#battle of bloody gulch

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

Five years later, while enrolled in an Advanced Infantry Officer’s Course at Fort Benning, Speirs reflected on his own shortcomings and successes in a revealing assessment of his platoon at Carentan. The thirty-two-page monograph concluded with these judgments:

LESSONS

The following lessons were brought out by the operation:

Strategic use of airborne is essential. The attrition of trained parachutists in extended ground combat operations as infantry is wasteful and should be avoided.

When assigning missions to lower units, the commander must consider the comparative strength of his units as reduced by previous casualties.

Bravery in combat must be recognized by decorations and awards. Morale is raised and incentive provided to perform well in future combat.

Tables of Organization and Equipment must be constantly revised to increase the fighting strength and capabilities of the unit.

Flank security during night movement is essential, regardless of the effect on speed and the physical condition of the men.

In night movement all men must be alert to keep contact both to the front and to the rear.

When in contact with the enemy at night, one-half of the unit must be alert and in position to repel attacks.

Intelligence agencies must keep commanders informed of the enemy indications. Commanders can then adjust their plans in accordance, avoiding the possibility of surprise by the enemy.

Wounded men must be carried along when a unit is forced to withdraw.

The hand grenade should be used to full advantage in close combat. The present hand grenade is too heavy for long throws, and, too, it cannot easily be carried in sufficient number for a sustained fight.

Soldiers must learn that an enemy assault is repelled by fire power alone. When individual targets cannot be located, continuous area fire must be used.

Units are forbidden to withdraw without orders however desperate the situation. Unit commanders must keep higher headquarters informed of the amount of enemy pressure, and request authority to withdraw prior to movement.

Most poignant of Speirs’s observations was his self-condemnation for disregarding Dielsi’s plight. “The platoon leader is to be severely criticized for failing to carry the wounded man back as the platoon withdrew from the house on the thirteenth,” Speirs wrote. “His assumption that the man was dead does not excuse him. His expectation of another enemy assault and his fear that this would find the platoon with no ammunition were the factors causing this grave mistake.

~ Jared Frederick & Erik Dorr

[bloodstainedsaint]

the sniper (joseph liebgott x sniper! reader)

summary: when you transferred from dog company to easy company following the battle of bloody gulch, you thought you knew what to expect of men in the military— though you really wanted joe liebgott to prove you wrong

word count: just over 3500

warnings: period-typical sexism & misogyny (big part of the story), very minor violence, denying feelings, mutual pining, reader lowkey has trust issues, full of other characters but hopefully no one's ooc?? also this fic is kinda messy 😭

notes: happy thanksgiving! enjoy this fic for the holidays 💞 also your favs AREN'T sexist, just confused

Gossip, you realized, was an easy way to kill time for the men of the military, especially with the recent news that there would be a transfer to Easy Company— the transfer being you, of course. You had no idea you were such a hot topic until you walked down a street of Aldbourne in search of the man currently in charge of your new company, Lieutenant Winters, and overheard a trio of soldiers discussing rumors as they sat around awaiting orders.

“Hey, have you heard that there’s a transfer coming from D-Company?” one said, lighting a cigarette.

“Whew, he must’ve not taken any smokes from Lieutenant Sparky, huh, Don?” another chuckled, stealing the cigarette out of who you guessed was Don’s fingers and puffing for emphasis, much to Don’s displeasure.

Huffing, Don continued, “He’s a sniper, apparently! Better than Shifty!”

“Nah, no one’s better than Shifty,” the third butted in. “Shifty can shoot you right between the eyes blindfolded.”

“Shifty would deny that ‘til he died, Penk,” said the second with a smile.

“It’s true, Skip! Apparently he tracked a target from 1,000 yards away and still got him in the head! Bang! Just like that,” Don said while he mimicked holding a rifle and firing.

“Psh, our boy Shifty could do that, or better: 2,000 yards, right?” Skip nudged Penk with his shoulder.

Penk shrugged. “Length don’t matter, anyway. It’s what you do with the gun, not how far it shoots.”

Skip and Don shared a look and grinned, the latter joking, “Don’t you mean distance, Alex? What, you insecure about something?”

The trio devolved into laughter and banter, but was suddenly quieted as Don patted the others and pointed at you approaching. Several other men standing nearby swiveled their heads to watch as well.

A woman dressed in fatigues, the shoulder of her uniform emblazoned with the Screaming Eagles patch, a M1 Garand slung around her back— they couldn't seem to get their mind around it. Disregarding their curious stares (you’d gotten a lot of them for the past two years or so that you've been enlisted), you walked past the group of spectators.

A couple of men whistled lowly, and a murmur spread through the small crowd. You stopped in your tracks for a moment, eyes downward in thought. Surely one of these men knows where Lieutenant Winters is. You turned on your heel toward the group.

“Afternoon,” you addressed the onlookers, who were now either standing up or gathering around in interest. Your eyes went from man to man, meeting inquisitive and suspicious stares alike, unfazed. “Anyone know where I can find Lieutenant Winters?”

“You, uh, you lost?” a diminutive man — Perconte, his name tag read — asked.

One with a strict face and a glower already etched into it — Martin — stepped into the scattered group. “Who’s asking?”

“Private (Y/N), sir,” you said with a quick salute that was returned. “I’m transferring from Dog Company to Easy Company. I was told to look for a Lieutenant Winters.”

The men exchanged a look amongst each other.

The man from earlier, Don, spoke up with awe apparent in his voice. “You’re a sniper?”

You turned to him with a curt nod. “Yes, I’m a sharpshooter.”

Then a lanky, scrappy-looking guy, Liebgott, entered with a smirk tugging upon his lips. Just by looking at his crooked smile and raised eyebrows, you knew he was going to cause you trouble. Just another man ogling at you like you're nothing but a pretty face. What else is new? “You need help getting around base?”

“No thank you, that won’t be necessary,” you swiftly rebuffed, turning your attention back to the rest of the men. You set them with an expectant look.

“You can find Lieutenant Winters over there at CP,” Randleman, a large red-headed man, said around a hefty cigar in his mouth, nodding his head in the tent’s direction. “If he’s not there, try the mess cabin.”

With a small smile, grateful that someone finally answered your question instead of asking more of them, you thanked him, saluted, and walked off.

As you started towards CP, you heard behind your back, “Did Roosevelt change something while we were overseas? ‘Cause I just saw a lady wearing paratrooper clothing with a rifle ‘round her back.”

“Very astute, George,” someone replied.

You could almost hear the smirk in Liebgott’s voice as he declared, “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“Yeah, come back alive,” another voice — Skip, maybe — chimed in. “Speirs might’ve rubbed off on her.”

