23.976
I've seen death. I've seen my friends, my men, being killed.
And this is... It doesn't take too many days of that...
...and you change dramatically.
We had no food, didn't have ammunition. It was cold.
We didn't have clothes. If you built a fire, something would shoot at you.
Everywhere you look, you would see dead people.
A dead soldier there, here. Ours, theirs.
Then civilians, besides... . Dead animals.
So death was all over.
You don't have a chance, when your friends go down...
...to really take care of them as you might.
And especially if you're under attack, moving or whatever, and... .
I withstood it well...
...but I had a lot of trouble in later life...
...because those events would come back...
...and you never forget them.
After Bastogne...
...Easy Company was called to push the Germans through the Bulge.
We were here this morning. We came this way.
Here's the logging road coming into here.
- So you go right there. - Take it easy!
- Stop crying or I'll nail it to your head. - It's made of wood.
- Move them out. - Yes, sir. 2nd Platoon, let's go.
I was glad to be out of my foxhole and moving, even if only to get warm.
Spread out. Keep your interval.
E Company was sent to clear the woods near the town of Foy...
...in preparation for what we knew would be the assault on Foy itself.
I see it, Buck.
Watch for mines.
During that 1000-yard attack, we encountered sporadic machine-gun fire...
...and had a couple casualties, but overall met little resistance.
Nelson! Look. Nelson!
Hoobler's run-in with the German was the most dramatic moment of the day.
Halt!
Oh, shit.
Thank you.
Hoobler had been talking about getting a Luger since Normandy.
He went from foxhole to foxhole telling everyone.
Down he goes like a sack of potatoes.
Outstanding accuracy on my part, if I do say so myself.
- Which you do. - Which I do.
Shifty, I could've given you a run for your money.
No, I'm not a good shot. Dad was an excellent shot.
He'd shoot the wings off a fly.
That German, what'd you think he was doing?
Recon. He must have figured nobody'd hear a horse.
He was just trying to get out of Dodge.
- What happened to the horse? - Don't know.
Probably still running. Hope he's okay.
- You dug in? - Yeah, yeah.
Just thought I'd take a walk.
You're a good shot. Glad you're on our side.
Thanks, Lip.
- Hey, Lip? - Yeah.
- Thanks for the help. - You got it, Shifty.
- Hey, Lip? You got a sec? - Yes, sir.
Give him a hand.
- Where's Dike? - He's around.
- Could you be more specific, sergeant? - Not really, sir.
I haven't seen him all day and I have to figure out how we ended up.
- Two wounded. - Who?
- Brown and Stevenson. - Goddamn it. Where's Dike?
Where does he go?
I don't know, but I wish he'd stay there.
- Shut up, boys. - Shutting up, sarge.
What the hell was that?
- Patrol? - No, we would've heard.
- One man, maybe a sniper. - That was no rifle.
- What do you see, Shift? - Nobody out there.
- Are you sure? - Uh-huh.
- It's Hoob. He's shot! - Sniper?
- No, no, he, he shot himself. - Medic!
- What happened? - Doc.
It's my fucking leg.
- You'll be all right. - It just went off.
What are you doing with a loaded gun in your pants? Damn it! Goddamn it!
- I wasn't touching it. - Medic!
- Where are you hit? - In my leg.
- Take it easy, buddy. - Don't look, Hoob. It'll be fine.
- Hurts like a son of a bitch. - It's gonna be okay.
- Doc! - Don't worry about it, Hoob.
- You'll be all right. You hear me? - Warm him up!
Keep him warm.
- How's it looking, doc? - Let me see it.
Can we get him some blankets or something?
- Keep talking to him. - Listen to me, it's okay.
Think it was a German leg?
- It's not that bad. - You're gonna be fine.
Hold on. Put this across him.
- Wrap him up. Wrap him up. - Here you go. Here you go.
- Lip, you said I was a great shot? - You are. You're a great shot.
You jump out of planes. You're tough, man.
- It's not that bad. - Stay with us, Hoob.
- It's all right. - Doc, what are we gonna do?
