Garand Picture of the day - Albert Blithe 101st 82nd

[Mark in Rochester]

He was featured in the Stephen Ambrose book and subsequent HBO mini-series Band of Brothers as one of the Easy Company paratroopers featured in the third episode "Carentan".Both the book and the mini-series indicate, in error, that he did not survive his war wounds, and overlook his many years of further military service with paratrooper regiments.

1) Blithe at Camp Toccoa
2) Blithe Bullet from shoulder wound
3) 1958 trooper of the year


More here
http://www.506infantry.org/his2ndbnwwiiphoto24.html

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Dan Shapiro]

Very interesting! Turns out that I was stationed at a unit about 200 miles at the time of his death.

[Tom Doniphon]

How could Ambrose and the Band of Brothers mini-series have gotten Blithe's fate so wrong?

[Bob Womack]

The series used Ambrose's work as their historical reference and he went right to the horses mouths for much of his history. He was wounded and never came back to the unit so you know how rumor flies. Of course, the series took a little license in some of the cases but I think this was simply a mistake.

Bob

[Mark in Rochester]

The series used Ambrose's work as their historical reference and he went right to the horses mouths for much of his history. He was wounded and never came back to the unit so you know how rumor flies. Of course, the series took a little license in some of the cases but I think this was simply a mistake.

Bob

According to Blithe's sworn affidavit signed by the court officer he jumped in Holland (Sept 1944) - the trouble with getting history from the movies is that it is not always true. Like any historian Ambrose is subject to minor errors

[Milsurp Collector]

How could Ambrose and the Band of Brothers mini-series have gotten Blithe's fate so wrong?

The series used Ambrose's work as their historical reference and he went right to the horses mouths for much of his history. He was wounded and never came back to the unit so you know how rumor flies. Of course, the series took a little license in some of the cases but I think this was simply a mistake.

Bob

Talk about getting someone's fate wrong: the Band of Brothers miniseries showed Lt. Norman D y k e lying dead after the attack on Foy. Not only did he survive the attack, he was promoted and served as an aide to General Maxwell Taylor, the CO of the 101st Abn.

[Sully]

Talk about getting someone's fate wrong: the Band of Brothers miniseries showed Lt. Norman D y k e lying dead after the attack on Foy. Not only did he survive the attack, he was promoted and served as an aide to General Maxwell Taylor, the CO of the 101st Abn.

Milsurp,

I've watched BoB, perhaps too many times...even my wife can name all the players! Never saw Dike lying dead, but I do see new things when I watch each time. Could you describe that scene?

I'd heard that Ambrose was a little loose on details at times. It is very interesting to have read all the biographies put out by the different people represented in BoB such as Compton, Malarky, Winters, etc. Get the low down on the specific instances and each through those particular eyes...and adds to the movie when you see it...again.


Thanks,

Sully

[Milsurp Collector]

Milsurp,

I've watched BoB, perhaps too many times...even my wife can name all the players! Never saw Dike lying dead, but I do see new things when I watch each time. Could you describe that scene?

In Part 7, The Breaking Point, at the 1hr1min35sec mark:






At the 1hr2min4sec mark there is this bit of dialog:

PICANTE
Hey sarge...

LIPTON
Yeah

PICANTE
Is it true about Dike?

LIPTON
Yeah

PICANTE
Thank God for small mercies, huh.

LIPTON
Yeah

At the 1hr5min5sec mark there is this dialog:

LIPTON (V.O.)
Our month in Belgium cost us one good officer, Buck Compton, and one bad one, Norman Dike

[Tom Doniphon]

"He was wounded and never came back to the unit so you know how rumor flies"

That's all the more reason to do proper research and not rely on someone's speculation. IIRC, Ambrose states in his book that Blithe did live for a short time after the War but eventually died from his injuries. Obviously not the case.

I'll be the first to say that I really like Ambrose's books. But, someone really messed up and didn't do their homework on this fact.

[edpm3]

Small world. MSG Blithe's battalion commander in 1967 was my DISCOM commander seven years later.