutenant, I went straight into an assignment that was supposed to be filled by a captain, two ranks higher than I was; by the time I retired as a captain, I'd had two assignments back to back that were supposed to be filled by majors. There is a whole other cateogy of officers called warrant officers that are in between the enlisted ranks and second lieutenant. There are five warrant officer pay grades, and they are filled from the ranks of the best experienced NCOs and tend to be technical experts in their particular MOS fields. Warrant officers are very highly respected. Second lieutenants, on the other hand, are often seen as kind of naive and ignorant and are unflatteringly called 'butterbars' (the rank insignia of a second lieutenant is a gold bar.) When I was a second lieutenant, I was treated differently because I was several years older and my Marines knew I had more time as an enlisted man than most of them did. The Marine Corps has a higher proportion of former enlisted officers than the other branches, and I think it's one of our strengths.

[@ariochiv]

Mortar rounds are usually subsonic, so it's possible to see them coming.

[@cenotemirror]

There are basically two types of promotion; rank, and your place in the chain of command. Winters being moved up to battalion XO was the second kind; he remained a Captain but had a 'job' with more authority and responsibility. This one is the first kind, being promoted in rank from Captain to Major. His job and position remain the same, and probably contributed to the promotion (Battalion XO is a job that is supposed to be held by a Major; since Winters was clearly a good fit for it and there for the long haul Col. Sink got him the rank to match.)

[@leemacpeek2698]

the position Winters held is ranked for a major. He is just getting his correct rank.

[@stephentaylor9630]

Throughout the series I was taken back on how the cast and crew effectively captured the extreme sense of overwhelming fatigue. Especially in Malarkey's character. Well done.

[@StayProteus]

0:30 as far as injuries go its sorta on a case by case basis from my civilian understanding, for instance I know of a Green Beret who lost one of his legs and I think was told he would never walk again even with the other one and I think his command wanted and tried to get him to retire or at least didn't want his back on full duty at first but then essentially gave him a insanely tough physical/obstacle course/marathon type test and when he completed it they let him back in IIRC and he ended up returning to full service and deployed back to I believe Afghanistan. I forgot his name but Andy Stumpf (he has a really good podcast called Cleared Hot) was a DEVGRU/SEAL Team 6 guy who got shot in his hip and he also returned to full service but I think ended up deciding to go back to the 'normal' SEAL teams because he felt he couldn't keep up to the high demand of a Tier 1 Unit like DEVGRU but obviously the normal SEAL Teams aren't exactly easy by any means either

[@utf59]

Regarding wounded soldiers returning to their units, keep in mind that while it feels like the events in this series take place over a long period of time, it was slightly less than a year from D-Day to the German surrender. That's not a long time to recuperate from a serious wound, and that's why they lost touch with Blithe. ETA: I don't mean to belittle their combat time by saying "only a year," I'm just trying to add perspective.

[@felipeaquitral]

7:14 i always feel for Alley here, and in general, really. not only he sees Bill Kiehn like that, last episode he was with the group that was shot down by that hidden sniper and Mellet died right before his eyes, and before that he was wounded in Normandy and again in Holland. that's some rotten luck... and i think the actor that plays him portrays that trauma really well. he's one of my favs from they show.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

As far as Webster is concerned with, he just came back and was getting the ice-cold shoulder from everyone. He was probably trying to get back in their good graces by spilling the beans on who was picked to go on the patrol.

[@stevenvujicic3823]

When webster walks out and the camera pans out towards the end. Cobb is sitting in a jeep with mp's. He got into a fight and punched Foley when he was drunk. He was dishonorabley discharged.

[@fernachur]

They can tell where the incoming shells/mortars are coming from by the sound, the shells are moving too fast to see them

[@lawrencekoprowski6480]

At night and in the day you shoot at what you can see, muzzle flashes.

[@christinadoxstader3004]

I already had immense respect for Winters by the time I watched this episode but what he does at the end pushed it to another level. The war was basically over by that point, everyone on both sides knew it if they were being honest with themselves so for Winters to lie to his superiors in order to protect his men puts him on a whole other level. Make sure you have tissues for the next episode, assuming you haven't watched it already before this video went up here.

[@benrast1755]

I think someone else mentioned Lipton was discharged as an enlisted man and then sworn in as a commissioned officer. He wasn’t being sent home.

[@alwaysdriveing]

Both of these series they did cause you to identify things you never thought about. Band of Brothers and The Pacific should both be required viewings in high school probably.