- How we doing, doc? - I can't see a thing.
- Let's get ready to move him. - Relax, take it easy. Take it easy.
Doc. Doc!
Perc, I'll need a jeep.
He was wearing so many clothes we couldn't tell how bad he was bleeding.
He was already dead. The bullet cut the main artery in his leg.
It wouldn't have made a difference if you had known.
Cut that main artery in the leg, that's it.
Yes, sir. I'm gonna go back and make sure the boys are all dug in, sir.
- Lip? Where's Dike? - You want to see him, sir?
No, I just would have expected this kind of news from him.
Well, I was there, sir. Figured it might as well be me.
Where's Dike? I probably heard that question a thousand times...
...and I probably asked it a few times myself.
There were long stretches where we didn't know where Lieutenant Dike was.
He'd disappear for hours.
It wouldn't have been bad if he was one of the guys...
...but he was supposed to be leading the company.
Captain Winters was a CO we could all respect.
Moose Heyliger would have done a good job...
...but he was accidentally shot by a sentry.
Then came Norman Dike.
I want security around the company CP.
Dike wasn't bad because he made bad decisions...
...he was bad because he made no decisions.
Battalion S3 is planning a move...
...so I will probably be called away regularly.
Any questions?
Yeah. What's the formation you're wanting us to go for?
At present, as per usual, but I'll clarify that with you at a later time.
Yes, sir.
I gotta make a call.
- Let's move it out. - Right.
Dike was a favorite of somebody at Division.
He'd been sent down to get combat experience.
It seemed like E Company was an annoyance to him.
Something he had to get through before he could continue up the ladder.
- We're screwed. - I'm glad Dike's never around.
You know what? We're doing all right, even with Foxhole Norman.
We're doing all right now. In case you ain't noticed...
...there's a town over there, right? In that town are Germans.
- These Germans got tanks. - I know.
And our side's gonna want to go into that town.
Guess who they're gonna want to go knock on the door?
I know, all right? It's me you're talking to here.
We gotta do all this with a CO who's got his head so far up his ass...
...that lump in his throat is his goddamn nose.
- Hey, first sergeant. - Hey, boys.
- Hey, Lip. - Hey, Muck, what's the word?
Sitting around freezing our ass off, singing Dike's praises.
Oh, yeah. Lieutenant Dike.
Well, I'll tell you...
...I wouldn't want to be a replacement officer here.
Get thrown in with guys who've known each other for what, two years?
You've been in combat together since Normandy.
He's supposed to just show up and lead them? How does a guy do that?
How could anyone really hope to gain respect of the toughest...
...most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?
If you ask me, a guy'd have to march off to Berlin...
...and come back with Hitler's mustache or something.
Anyway, listen. You guys don't worry about Dike. All right?
Yeah.
We all do our jobs, everything'll be fine.
- See you, sarge. - Yeah, boy.
I don't know if I believed that, but as first sergeant, it was my job.
Not to protect Dike, but to protect the integrity of the company.
You know what Dike's problem is, don't you?
He's another arrogant, rich jerk from Yale.
Oh, God, not another one of those.
Division wouldn't let me replace him just because I got a bad feeling.
Even if they would, who'd I put in his place?
Shames?
Do not talk when I'm talking!
Shames has seen too many war movies.
You crapheads did not listen to a word I said, did you?
Or Peacock?
He tries hard, but he's not cut out to take men into combat.
I'm not making him Company CO when I don't want him as a platoon leader.
- What about Compton? - He's the only real choice.
Buck's a real combat leader, but you know...
...I want Easy to have at least one experienced platoon leader.
Not that it matters anyway, because I can't get rid of Dike.
We all know who you'd like to have running Easy.
Trouble is, it's not your job anymore, Dick.
You've gotta find somebody.
We agreed Buck would've been the best choice...
...if Winters had been able to get rid of Dike.
But Buck wasn't the same as before he got shot in Holland.
He was more serious.
- He had a Luger in his pants. - Jesus.
Don't you two do something stupid like that, all right?
- We'll try not to, Buck. - I mean it.
And you, Wild Bill.