You only had a few seconds to mentally prepare yourself before you heard footsteps catching up behind you. Liebgott was now walking side by side with you, matching your brisk pace.

“Hey, (Y/N), right?”

You took a sidelong glance at him. “That’s right.”

“Joseph D. Liebgott. Technician 5th-Grade.”

“And is there a reason why you’re following me to CP, Liebgott?”

“Thought I’d show you around base, get to know you a little.”

“And I thought I declined your assistance,” you said firmly. “I was part of Dog Company; I'm not new around here.”

“Alright, how about introducing you to Easy men when you’re finished?” He threw a smile your way. “They’re curious about you.”

You slightly grimaced at the thought of being at the center of attention for so many strangers. “I’d rather not.”

“Why? They’re great guys. I don’t know about Dog Company men and their Lieutenant Speirs, but Easy men, especially Toccoa men, are different.”

They don’t seem all that different to me. You gripped the strap of your gun a little tighter. “Once again, I’ll pass.”

He shrugged. “You’ll warm up to us.”

A tense silence ensued. You did your best to not seem bothered by it. Usually by this point people gave up and stopped talking to you entirely.

“So, uh,” he began, running his hands through his hair. Of course you weren’t getting rid of him that easily. Your intuition earlier was right. “Why’re you transferring over to Easy? No offense, but we've got a helluva marksman already.”

“I wasn’t given a reason, just an order.”

“That so? Well, maybe you’ll take his place as our resident sniper, huh?”

“Looking forward to it,” you responded drily.

He chuckled. “You’ll fit right into Easy with the rest of the snarkers. Where you from, (Y/N)?”

You eyed him cautiously. “Lansing, Michigan.”

“Get outta here, you serious? I'm from there too!” Liebgott cracked a smile and gazed at you. “Man, I might’ve seen you around and just haven’t realized it. Could've been talking to you years ago.”

You pursed your lips. “It wouldn't have helped your chances, Liebgott.”

Grinning, he said, undaunted, “What chances? We're just talking. I wanna know the lady I’ll be fighting with.”

“You just want to know if I’m single or not. That’s all,” you icily said as the two of you neared the tent.

Apparently found out, Liebgott smiled broadly and stopped a few feet from CP while you continued walking. “Well, are you?”

You turned to face him. “Yes, I’m single, and no, I’m not interested in sleeping with you.”

You couldn’t see the smile melt off his face as you entered the tent, eyes searching amongst all the men and equipment for the tall soldier you’ve seen conversing with Lieutenant Speirs before.

“Private (Y/N),” a voice called. You looked in its direction and finally found Winters.

“Lieutenant Winters.” You saluted.

“You’re the new transfer, right?” he asked, beckoning you further into the tent for some privacy. You were thankful that most of the men here were too occupied with their own duties to notice you.

You followed him to a quiet corner. “Yes, sir.”

“Met the men yet?”

“Some of them.”

“Anyone give you trouble?” he asked gently. “You can tell me.”

You paused, thinking. Nothing past some inquisitive stares and a couple of questions. “No, sir.”

Winters perceived your hesitation. “If that changes, tell me. They're good men, but they might be a bit eager to meet you.”

You nodded. Liebgott certainly was. He analyzed your face for a second before continuing, “Try to get yourself acquainted at dinner before you go into combat with them. That’ll be all, Private.”

You saluted, knowing full well that you’ll most likely try to get a seat by yourself, away from the clamor of the men.

“Thank you, sir.”

-

It turned out that no seat was good enough to escape the onslaught of questions.

You had gotten there early and took a seat at the far end of one of the tables with a book in hand and not much of an appetite. Unfortunately for you, being one of the first ones there instead of a head in a crowd of people singled you out, and eventually you were surrounded by men wanting to know more.

“Hey, this is the new replacement I’ve been hearing so much about, yeah?” Bill Guarnere, or Wild Bill, as they called him, questioned, shoving himself into one of the seats at your table.

“Transfer, Gonorrhea, not a replacement,” Liebgott said from your side. When he had entered the mess cabin, you had attempted to hide yourself with your book, but to no avail. He had beelined toward you, beaming ear to ear as he slid into the seat next to you.

“You into books?” he said, eyes going from you to the book in your hands.

You thought that he might actually surprise you.“Yeah, are you?”

He scoffed lightheartedly. “What, you kidding? I love to read!”

A ghost of a smile graced your face. “What kind?”

“Oh, you know, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, mostly!” he said, seemingly proud of himself, and your smile disappeared.

Soon after that, people swarmed your table. If you were being fair, though, Liebgott had spoken for you for most of the night, making sure you could read in relative peace. If you didn't know any better, you’d say that he was just enjoying you being by his side, but you were still wary of any underlying intentions (let’s say, getting into your pants) he might have.

Yet, out of the corner of your eyes, you saw the way he looked at you from time to time with a small smile upturning his lips, and you wanted to believe he didn't have any.

“Transfer, replacement, whatever,” Bill brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “What I wanna know is—”

“—why she’s a girl?” Liebgott finished. “Jeez, I dunno, she’s only been asked this twelve times tonight.”

“If you’d let me finish,” Bill said with a pointed look at Liebgott as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, “I was gonna ask if she did shoot a Kraut from 1,000 yards away.”

“You’d be giving ole Shifty a real run for his money, ain't that right, Shift?” Joe — the other one, Joe Toye — said from beside Bill, reaching over to another table and shaking one of the guys there.

Shifty, you assumed, looked over and met your eyes with a kind smile. “No, no, I’m sure she's a better shot than me. Y'all give me too much credit.”

“That’s what being humble will get ya.” Bill chuckled and puffed from his cigarette. “Your spot as Easy’s best shot out from under ya.”

The table laughed, and you steeled yourself before uttering in a quiet, yet steady voice, “It was two men.”

A hush descended over the table. Liebgott turned to look at you. “What?”

“Two men. I dropped the first. The other one heard and started running. I dropped him next. Both in the head,” you relayed, without the humor of a storyteller but the gravity of a historian. You didn't know it, but you had a stony look in your eye.

Luckily, you were saved from the stunned silence by a man getting up and reciting a poem, but you could feel Liebgott’s eyes burning into you. With fear? Admiration? You weren’t sure, but you didn't dare look over.

-

Joe Liebgott was nothing if not persistent. For months now, he'd been lingering around you, flirting and striking up conversations with you. To be honest, you never outright said for him to stop (besides that one time in the very beginning when you said you weren’t interested), so you guessed he wasn't overstepping any boundaries.

Still, he seemed determined to get you into his bed.

“C’mon, I think we’d look cute together!”