[@russeads2995]

Winters' promotion to major just promotes him to the rank for the position he is currently holding.

[@russeads2995]

In the military you can be moved up to a higher position but not yet promoted to the rank/pay grade of that position until you meet the requirements.

[@Anon54387]

You should watch Countdown to D Day which is essentially about the planning involved prior to Operation Overlord.

[@wgandy9541]

If you didn't remember him as a lot of reactors don't, Webster was they guy who gave the little boy in Holland the chocolate candy in episode 4 and was wounded in the Crossroads episode 5. He was the guy that said "they got me" and was hard on himself for saying it. ("They got me" was a common saying in the movies of the day when one got shot.)

[@2104dogface]

so Webster was welcomed back they were glad to see him & he didn't go on the patrol but manned a 1919 30 cal MG with Moore to cover the patrol. have talked with some of thoses who were there while in E/506th Reenacted it's also mentioned in Websters book written after the war

[@boki1693]

The new Lieutenant is Tom Hanks son.

[@Anon54387]

It's nervous laughter.

[@StevenJShow]

Bring your tissues for the next one.

[@Anon54387]

Viet Nam was rife with people like Dyke who just wanted a bit of combat experience that they could use to further a political career. It wasn't as common in WW2, but as with Dyke there were some that had that motivation.

[@mithroch]

Winters isn't changing positions... he's raising in rank.

[@jeff-ni5cy]

Look up the picture of Colin Hanks and Lt. Jones. They could be brothers, or a vampire and he really didn't did a few weeks later.

[@fannybuster]

Lt Jones is Tom Hanks real son

[@scottdarden3091]

Officers need combat experience in order to advance. Lt. Jones a West Point graduated would want that patrol on his record, since he is probably thinking about making a career of the Army.

[@squint04]

The company was (in real life) happy to see Webster and were glad (for his sake) that he missed "The Battle of the Bulge" He was taken to the UK for treatment of his wounds! That made things difficult to "Bust out" and rejoin the company! This is the only episode that seems a bit off!

[@williamberry9013]

Let's talk real life Webster. Wounded at crossroads before Germans came though Arden. Plan was move them back to England to prepare for next jump. Wounded and supplies were moved passes to Paris were given out ... then the Germans came through the Arden and plans changed and an under supplied unit of paratroopers occupied Bastogne. The only way Webster could break out and rejoin them is if he swam the English Channel in full pack then single handedly broke the siege. Popeye had to walkout of the hospital in England to their base in England.

[@charlesbarnes6912]

Winters was a legend

[@williamberry9013]

After Bastogne (the Bulge) Every German soldier knew it was over. Only Hitler kept the saner ones from surrendering - to the American/British, not the Russians.

[@Randomizer939]

It's weird that the mustache appears and vanishes out of nowhere between videos, are these recorded ages ago? 2:52 Mortar/artillery intel, if you hear it, it won't kill you. If you don't hear it, it will kill you.

[@aTofuJunkie]

Next episode is going to be rough...

[@lobokurg2786]

Officers always outrank Sgts and NCOs. They're supposed to work together to run the unit, but they do butt heads at time too. Usually officers give the orders and Sgts figure out how to get them done.

[@8AFM4]

Best way to think of it is that it’s very difficult to be looking up and looking down at the same time. Officers look up to make sure you know where you need to go and NCOs look down to make sure you’re stepping on the right path to get there.

[@Anon54387]

It wasn't unusual for people to be able to effectively lie about their age in the 1940s to get into the military. Harder now, although one can join certain branches of the US military at 17 with parental permission. BTW, during the war of 1812 a bunch of 16 year olds volunteered to defend a strategically important town in New York because no one else was available. They were armed with privately owned weapons and had no military training, but managed to do a good job of holding the British off nonetheless. Talk about making adult decisions at age 16.

[@jabronidave3612]

Prepare yourself please

[@darrylkoehn-ec8mk]

I can't believe you didn't know that West Point was the the site of the U.S. Army military academy. It' been around forever.I guess history isn't important.anyonre! Sad!!

[@LeandroRafael-ew6vz]

Get ready for the next episode, seriously

[@ZeroTolerance-tk9ce]

Only the Russian Army sends their wounded back into combat.

[@GeorgeEugeneBarrett]

Webster was definitely trying to have himself excused from the patrol.

[@davidwoolbright3675]

I don’t think he was.

[@tanelviil9149]

lame react to SPRIGGAN 1998