I've invested too much goddamn time shaping you into something useful.
- You do something crazy... - I know, you'll kill me.
Even if you're dead, I'll still kill you.
I'll see you later. I'm gonna check on the other guys.
- Crazy Joe McCloskey. - What?
This guy used to hang out at Delancey's and stare at people.
I know who Crazy Joe is. What's that got to do with anything?
Buck kind of reminds me of him now.
- What? - Ever since he got shot in Holland.
Wait. What are you saying, he's nuts? Because Crazy Joe was nuts.
I'm not saying he's nuts. I'm just saying... .
What? What are you saying?
- Forget it. - What?
Forget it. Come on, you've seen him, Bill.
- He's all wound up like a spring. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's fine.
It wasn't getting shot that got him, it was that hospital.
- I've been there, okay? It ain't pretty. - Yeah.
Besides, once he was up and around, he was his old self again.
I'm telling you, Buck Compton's fine.
- I'm serious. - Sure. Nothing stupid.
- We got it, right? - We got it.
All right. George?
Nothing stupid, Buck.
Who is he talking to?
Morons who volunteered to jump out of a good airplane. Can you get more stupid?
- Probably not. - Right.
- I swum across the Niagara once. - Yeah.
- I swear. On a bet. - What, in a barrel?
No. I didn't go over the falls. I swam across the river.
- I don't know. - Ten miles up.
- That current is damn strong. - Yeah.
Must have carried me two miles downstream, but I got across.
Now, personally, I didn't think it was all that stupid...
...but my mom, my sister Ruth, they gave me all kinds of hell.
- Yeah, I bet, Muck. - So did Faye.
- Sweet Faye Tanner. - Shut it, George.
They had a point. You're an idiot.
I heard about Hoobler. Shame.
Yes, sir. It is.
- Is that the Luger? - Yes, it is.
- What are you gonna do with it? - I don't know yet.
- Where you from? Where'd you grow up? - Huntington, West Virginia.
- Huntington? - Yes, sir.
I don't know it.
What kind of work did you do there?
My brother and I helped my mom run a boarding house.
And your father?
He was killed when I was 10, sir. Automobile accident.
That's sad.
Why'd you decide to join the paratroopers?
I read an article about paratroopers in Life.
Talked about the training, how hard it was.
It said if you wanted to make it, you had to be the best.
And I wanted to fight with the best, sir.
You miss it?
- Miss what? - Huntington.
Honestly, sir, I try not to think about it that much.
Where are you from, s...?
- Captain Nixon, sir? Captain Nixon? - What?
Sorry to disturb you. This came from Division.
All right.
- Morning. - Eviction notice?
Something that'll help your leadership problem.
- Dike's transferred? - I can't help with that.
Division has decided to pluck one officer from each regiment...
...that served in Bastogne, send him to the States on a 30-day furlough...
...get him banging the drum for the war bond drive.
Turns out I've been plucked.
- That's fantastic, Lew. Good for you. - Thank you.
- How does your leaving help? - I'm not going.
I've seen the States. That's why I came to Europe.
Wish they'd told me there was a war. Anyway, this thing's wasted on me.
But I'm sure we could find an officer who could use a trip home.
Peacock, I can't think of anybody who deserves this more.
Thanks.
- Really glad that you're going home. - Best news I've heard in weeks.
Hell of a guy.
Thanks, guys. It really means a lot, you know?
Get out of here. Three cheers for Lt. Peacock.
Hip, hip, hooray. Hip, hip, hooray. Hip, hip, hooray.
If they come here, smile for the camera.
Got to keep morale up for folks back home.
- Why? - Damned if I know.
What's waiting for us in Foy?
At least one company from the 10th Panzer Grenadiers.
They've got one 88, although we haven't been able to spot it.
- Armor? - As of last night, three Tigers.
- Would you excuse me a moment, sir? - Yeah.
How do I feel about being rescued by Patton?
Well, I'd feel peachy if it wasn't for one thing.
We didn't need to be fucking rescued by Patton. You got that?
- Joe. - Sir.