“That’s what you think, Joe,” George said, squatting next to his friend, “Giving her heart eyes and all. Meanwhile, she looks at you like you're her next target.”

Brushing his teeth, Frank followed the other two’s gaze across the road, where you were happily talking with Bull and Shifty. He spat out the toothpaste residue on the ground beside him and said, counting on his fingers, “Seems like the only people she gives the time of day to are Shifty, Bull, Doc Roe, even Webster.”

“Who, if you'll notice,” George said, gesturing with a cigarette between his fingers, “are all quiet, reserved, well-mannered people. You, on the other hand, got a loud mouth and, uh, what’s it called, Frank?”

“A short fuse,” Frank supplied.

“Yeah, a short fuse. She probably thinks you’re trying to get into bed with her, in which case, you're shit outta luck.”

Frank said, shaking his head, “Scary, that girl. With her rifle and that look in her eyes.”

Liebgott exhaled. “But I’m not tryna just sleep with her! I even gave her some of my favorite comics ‘cause I knew she likes to read.”

“Yeah, real books, Joe— that's why she gets along with Webster!” Frank exclaimed. “You sure you didn't give her the pornos?”

George laughed. “That'd give her the wrong impression.”

Liebgott narrowed his eyes as you giggled at something Shifty said. “You’re right, maybe she doesn't like me.”

Standing up, George sighed and snuffed out his cigarette. “That’s not the point, Joe. I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

“Yeah, like I’m her next target? You told me already.”

“No,” George said with an exaggerated eye roll, “like she wants more outta you. ‘Cause all she's getting is the impression that you wanna fuck her.”

Liebgott stood up as well, still watching as you laughed with Bull and Shifty. George and Frank patted him on the back.

“She’s all yours, buddy,” Frank assured with a sympathetic smile. “She makes heart eyes at you too.”

-

There were only a handful of women selected to serve outside of something like a nurse’s position; you just so happened to be one of them, most likely because of your experience with a rifle. So, you’d gotten used to the lustful ways some men would watch you, or the demeaning ways they would taunt you. You guessed almost all of them had never seen a woman with a combat position in the military before (or by the way some of them acted, ever spoken to a woman at all).

But such men only assumed that you had earned your jump wings by sleeping around with officers. They assumed that they should be able to get in on it too, or that they should condemn you for something you didn't even do, for being unworthy and unskilled all because you were a woman.

It had always been a difficult pill to swallow: your military career would be littered with scathing remarks and crude comments, and you’d have to be strictly professional or closed-off with most men lest you’d be seen as a whore rather than just “scary”. But the hardest fact to accept was the fact that Liebgott, for all the kindness he had shown you, all the times he talked to you like you were a human being— that he most likely had the same intentions as everyone else.

As much as you relished his company, his crooked smile, his jokes, his lingering touches (and as much as you had to pretend you didn't), you had to accept his end goal was for you to warm his bed. And sure, maybe he was more dogged with his efforts than other men were, and maybe your friends in the company had told you that he was a genuine guy, but you just couldn't believe that he had anything else in mind when it came to you.

Maybe all the criticisms thrown your way had affected you more than you thought.

With the success of Operation Pegasus, Bull had dragged you (not literally, though you’re sure he could've) into a pub in the Netherlands for some celebratory drinking.

You didn't drink, and you disliked pubs; the smell of booze and drunken people was often overpowering, but at least you found quiet company with Bull. Across the room from your table, you saw Liebgott staring at you with a smile and a drink in his hand. It seemed as though he had noticed you the second you entered.

“It’s alright if I leave you alone for a second, little lady?” Bull said, chewing on a cigar like usual. “You'll be fine?”

“Sure, Bull. Go enjoy yourself.”

The large man smiled and patted you on the back before leaving to talk to some of the other men in the company.

Not one to mingle, you were only a few pages into your book when you caught the attention of an intoxicated soldier.

“Look who it is,” Cobb said to himself, hardly standing upright. You recognized his voice, seeing as this wasn’t the first time he’s derided you. “Ms. 1,000 Yards, huh. Bet the officers over at Dog Company only made up that story so it looks like you had some use.”

You ground your teeth. Typically, if you didn't give someone like him the satisfaction of an answer, they’d leave you alone. Why defend yourself and give people another word to call you: bitchy?

“What's a woman got to do in the military anyway?” Bottle in hand, he shambled towards you. “Besides suck the dicks of the men who are actually fighting.”

Steadying your uneven breath, you tried to look behind him to find Liebgott, but his body blocked your view.

Taking another swig, he spat, “That why they transferred you over from Dog Company? Those boys got their fill of you and passed you onto us, huh? Fuckin’ good for nothing slut.”

“What the fuck did you just say to her?” You heard Liebgott’s voice and felt relief wash over you.

Cobb turned around, and you caught a glimpse of an incensed Liebgott, a fierce glint to his eyes.

“Tell me what you just said to her.”

“Oh, please, Joe, you trying to get her to suck your cock faster—”

He was interrupted by a fist flying his way, toppling the inebriated man. Liebgott got on top of him and began trading punches before the surrounding men, drawn by the commotion, tried to pull him off of Cobb.

Your eyes were blown wide as you stood there, speechless. Bull found you and pulled you by the arm out of the pub.

“But what about Liebgott?” you said, peering behind you.

Bull shrugged and did the same. “Seems like he was winning anyway.”

That night in your billet, all you could think about was the fury that twisted Liebgott’s face into one you only saw on the battlefield.

And it was all for you.

-

The next day, you searched for Liebgott at breakfast, the table feeling a bit more empty without him taking up his normal spot beside you, but he had found you first, as he usually did.

“Hey, (Y/N), can I talk to you for a sec?” he said, his hand on your shoulder. You turned around in your seat and were met with a slightly bruised Liebgott, a small cut across his nose. Concern filling your chest, you nodded, and his hand held your wrist as he led you out of the mess hall.

“So, uh, about last night,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes searched yours for how you felt about him bringing it up, but he found no hints in your unreadable expression. “I’m sorry for fighting Cobb for you. You're a strong woman, you could handle him yourself—”

Smiling at his uncharacteristic hesitance, you cut his apology short with a peck on the cheek. You pulled away and saw his temporary surprise.

“Thank you, Joe. I appreciated you standing up for me. It means a lot.”

His face broke into the widest beam you've ever seen.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked eagerly, the words spilling out of his mouth before he could even process what they were. “Shit, sorry, that was too soon—”

You answered his question by tenderly holding his bruised face with your hands and bringing his lips to yours. You could feel him grin into the kiss as he pulled you closer, and your heart just about melted.

Maybe you had gotten Joe Liebgott all wrong from the start.