Excuse us for a moment.
Sorry, sir.
Sorry about what? Patton? I couldn't agree more.
- What are you doing? - I want to head back.
You don't have to. Get back to the aid station.
I'd really like to head back with the fellas, sir.
- All right, then go. - Thank you, sir.
Joe had been at the aid station for three days...
...and everybody was glad to have him back. Especially Bill.
- Hey, Joe. - Hey, Bill.
- What you doing back here? - Making sure you're on top of things.
I'm on top of things. Tied me own boots once last week. All by meself.
- Look who I found. - Joe Toye, back for more.
How are you, Joe?
- Good. Escaped from the aid station. - Where'd you get hit?
- What's that? - It's Webb. Replacement.
Thought it was some guy I've known for years and forgot.
Joe got hit in the arm. Gift from the Luftwaffe.
- Lot of you been injured? - It's called wounded.
Injured is when you fall out of a tree.
There's enough crap flying around, you're bound to get dinged.
Almost every one of these guys have been hit once.
Except Alley. He's a two-timer. He landed on broken glass...
...and got peppered by a potato masher.
Bull got a piece of exploding tank in Holland.
And George Luz here has never been hit. You're one lucky bastard.
- Takes one to know one. - Consider us blessed.
Liebgott got pinked in the neck in Holland.
Next to him, that's Popeye.
He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy.
Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland.
Easy Company tradition, getting shot in the ass.
Even 1st Sgt. Lipton, he got a couple pieces of tank shell burst.
One chunk in the face. Another chunk almost took out his nuts.
- How are those nuts, sarge? - Doing fine, Bill. Nice of you to ask.
On January 3rd, most of E Company headed to our old position in the woods.
A few men remained attached to D Company to hold the line.
Good luck, ladies.
Been nice knowing you.
- Wouldn't drink if I were you. - Be careful if he offers a cigarette.
If who offers us a cigarette?
- Speirs. - Who?
Lieutenant Speirs.
Lieutenant Ronald Speirs was one of the platoon leaders. He was a legend.
- The stories are all bullshit anyway. - What stories?
What stories?
Supposedly Speirs shot one of his men for being drunk.
You're kidding! That's unbelievable.
There's another one about him giving cigarettes to 20 POWs...
...before killing them. - He shot 20 POWs?
I heard it was 30.
- Christenson. - Lieutenant Speirs.
- I got the name right, didn't I? - Yes, sir.
- What are you men doing out here? - We're watching the line, sir.
You might want to reinforce your cover.
Lieutenant Dike said not to.
- That we're only gonna be here one day. - Lieutenant Dike said that?
Then forget what I said.
Carry on.
Anyone care for a smoke?
You?
Late in the afternoon on January 3rd...
...we returned to our old position in the woods.
You gotta be fucking kidding me!
Someone's gonna fucking die.
Look at this shit! Those 1st Battalion fuckers took a dump in my foxhole.
Think they shit in everyone's foxhole, Joe.
I don't think they wanted to spend much time aboveground.
The Germans had been shelling our old position.
There were signs of tree bursts everywhere.
Light and noise discipline. We're getting close.
Across the field, I could see enemy troops.
I still couldn't see their artillery, but I knew it was down there.
The Krauts have been pounding this area with 88s.
- They got this whole stretch targeted. - Maybe they've got a new target.
- No, they're waiting. - For what?
- For us to reoccupy the position. - We should fall back.
It's our job to hold the line here. We just need to fortify the covers.
- If they've got us targeted, maybe... - We hold the line here. Lipton's right.
We're gonna strengthen our covers and hang in.
We're not gonna fall back. Right, lieutenant?
- Right, lieutenant? - Fine. You all take care of it.
I gotta go talk to Regiment.
- We better get moving. - Yeah.
- Here you go. - Thanks, Lip.
- I'll get you more branches. - I appreciate that.
Incoming! Take cover!
Take cover!
They're 88s.
Come on, find some cover!
They've got us zeroed!
Find some cover. Find a foxhole. Come on, take cover!
- Get in the holes. - Take cover!
Come on, find some cover!
Take cover!
Shit.
Come on, find some cover. Find some cover!
For some reason, all I could think about...
...was the Fourth of July when I was a kid.
I loved to make my own firecrackers, cherry bombs, ladyfingers.
I loved to blow up dirt clods and pop bottles. Looked forward to it all year.
That day, I saw the most awesome display of firepower I'd ever seen.
I wouldn't have laughed if I'd known what happened to Joe Toye.
- We should see if anybody's hit. - That's what they want.
Krauts will try to draw us out in the open.
Stay in your foxholes. Stay in your foxholes!
Can you walk? Find a foxhole.
I gotta get up.
I need my helmet.
- I need help! - You hear that?
- I need help! - Is that Joe?
Yeah, I think that's Joe.
Stay.
- Stay down! Stay down! - Stay down! Stay in your foxholes!
- Stay in your foxholes! - Help!
- Help! Anyone there? - Jesus.
I gotta get up. I gotta get up.
Shit. Come on, Joe. Come on, buddy. Come on. Come on, pal.
You said you'd get to the States before me.
You ain't going anywhere. You're okay.
- I gotta get my helmet! - Forget it, Joe.
- Anyone there? Help! - Hang on.
- Who's that? - Heff! Babe!
- Hang on. - Come on, get me out of here, Lip!
I gotta get to the hole!
- I got you. Come on, Joe, I got you. - I gotta get to the hole!
Come on, Joe.
Hang on.
- You okay? - Yeah.
Come on. Come on!
Think I overdid the cover for my foxhole?
- Incoming! - Incoming!
Take cover!
Come on! Come on! Hurry up!
Guarno! You're gonna get bombed! Come on! Come on!
Move it, Bill! Move it.
- Come on, Joe. - Hold on, I'll be there! I'll help!
No!
Medic!
During the second barrage, I wasn't laughing anymore.
Lip!
Are you okay?
Stay down!
- You stay down! - 1st Sgt. Lipton?
You get things organized here. I'm gonna go for help.
What the fuck?
- Where is he going? - I don't know.
Get Battalion on the line to notify BAS.
Battalion's up, Lip.
Medic!
Stay ready! They might be trying to come through.
- You okay, One Lung? - Sergeant!
How you doing, Popeye?
Hundred percent ready to kill Germans, Lip!
- Doc, what can I do? - Hold this.
- You got a smoke? - Yeah.
Jesus. What's a guy gotta do to get killed around here?
- Bill, you go first. - Whatever you say, doc.
Over here. Take this man.
- Hey, they got old Guarnere this time. - We got you, soldier.
Just lie back.
Hey, Joe, I told you I'd beat you back to the States.
Hey, Lip.
How's Buck?
- Luz, how's Buck? - He's fine.
- You sure? - Yes, he's fine.
I think you should probably go talk to him.
All right.
Some say Buck changed after he was shot in Holland. Maybe.
Something happened to him when he saw Toye and Guarnere on the ground.
The report said Compton was being taken off because of bad trench foot.
Didn't say anything about him losing his friends.
Buck was a great combat leader.
He was wounded in Normandy and again in Holland.
He received the Silver Star for taking out those German guns.
He took everything the Krauts could throw.
Lieutenant Compton?
"UCLA did not make the Rose Bowl, probably because you weren't there.
I'm sure you're teaching your young soldiers the joy you have of the sport.
How we all know what an exciting young man you are, how your heart and love..."
I guess he just couldn't take seeing Toye and Guarnere all torn up.
No one ever thought any less of him for it.
Hey, Bull.
With Buck off the line, there was no alternative to Dike.
At least none we could see.
Thanks.
Hey, Muck.
- Muck. I'm looking for Lt. Dike. - Yes, sergeant.
We were stuck with Dike. And he was off taking a walk.
Lightning Six, Kidnap.
We've cleared all the green area... .
We'd cleared the woods east of Foy.
Later, E Company and the rest of the 506 cleared the woods west of Foy.
There was little resistance.
- We have KIA. - Thirteen.
You fellas know I got no reason to bullshit you, right?