“Great, he’s never gonna wash that cheek again!”

-

taglist: @mads-weasley, @ronsparky, @dcyllom, @malarkgirlypop

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.12 (after 1900)

1914 – World War I: The United Kingdom and the British Empire declare war on Austria-Hungary. 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Halen a.k.a. Battle of the Silver Helmets a clash between large Belgian and German cavalry formations at Halen, Belgium. 1944 – Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema. 1944 – Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people are killed indiscriminately or in mass executions. 1944 – Alen��on is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces. 1948 – Babrra massacre: About 600 unarmed members of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement are shot dead on the orders of the Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province, Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri, on Babrra ground in the Hashtnagar region of Charsadda District, North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan. 1950 – Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre: Seventy-five American POWs are massacred by the North Korean Army. 1952 – The Night of the Murdered Poets: Thirteen prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union. 1953 – First thermonuclear bomb test: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4) using a "layered" scheme. 1953 – The 7.2 Ms  Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed. 1960 – Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched.x 1964 – South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies. 1969 – Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside. 1976 – Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War. 1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. 1977 – The Sri Lanka Riots: Targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed. 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released. 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster. 1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota. 1992 – Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 1994 – Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. 2000 – The Russian Navy submarine Kursk explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing her entire 118-man crew. 2015 – At least two massive explosions kill 173 people and injure nearly 800 more in Tianjin, China. 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 2018 – Thirty-nine civilians, including a dozen children, are killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sarmada, Syria. 2021 – Six people, five victims and the perpetrator are killed in Keyham, Plymouth in the worst mass shooting in the UK since 2010.

[lavenderhunni]

look at these smiley babies

[brownslouchhat]

[lyselkatzfandomluvs]

Band of Brothers screencaps/edits (268/?)

John McGrath

Dec.12: Happy birthday!

[rwood2477]

🇺🇲Remembering the Men of Easy Company: First Lieutenant Harry Welsh ♠️

Harry Francis Welsh of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was 22 years old when he registered for service on October 16, 1940.

Initially, Harry was assigned to Fort Benning with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. While an enlisted man. His commanding officers saw his potential and recommended him for Officer Candidate School.

Welsh was transferred to the 101st Airborne, and was assigned to Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and quickly became friends with 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters.

Harry Welsh jumped into Normandy on D-Day and did not find Easy until the next morning, shortly before the company was given the task of taking Carentan. When he joined the rest of his company, he was placed in charge of 1st platoon after Richard Winters took charge of the company.

On June 12, 1944, he led his platoon on a direct assault into Carentan. He was pinned down until the rest of Easy Company moved into the town, and after taking the town, the Company moved against a German counterattack south of Omaha Beach. His platoon held the line with Easy Company; during the Battle of Bloody Gulch, Welsh ran into an open field with an enlisted gunner, John McGrath, and knocked out a German armored vehicle, with a bazooka. Elements of the 2nd Armored Division arrived in force and drove off the remaining Germans.

After holding the line for another month, Welsh and the rest of Easy Company were relieved and shipped to England for refitting and replacements. He became Executive Officer of Easy Company.

On September 1944, Welsh dropped into the Netherlands for Operation Market Garden and remained there for the duration of the operation.

On December 16, 1944, German armored divisions broke through the American lines in the Ardennes Forest. At this point, Welsh had been reassigned to HQ Company of 2nd Battalion. His Division was then assigned to the defense of the town of Bastogne. During a battle on Christmas Day, Welsh was severely wounded. Harry was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor during his combat action and two purple hearts for injury during combat. 1st Lt Harry Welsh returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and married Catherine Grogan on December 29, 1945. Kitty used Harry's reserved parachute as the fabric for her gown.

Harry retired from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District in 1983. He served both as a teacher and a Director of Pupils. Welsh died of heart failure on January 21, 1995, on his good friend Richard Winters' 77th birthday. Harry was 76 years old. Lest We Forget.

Welsh was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Rick Warden. Pictured below are Winters and Welsh.

♠️We are happy to announce a new live and interactive Band of Brothers cast Zoom event for Band of Brothers fans by the Band of Brothers. The event will be hosted by Band of Brothers cast member Matthew Leitch, who played Sgt Floyd 'Tab' Talbert. Details for this Zoom event can be found on the website www.wehappyfew506.com or by visiting www.facebook.com/WeHappyFew506/

#ww2uncovered #worldwar2 #ww2 #WWII #WorldWarII #wwiihistory #ww2history #greatestgeneration #WWIIVet #USArmy #worldwartwo #usmilitary #WWIIHeroes #WWIIHero #101stairbornedivision #Salute #SaluteToService #HeroesInUniform #101st #easycompany #airbornealltheway #wehappyfew506 #bandofbrothers #aatw #airborne #WilkesBarre #wilkesbarrepa

Original description and photo sourced US Army, www.dday-overlord.com, ancestry.com and www.506infantry.org

[wexhappyxfew]

| CHARACTER STUDY |

>> Private Daniel Jackson [Saving Private Ryan]

>> Sergeant Hazel Parker [The Soldier of Stars - Band of Brothers Fic]

A little while ago, I was talking to Linda ( @wecomrades ) and she had just read of a portion of one of my Band of Brothers fics, The Soldier of Stars, where it portrays my main OC, Hazel Parker, who is a sniper, as whispering prayers each and everytime she shoots her rifle. And so she sent me a message, saying how it was very similar to Private Dnaiel Jackson of Saving Private Ryan. And I was like, OMG THATS WHO SHE IS BASED OFF OF! And well here we are!!

When I first started drafting The Soldier of Stars, it was under a different title, had more characters instead of my 3 now, and was sorta a mess, but I cleaned it up with help from a few writer friends. But Hazel always stayed the same - derived from the character of Private Daniel Jackson of Saving Private Ryan was what I always wanted to go for!! And I did!! For a while I had been planning a sort of almost character study to show Hazel’s similarities to Jackson, but never got the time. But now since our discussion, I have been more inclined than ever to finally do one!! Private Daniel Jackson is also my favorite Saving Private Ryan character, and I just KNEW I had to go along with it!! So without further adieu, please enjoy if you wish!! It’s not much, as I don’t want to spread this out, but it’s my general thought process that I had creating the tiny lil sniper I ADORE with all my heart - Hazel Parker. 💛

INTRODUCTION + BACKGROUND

When I first created Hazel Parker as a character, I wanted to create a quiet, introverted character that people of the more introverted side of the fandom could relate to - who was also a strong female character in her own ways, and also a pretty badass sniper :) So I drew inspiration from Private Daniel Jackson of Saving Private Ryan, pretty heavily - similar ways of seemingly approaching the war, firing their weapon and saying prayers to accompany it, being religious, sort of an quieter personality (they can do their job and do it well). I drew multiple different things from Private Daniel Jackson to add to Hazel Parker as a person and the outcome was exactly what I had hoped to get! 