Look, this is what I saw.
It was so unbelievable you might not believe me.
You-know-who runs up. No helmet, no gear, nothing.
" 1st Sgt. Lipton, you organize things here, and I'm gonna go for help."
"I need to polish my oak leaves."
- Hey, Luz. - Complete asshole.
- That's really good. - Fellas.
- Good night, all. - See you, Luz.
Sarge?
Two things. First, great impression of Dike.
- I thought it was off. - You got it pretty good.
Second, don't do it anymore, especially the part about what he said to me.
- It doesn't do anybody any good, okay? - I got you.
All right.
Wiseass.
Incoming!
Luz! Luz! Come on! Luz! Hurry!
Move! Luz!
Stay down! Stay down! Come on! Get in here! Luz, come on!
Luz! Come on, Luz! Come on!
Come on! Luz!
- Muck and Penkala! - What?
Muck and Penkala got hit!
Medic!
- Hashey! - Shit, it's my shoulder.
Come on! Get up! Move!
Stay down! Incoming!
- I thought you didn't smoke. - I don't.
The shell that hit the foxhole Luz and I were in was a dud.
The one that hit Muck and Penkala's foxhole wasn't. That's the way it was.
Muck and Penkala were good men.
Their death hit Malarkey hard.
His best friends were Compton, Muck and Penkala.
In less than a week, he'd seen two of them die.
- The word? - The men on the line are okay.
Food has been resupplied.
We'll hunker down. We might get relief soon.
Okay? All right.
Later that day, we were in our old position overlooking Foy.
We were all worried about Malarkey.
Hey, Malark?
Didn't I hear you say you wanted to bring a Luger home to your kid brother?
Well, why don't you give him that?
- It's Hoob's, right? - Yeah.
Yeah, I was gonna get rid of it, but I... .
I don't know.
Captain Winters was wondering if you wanted to go back to Battalion...
...and work as his runner for a few days.
Tell him thanks. I'm gonna stay here.
Why don't you come back for an hour or so, say goodbye to Buck?
I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him.
All right.
You be careful with that.
Getting 50 yards back for an hour...
...could make a big difference in a soldier's state of mind.
The morning after the shelling...
...I saw a soldier try to dig a foxhole with his bare hands.
He didn't notice that he had torn off his fingernails.
I got him out of there quickly. Not for his sake, but for ours.
Fear is poison in combat. Something we all felt but didn't show. You can't.
It's destructive, and it's contagious.
Told you I'd get you started.
Buck was never the same after Toye and Guarnere got hit.
I guess he just needed some time away from it all.
The January 3rd barrages and January 9th shelling...
...marked the low point for the men in E Company.
Even then, very few actually broke.
But I knew the terror and pressure we'd been under could take their toll.
I was afraid the men would lose focus, suffer a drop in morale.
And that was dangerous, especially in combat.
More of which lay in store for us.
We'd cleared east and west of Foy.
It was time for the inevitable assault on Foy itself. I was dreading it.
The men who trained at Toccoa wouldn't get through unscathed.
I was beginning to wonder if any of us would make it through at all.
We would lead the attacks. The problem was, in my estimation...
...E Company still did not have a leader.
Before the attack, I did something I'd never have imagined myself doing.
Lip!
- Didn't figure you for a smoking man. - Neither did I.
D Company, Lieutenant Speirs, patrol order.
So?
We've been watching Foy, not much activity.
- Want a coffee? - No, thank you, sir.
- How's Easy's status? - The men are good. Prepared.
I lead 2nd Platoon tomorrow.
They're the weakest after losing Toye and Guarnere and Muck and Penkala.
I have every confidence in the men.
Good.
But on the other hand, I have no confidence in our CO.
Lieutenant Dike is an empty uniform, captain.
He's just... . He's not there, sir.
- He'll be there tomorrow. - I understand he'll be there physically.
Tomorrow will be the real deal. He'll have to lead those men.
He's gonna have to make decisions, sir, and...
...I think he's gonna get a lot of Easy Company men killed.
- Thank you, sergeant. That'll be all. - Yes, sir.