(1) This Is Just Pure Irony

When Hazel Parker was simply just an idea, with no name, no face claim, nothing really, I just spent time watching war films, gathering ideas, personalities, all of that. The name came to me one night a few minutes before I fell asleep and I really just loved the name ‘Hazel Parker’ together, because I felt it was fairly unique, yet it worked for many, many reasons. And then I went and rewatched Saving Private Ryan and found something out that I LOVED and still LOVE to this day. 

The man who was up with Private Daniel Jackson in the bell tower was named Private Parker. And I honestly just love the irony and connection between that, because then I went and created my own Private [Hazel] Parker. I just loved it because Hazel is based off Private Jackson and then there was that connection and I just loved it! :) 

(2) Religion

Private Daniel Jackson is described as a ‘devout Christian’ and he wears a cross as well as whispers prayers directly from the [King James Version] Bible before shooting his Springfield in combat, which is something paralleled with what I made Hazel do as well as a Christian. 

As a child, Hazel had nowhere to look after her father left and Faith and God were really the only things she could follow after and look to, to guide her she felt because there was nowhere else to go and she felt so lost. This follows her into the war year with Easy Company and eventually into postwar. 

But I used her description of being Christian to show the morals she held in war almost constantly and how she viewed the war and how God was with war. 

One of the most pivotal scenes to describe this moment is between Hazel Parker and Shifty Powers in Bastogne (two who grow to become close friends), where Hazel is talking about how ‘God tells her to love her enemies’, but how can she do that when the enemy does cruel things such as this war? She has a power struggle with her Faith in God and in the reality of war and I present this struggle in many different situations - yet she still remains faithful in the end, which I love. God was there for her through her childhood and through war and she respects that. 

(3) Prayer Whispers

Just like what I mentioned above, a bit, actually is the fact that like Jackson, Hazel is a Christian and similarly whispers prayers before each shot she takes in battle. For how morally coded she is, she is not a fan of death but knows she can not avoid it and whispering a prayer for the life she takes it better than saying nothing in her stance, wishing them well in the afterlife and hope God protects her afterwards for what she has done and committed. 

Private Jackson - Psalm 25:2

“ O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.” 

Corporal Hazel Parker - Not Specified

“ By God, rule me and guide me, ever this day, be at my side, to light and to guard.” 

The examples above are just two excerpts of what both tend to say throughout the course of the book and movie and I think this was the major connection that many people made throughout the course of The Soldier of Stars was how Hazel reminded them of Private Jackson. And I felt super happy that in the end, that was what I had initially hoped for when I had started. It was a nice feeling to have. 

(4) Motives

For me, I felt their motives were also very similar - that is Private Jackson and Corporal Parker. 

In my own interpretation from when I saw Saving Private Ryan, Private Jackson just seemed like the sort of guy, who was there for his friends, highly caring, highly intelligent and skilled, he knew his place, and he had this sort of persona about him that said ‘I’ll go where ever the war takes me, as long as this rifle is in my hand.’ and Hazel is VERY similar to that in many senses. 

Hazel Parker, who doesn’t exactly know her place in the beginning of the fic eventually does find her place, and then remains reliable, intelligent, skilled and focused in her position as she does so - along with the idea of ‘Wherever I go in war, I want my rifle in my hand.” 

( Might I mention that both shoot with Springfield rifles ;) ) 

Even though Private Jackson has much more confidence than Hazel does, his confidence is just an outward confidence of her inward confidence. He speaks it, saying he could kill H*tler from a mile away. Now, Hazel would never say that, but she sure could easily think that. She knows by the middle of the book really she’s good and doesn’t need to say it, she just needs to have that confidence in herself - but it is a very similar sort of confidence overall. 

(5) Just some Fun Facts!

It is said that Private Jackson was born in West Fork, Tennessee and I, coincidentally made Hazel Parker also born in Tennessee in Pigeon Forge! They have a bit of the Southern Charm. 

Like I mentioned above - they both shoot with the exact same sort of Sniper Rifle - the M1903A4 Springfield Rifle and are highly outstanding marksman that both Captain Miller and Major Winters put faith in for the two of them in their separate ways. 

They tend to be able to do solo missions, sometimes with or without a spotter. The M1903A4 Springfield Sniper rifle was used by the US Army during World War 2 and feds a 5 round magazine and is bolt action. And one of the things I liked about this rifle is you didn’t always quite need a spotter for it to be in use - most snipers have a spotter with them for calculations and such - but with this rifle, it is not always required, for if you need to drop and shoot, it still is effective.

Private Jackson does this many times, such as in the very beginning on D-Day on Omaha Beach as well as a bit later on when he faces off with a German Sniper in a downpour in Neuville. And then he continues again in the Bell Tower where he meets his death. 

I portray Hazel as doing a very similar thing when she attacks with Easy Company in Brecourt Manor and is positioned up in a tree, before moving to the first gun - a spotter is not required for her to be effective. She does it again in various moments through out the Normandy Campaign such as during the Battle of Carentan, where she kills from above and in the Battle of Bloody Gulch. We see her again in action in Nuenen and throughout Market Garden and into The Island again where WInters has faith to send her up along the dike away from everyone else to battle. 

The last time we see her in this position is in Bastogne in various, different situations where she is effective and makes it work - one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES actually. It is her night time solo mission to recover the body of Private John Julian, which she does with success and it is I feel one of the most pivotal moments for a character like her because by then we know she can fully handle herself in many, many ways. We see a bit of her inner battle there as well which I love because her mind is highly complex, congested and always in a mind-battle, but I love it and we really get to see her inner thought for what they are. 

And, I also sorta based it on Physical Appearance - neither are exactly the biggest soldiers there - as that is where Hazel got ‘Tiny’ for a nickname really, but being tiny as a sniper works for Hazel because she can move around quickly and hide away easily as well, so her build was based similarly off of Private Jackson’s. 

OH fun fact - it seemed to be that when it came to Jackson’s friends, he was not afraid to quite literally kill for them, Hazel was very much made the same way.

Something that goes off of this is Hazel’s repetition of the ‘bright green-eyed, German soldier’ she killed on her first day in the early hours of the morning. He haunted her in different ways throughout the war (she had killed him with a knife which she had the entire war) and by the end we see her confront the man who shot Chuck and put the knife that killed that German, to the man’s throat. By the end she throws down the knife as a signal that she won’t let the German with the bright green eyes follow her anymore, which gave me, personally, strong Jackson vibes in a way which I loved to write :) 

HEY! so this was sort of my view I took on making Hazel Parker similar to Daniel Jackson in many aspects, just taking important bits and chunks that I noticed and incorporating it like that! I really enjoyed making this and Daniel Jackson had always been a huge inspiration so I was excited to make a character similar to him!! I do this with most of my OC’s in various degrees actually, but this one was on my mind for a while so I was excited to finally do it!! Huge thank you to Linda for being so interested in this topic and hyping me up for it!! I hope you enjoyed, my friend! <3 

[hbowarreferences]

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As categories are added, they appear here. Searching tags and clicking on them is almost always reliable; sometimes I might fail to be too specific (e.g. try the “San Diego” tag for Pendleton posts AND the Basilone beach/wedding/honeymoon scenes). Out-of-focus backgrounds won’t be tagged for location because it’s not that useful. I’m trying my best to label every campaign.

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[aiiaiiiyo]

French people laying flowers on the corpses of American soldiers after the Battle of Bloody Gulch around the Manoir de Donville, southwest of Carentan in Normandy, France, on June 13, 1944. [3120 x 2480] Check this blog!

[lockawayknight]

@axemurderercreighton​

I: oh my god they were teammates

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“No.”

But Pate already knew that.

Magerold looks positively smug when his little chirp of a response forces Pate to sigh tiredly, and even more when it earns a loud, honest laugh from Creighton. It’s been a damn long while since the three of them have been able to simply chitchat like lads, no stress of battles or Bearers, and he’s glad he hasn’t lost his ability to be an outright nuisance over all the years they’ve spent, unfortunately, drifting apart. Although, come to think of it... if he keeps embarrassing Pate like this with his talk of their past adventures (or, rather, their mishaps), he might ensure that they never see each other again...

Eh, fuck it. It’s so worth it. Besides, y’know, something something, real friendships never die, blah blah, they’ve known each other so long, et cetera et cetera, so on and so forth... What’s most important is that Creighton’s given him a strong clap on the back, and Pate is blushing — hard.

Creighton swirls the flask of cheap ale he’s been knocking back all night before taking another swig. He’s fucking loving this dirt. Pate’s such a little shit when it comes to talking about himself — his past, his mistakes, and even, occasionally, his triumphs — but Magerold’s about as good as those damned statues in the Black Gulch when it comes to keeping filth in his mouth. He’s gonna keep spilling Pate’s secrets. And Creighton’s gonna give him a damn bruise if he keeps smacking him in the back with every punchline as hard as he has been. “Fuck off, Pate,” the knight half-slurs, batting a hand at his partner. He then turns back to Magerold with a snicker. “Then wha' happened?”

Pate opens his mouth to protest, but gets his helm rattled by the back of a chainmail-gloved hand before he can. Huff. Coming here was a damned mistake.

Magerold, on the other hand, is also snickering. Seems Pate’s the only one not having the time of this life right now. “Swear m’not gonna lie to ya, but you’re gonna think I am,” he tells Creighton, “cos it was so bloody stupid.”

”Enough,” Pate attempts to command, irritated by the hype, holding a finger out like shush, but he knows there’s no way to get the end of this story from being told. Creighton smacks his hand away and leans further towards Magerold. Pate smacks him back and attempts to lean forward as well. Creighton rotates his entire damn self like a croc trying to dismember a kill, smacking a foot against the guard of Pate’s helmet. Pate groans and leans back against the wall, bracing himself for the inevitable blow to his ego.

Creighton waves a hand for Magerold to continue, which he does gladly. “So’m doin’ me part, right?” he starts up again, leaning forward and gesturing with his hands as he speaks. “Pate’s brilliant plan, he’s up in the rafters, and I’m keepin’ this rich bastard occupied... then we both here this sound like” — he snaps his fingers — “clink!”

Creighton’s already laughing. “Oh fuck...”

“Then this bugger Pate comes tumbling down from the skylight—”

“Ha!”

“—smashes the whole display — all of it! Food and drinks everywhere, the whole bloody congregation turned and looked! Cocked up the whole damn thing cos he was sooo suuure he’d be better fit for stealth than me, ha!”

Creighton’s laughter is more like a hacking cough at this point.

“And you know what the best part is, mate?”

If Pate’s face gets any redder, he’s going to put the Iron Keep’s lava out of commission. “Magerold, I am imploring you to shut the hell up...”

But no luck. Creighton’s foot meets his helmet’s guard again. And Magerold gives a snort. “Y’know I said I heard like a...” — he snaps his fingers again.

Creighton nods. “Yea?”

“Guess what that was, eh?”

Maybe, if Pate groans loud enough, Creighton won’t be able to hear the answer.

“Fuckin’ out with it!”

Magerold snorts like a hog. “This bloke didn’t just slip and fall, he had knocked his bloody face against the rafters!”

Creighton’s practically howling.

And Pate’s pretty much decided he is never speaking to Magerold again.

~

II: idk something about humanity

“Do you ever stop talking?”

Creighton’s eyes snap open, half-crossed as he gives the ceiling a contemplative stare. He then turns to look at the ever-shifting wall of fog with a cheeky grin hidden behind his mask. “What, you got better things to do than listen to me? Heh...”

Not helping. Navlaan would smack him if he could. But he can’t. And, moreover, he... actually doesn’t really want to.

He’s forced to say these sorts of dismissive, standoffish things, though. For others’ sakes as well as his own. If he went around telling stories, laughing at jokes, getting to know people, making friends... Gods know his Master would have his head, as well as the heads of any other parties. In both cases, quite literally.

But the company is so nice... and the Master is so, so soundly asleep right now...

Defeated internally, Navlaan sighs, finally lifting his head from his palms to turn towards the wall of fog. “Unfortunately, no,” he sighs, earning himself a chuckle from the knight across the barrier. The sound is encouraging. It makes him want to say more. He’s not supposed to say more, but... “Honestly, though, if I have to hear any more of your inane prattling, I’m going to go hollow before you do.”

And Creighton laughs louder. It almost makes Navlaan smile. “Eh, maybe that’s a good thing,” the knight says, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back against the wall again. “Maybe then you’ll forget a thing or two. Me being human keeps the spoilsport away, too, dunnit?”

‘The spoilsport’... What a thing to call the nightmare that controls Navlaan’s life. But, honestly, that title is so horrendously inconsiderate of the hellfire he constantly writhes in that it conjures up a snicker within him — breathy, and wounded, but a snicker nonetheless. Pause to think. Then, he shakes his head. “You say that as if you don’t prefer His company,” the sorcerer says, placing his elbows on his knees. “What am I, then, if He’s ‘the spoilsport?’ ”

“The middleman.” It’s said immediately, and without a hint of irony.