I said what I had to say. There was nothing Winters could do.
Couldn't remove a well-connected company CO...
...because of the misgivings of a first sergeant.
You got an eighth of a mile to cross before you get into Foy.
There's very little cover.
Two sections of machine guns will give you cover.
3rd Battalion will come from the east to cause distraction.
D Company will be in reserve.
The point is, you gotta move in there fast.
Before they can bring their mortars and artillery down on you.
- Clear? - Clear.
I'm relying on you. Get it done.
- Covering fire! - Let's go. Keep it moving.
Suppressing fire!
- Go, go, go! - Keep moving!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Suppressing fire! - Feuer!
Keep them tight, Shames!
- Keep moving! - Keep moving!
Krauts in the open!
Keep moving! Keep moving!
Three inside!
Wait a minute. Where's Foley?
- Randleman! - Coming through! Run!
Liebgott!
Where the hell is 1st Platoon?
- Hold up! - Keep moving!
Easy Company! Hold up!
- 2nd Platoon! Hold up! Hold up! - Will you move?
- Get me Foley on the radio. - Move!
- Sir, I think we should take cover. - Find some cover! Find some cover!
What?
- Easy Red, Easy... - Six, over.
Six, Easy Red. Go ahead.
Easy Red, stand by for the Six.
Foley, you get back here where I can see you, goddamn it!
1st Platoon, hold up! Hold up! Take cover! Martin!
- Come with me! - With you, sir.
Feuer!
Fall back! Fall back!
Take cover!
- Goddamn it. - Go forward!
- Herron, on me. - Move back.
Stay on my ass.
- Hold fast, 2nd Platoon! - Follow Lipton! Take cover!
What are we doing? Why are we stopped?
Fall back! Fall back!
Roger, Kidnap. Stand by for Six.
- Lieutenant, what's the plan? - I don't know!
Get Dike on that radio now!
- What's the plan? - Captain Winters, sir.
- Give us a plan! - Okay. Foley, take your men...
Take your men around the village and attack from the rear.
We cannot stay here!
Want 1st Platoon to attack by itself?
- We'll provide suppressing fire. - We'll be alone out there.
We will provide suppressing fire!
Get going forward!
You need to talk to Captain Winters, sir.
Sir! Okay, here it is.
We go on a flanking run and attack from the rear.
Take them. Find cover behind this table.
Go! Go!
- Shit! - Jesus Christ.
Webb, move up! Find cover!
Suppressing fire now!
Perconte! I got you!
Give me some cover.
- How you doing, Perconte? - They shot me in my ass!
- Stay down. - We lost five men. Can you locate?
- The building with the caved-in roof! - The building with the caved-in roof!
Sir, we are sitting ducks here. We have to keep moving!
- You've got to keep moving! - Dick! Captain Winters!
You do not go out there! You're the battalion commander. Get back here!
- I understand your attachment to Easy... - Speirs! Get yourself over here!
Go relieve Dike and take that attack on in.
- Go, soldier! - Webb, fall back. You're too exposed!
- Fall back! Fall back! - Come on, Webb! Let's go, kid!
- Hang on, Perco. - Feuer!
- What are we doing? - Let's go!
- I'm taking over. 1st Sgt. Lipton! - Here!
- What do we got? - The company is spread out here.
1st Platoon tried an end-around.
They're pinned by a sniper in that building.
I want mortars and grenade launchers. I want 1st to go straight in.
- Everybody else, follow me. - Thank God!
- Move it! - 3rd Platoon, let's go! Go!
You heard the word. 2nd Platoon on the CO!
- Sergeant Alley! - Got it, sarge!
Okay, 1st Platoon! Move out! Move out!
- On your feet, 2nd Platoon! - Move out!
Get on your goddamn feet! Move it! Come on!
Come on, let's get the bastards! Right flank!
Feuer!
- Come on, move out! - Fire!
- Feuer! - Take cover!
Feuer!
- Go, go, go! - Come on! Come on!
Radio, get over here.
- Take cover! - Fire!
Sir.
Lipton.
Streetfight, ltem. Easy Six. Over.
- What do you see, Lipton? - Armor and a lot of infantry.
I Company's supposed to be on the other side.
- Radio, anything? - No.
If we don't connect with l, they'll slip away.
- That's right. Wait here. - Item! Ltem! Easy Six.
What the hell?
At first the Germans didn't shoot at him.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
That wasn't the astounding thing.
The astounding thing was, he hooked up with I Company and came back.
We took over 100 German prisoners. After that, it was mostly cleanup.
Let's go, move it. Move it. Take them down to the barn.
Sit down!
- Sniper! - Take cover! Take cover!
Come on! Come on!
Where is he?
Shit. I can't see him.
Second floor, building on the right.
Don't miss, Shifty. Now!
Over here. I need help. Can you guys come here and help me?
Mellet, Herron, Sowosko and Ken Webb were killed by a sniper.
There would have been more if not for Shifty.
Work your party, walk your wounded to the aid station.
Let's not just lollygag. Keep this moving.
- Get these boys to the aid station. - Okay, sergeant.
- You hit bad, Perconte? - Beautiful wound, Lip.
Shot me right through my ass.
- Hey, sarge? - Yeah.
- Is it true about Dike? - Yeah.
- Thank God for small mercies! - Yeah.
We'd been looking at Foy for a month knowing that's where we had to go.
It was a great relief to have done it.
The men thought once we'd taken Foy...
...they'd get us off the line, ship us back to Mourmelon.
But that wasn't to be.
Two days later, we took Noville and after that, Rachamps.
We spent our night in Rachamps in a convent.
It was the first time we'd spent a night indoors in a month.
The sisters brought in their choir to sing for us. It was heaven.
The mood of the men was relaxed.
We were finally being relieved and would soon be in Mourmelon.
In the morning, we found out Mourmelon would wait.
Hitler had launched a counteroffensive.
We were bound for Hagenau to hold the line.
But for that night, we didn't know it yet. That night, we were okay.
I tried to make a roster for the company to see who we had left.
We'd come into Belgium with 121 men and officers plus 24 replacements.
That's 145 total. We were going out with 63.
Guarnere was badly wounded, and Hoobler died accidentally.
Joe Toye had lost his leg.
Among the dead were Herron, Mellet, Sowosko, Kenneth Webb...
...Harold Webb, Alex Penkala and Skip Muck.
A month in Belgium cost us one good officer, Buck Compton...
...and one bad one, Norman Dike.
But we gained a good one in the end, so I guess we came out ahead.
- What is it? - Nothing.
I better get back to Battalion before they disappear.
- You wanna ask me, don't you? - Ask you what?
You wanna know if they're true, the stories about me.
With stories like that, everyone heard it from someone who was there.
When you ask that person, they say they heard it from someone who was there.
It's nothing new.
If you went back 2000 years, you'd hear centurions...
...yakking about how Tertius lopped off the heads of Carthaginian prisoners.
Maybe they kept talking about it because they never heard Tertius deny it.
Maybe Tertius knew there was value to men thinking...
...he was the toughest son of a bitch in the whole Roman Legion.
Sir?
These men aren't concerned about the stories.
They're just glad to have you as our CO.
They're happy to have a good leader again.
I've heard they've always had one.
I'm told there's been one man they could count on.
Led them into Bois Jacques, held them together as they were shelled.
Kept their spirits up, kept the men focused, gave them direction.
All the things a good combat leader does.
Do you have any idea who I'm talking about?
- No, sir. - Hell, it was you, first sergeant.
Ever since Winters made Battalion, you've been the leader of Easy Company.
Oh, and you're not gonna be first sergeant much longer, first sergeant.
Sir?
Winters put in for a battlefield commission. Sink approved.
You should get the official nod in a few days.
Congratulations, lieutenant.
Hey, look, it's 1st Battalion.
- Hey! Hey! - What do you want?
Thanks for crapping in our foxholes.
- Hey, it's our pleasure. - Yeah.
Enjoy the walk, boys.
There they go, Easy Company, riding out again.