Which is horridly wounding, but Navlaan didn’t really expect much different from this guy. He snorts a bit. “Sounds like a lot of trouble to go through, then,” he mumbles.

Creighton pauses to mull the words over. He’s not good at interpreting implications. “What, talkin’ to you?” he asks for clarification, turning to look at the fog once more, though keeping his more casual pose.

Navlaan nods, though the gesture’s practically invisible behind the wall of blue and folds of black.

But Creighton figures it’s there. He shrugs in response to what he’s assuming the silence is saying. “Eh, at least you’re good company,” he says, just as genuine as everything he says. Which is... weird, considering it wasn’t very insulting. “Tha’ bastard what likes to stomp on you’s good for killing time, but I’ve found better conversation in piles of rocks. You’re a fine bloke.”

Navlaan feels the urge to smile again, but he doesn’t. After all, what if the Master is silently watching? What if he’s listening, but keeping his presence unknown? What if he’s going to use this whole kinda-sorta conversation against him later? What if... it’s worth it, if it means having company for once?

He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know a damn thing. And he hasn’t in what feels like centuries. He just doesn’t know.

But maybe...

He pauses in contemplation for far too long before giving a small, soft snap of his fingers, pointing them like fired pistols in the knight’s direction. “For... killing time, eh..?” he lilts, his smirk audible in his tone.

Sigh. Okay, yeah, it’s worth it... if it means being able to make someone laugh this hard.

[nothing-stupid-buck]

Band Of Brothers Character Guide

Band Of Brothers CHARACTER GUIDE

To All You New BoB Watchers Out There...

First of all, WELCOME. We are happy to have you as part of Easy Company.

When I first watched the series, I had a lot of difficulty keeping track of who was who and it made it hard to follow the storyline until the 3rd or 4th round watching it through... so I thought I’d make a bit of a guide for those who have had the same struggle.

(Keep in mind, you may want to read this after you’ve watched it at least once, as many of the characters’ significant plot lines are outlined in spoilers.)

Throughout the series there are different episodes based around different characters’ points of view. As you watch each episode you learn more characters but because it is so accurately portrayed, they had to include as many of the characters as possible so each of them get a little bit of their story shown.

I myself have watched the series over 10 times and still pick up on things each time I watch it. It’s not a series to be watched once if you want to enjoy it to its full extent and understand it thoroughly (which I highly recommend because it is such a great series anyway).

Here is a list of some significant traits about most of the main characters (WARNING: Spoilers May Be Present Ahead):

Major Richard Winters: leader of Easy from D-Day, assumed main character, episodes 1, 2, 5, 10 bases around him.

Captain Lewis Nixon: Winters’ best friend, shortly promoted to an intelligence officer after enlisting (as seen in the first episode), often sarcastic, an alcoholic and loves Vat 69, episode 9 is based around him.

Lieutenant Harry Welsh: platoon leader and officer, replaces Nixon in easy Company in the first episode, noticeable tooth gap, is saving his reserve chute to bring home to his fiancé Kitty (SPOILER: hit by shrapnel in Bastogne at the end of episode 6)

Lieutenant Lynn “Buck” Compton: platoon leader, white blonde hair, first appearance near the end of the first episode, is known to see himself amongst the men rather than as a superior (SPOILER: shot in the behind during the holland campaign, is evacuated after seeing Toye and guarnere lose their legs and suffers battle fatigue, returns in episode 10)

Captain Ronald Speirs: starts off in D company, basically takes the fourth gun by himself on D-Day, rumoured to have shot POW’s on D-Day (although never confirmed), (SPOILER: takes over as the leader of Easy Company in episode 7)

Lieutenant C. Carwood Lipton: can be seen shooting from tree on D-Day, goes out of his way to look after the men, episode 7 is based around him. (SPOILER: gets hit by shrapnel in Carentan in episode 3, becomes the Company first sergeant shortly after, gets promoted to lieutenant at the end of episode 7)

Sergeant Don Malarkey: Sobel calls him ‘Private bulls*it’ in the first episode. Notably said, ‘really? It’s hot in Africa?’ In the first episode while on the boat to England. Runs through an open field on d-day to get what he thinks is a Luger, but he is wrong. Makes friends with a german POW in episode 1 after he discovers they came from the same state back home. (SPOILERS: loses his best friends Muck and Penkala in episode 7 after they are blown up together in their foxhole, is clearly suffering from battle fatigue in episode 8.)

Sergeant Bill Guarnere: discovers his brother has been killed in action a day or two before D-Day, shoots Germans before winters’ command on D-Day, nickname is Gonorrhoea, has a fantastically shaped jawline (literally cracks me up every time he looks around a corner or something) (SPOILERS: tries to drag Joe Toye back to a foxhole during an artillery barrage in episode 7 and gets his right leg blown to bits, remains best friends with babe Heffron until the end of his life)

Corporal George Luz: impersonates Major Horton during training while Sobel is lost, which then results in Sobel cutting a barbed wire fence, often seen imitating either superiors or other easy men, most notably dike and sink, best friends with Perconte, (SPOILERS: never gets hit)

Corporal Eugene “Doc” Roe: called Doc by almost all of the men, heroic medic of the company, episode 6 is based around him, always seen rushing around to help soldiers who have been wounded.

Sergeant Joe Toye: lists everything he has to carry whilst preparing his gear for D-Day, has two grenades go off next to him on d-day but doesn’t get hurt (notably says: Jesus Christ, f*cking twice), (SPOILERS: is in the aid station probably more times than any other easy man as he manages to get hit in just about every battle, gets his right leg completely blown off during an artillery barrage in episode 7)

Corporal Frank Perconte: literally never stops brushing his teeth, quite a bit smaller than most of the others, best friends with Luz, (SPOILERS: gets shot in the behind during the attack on Foy in episode 7, is seen being carried away by Bull Randleman, returns very shortly afterwards)

Sergeant Floyd Talbert: often called ‘Tab’ is seen with a dog in the beginning of episode 5, (SPOILERS: in episode 3 he is stabbed by Smith for waking him up dressed in a german poncho, but recovers, and Gordon writes a poem about the incident, resigns as company first sergeant in episode 10 as he wanted to be back amongst the men)

Private David Webster: episode 8 is based around him, (SPOILERS: gets shot in the leg in Holland in episode 5, and missed the Bastogne campaign, earning resentment from a lot of the men as seen in episode 8)

Corporal Joseph Liebgott: it’s established that Liebgott is Jewish pretty early in the series (he gets into a brawl with guarnere on the boat to England in episode 1) which becomes important later, has a stronger hatred for the Germans than a lot of the other men, (SPOILERS: translates at the Jewish camp, and is seen crying after having to tell the prisoners they are to be locked up again so they can be monitored)

Sergeant Warren “Skip” Muck: best friends with malarkey and penkala, and usually seen beside them, is notably eating ‘kraut cheese’ from a tube in episode 3, and then proceeds to describe the rumours about Speirs to the men, sings a song about having enough socks in episode 5, one of the main jokesters in the group (SPOILER: is blown up and killed in his foxhole with penkala during an artillery barrage in episode 7)

Private Alex Penkala: usually seen besides malarkey or skip Muck, also a jokester, (SPOILERS: gets shrapnel in his arm in episode 6, is blown up and killed in his foxhole with Muck during an artillery barrage in episode 7)

Private Edward “Babe” Heffron: replacement and debut episode is episode 3, almost immediately taken under guarneres wing, (SPOILERS: loses his friend Julian in episode 6 after not being able to get to him through german Fire, and is forced to watch him die, remains best friends with guarnere for the rest of his life after the war)

Private Albert Blithe: episode 3 is based around him, can be seen terrified in his foxhole during the battle of the bloody gulch in episode 3, suffers hysterical blindness, (SPOILERS: is shot in the neck on a patrol at the end of episode 3, and the show incorrectly states the year of his death, he recovered from his neck wounds but died around 20 years later)

Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman: can been seen chewing tobacco often, close friends with Martin, speaks up about Sobel hating easy Company during the march in episode 1, to which winters jokes that Sobel just hates bull, episode 4 is based around him, is seen looking after the replacements when some of the other men turn a blind eye, notably bigger than a lot of the other men in the company (SPOILERS: gets a piece of shrapnel to the shoulder and also gets lost in episode 4)

Sergeant Johnny Martin: is the one who receives the letter about guarnere’s brother being killed in episode 1 and purposely swaps their jackets so guarnere will see the letter, is often called ‘Pee Wee’, close friends with Bull Randleman, spots a tank and tells a British soldier in episode 4, leads a patrol in episode 8, often appears annoyed or serious

Corporal Walter “Smokey” Gordon: wrote ‘the night of the bayonet’ about the incident between talbert and Smith, has multiple Purple Hearts, always on a machine gun, (SPOILERS: is shot in the arm in episode 6 and is paralysed)

Other Characters (brief significant traits)

CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Sergeant Darrel “Shifty” Powers: best shot in the company, never misses

Sergeant Robert “Popeye” Wynn: shot in the behind on D-Day, returns shortly after for holland campaign

Sergeant Wayne “Skinny” Sisk: is seen with multiple wood chunks stuck in his leg in episode 6, notably says ‘Im real sorry frank’ to Perconte after Perconte tells him he got blood on his trousers

Private Alton More: takes the photo album from the eagles nest

Sergeant James Alley: is hit by a grenade and is seen being carried in covered in blood and badly injured at the beginning of episode 5

Sergeant Chuck Grant: shot in the head in episode 10 by another American officer

Colonel Robert Sink: commander of the 506th infantry regiment

Sergeant Pat Christenson: drinks from his canteen on the Friday night march in episode 1 and is forced to repeat the march with no water, usually operating a machine gun

Corporal Joseph Ramirez: knocks down a fence after trying to jump over it in episode 3

Private Roy Cobb: shot in the plane on D-Day, is outwardly hostile to the new replacements, is rude to his superiors while intoxicated in episode 8

Corporal Donald Hoobler: often mentions how he wants to find a Luger to take home, when he gets one in episode 7 he leaves it in his pants and it accidentally fires and hits the main artery in his leg, killing him very quickly

Private Lester Hashey: a replacement in episode 3, best friends with Garcia, gets shot in the arm in episode 7 during the artillery barrage

Private Tony Garcia: best friends with Hashey, replacement at the end of episode 3

Lieutenant Norman Dike: also known as ‘foxhole norman’, takes over easy Company after moose heyliger is accidentally shot by a fellow American soldier, notably useless and makes no decisions, disliked by most of the men, and poorly leads easy Company during the battle at foy, but is relieved by Speirs before the battle is over

SIDE NOTE: some of the ranks may be incorrect or outdated, and I do apologise, I either could not find the correct rank or have remembered it incorrectly.

[ruby-static]

Ruby’s Comic ideas

Hello nerds. I mentioned wanting to make a post talking about a few ideas I have for original comics a bit ago. I’ve been looking for a more original idea to create alongside my current comic @agent-a-cpfancomic​, which is a fan series for Club Penguin, if I can work it out. (I see plenty of webcomic artists that work on two or more projects, so it’s worth looking into in my book.)

So I wanna see which idea has more people interested through a post talking a bit about a few ideas I’ve had floating around. So I hope you read under the cut and see what I have to offer! And, well, there’s a lot. 

The Playhouse

(Sorry I’m only making these sketches as visuals. There are just too many ideas to make full-on illustrations right now so these are just concept sketches.)

Genre: Dark Comedy/Horror Comedy

Format: Webcomic (or ask blog if I can’t work out the story 100%.)

Demographic: Horror/Dark Comedy fans and general edgy weirdos (like me) from around 16+

Premise: There are rumors surrounding the twilight forest not too far from the outskirts of town. Only the worst of people come in, and they rarely come out. At least, not unharmed. They say that the abandoned mansion is home to a great many things. Vampires, ghosts of former residents, demons. Whatever lives there is very defensive of their home, that’s what everyone can agree on. Everyone stays wary of the twilight forest mansion. But it’s all just silly superstition.

...Right?

Hell on Earth

Genre: Supernatural/Comedy/Drama

Format: Webcomic

Demographic: Fans of things like Good Omens and other similar heaven/hell-based stories at around 14-18+

Premise: In the battle against heaven and hell, Satan falls. The death of their king leaves the circles of hell in disarray as the new reign of the antichrist, heir to the throne, has left the demon ranks of the damned on the brink of a civil war. Hell needs re-structuring, and that includes its influence on earth. Especially the presence of... half-demon children. One of these half-demons, Ashe, is living a relatively normal life in a small town in California. Once he meets a strange new kid, Michael, the two of them learn about the side of their families they never knew.

Pretty Midnight Arrow 

(A comic reboot of an old story, Rika Luna.)

Genre: Magical Girl/Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Format: Webcomic

Demographic: Magical Girl fans (particularly fans of the more serious ones like Madoka Magica) at around 13+

Premise: Rika has never really known her place in life. Her entire life, she has shut herself off and continually dwelled on the past. A family death from her childhood she barely even remembers keeps haunting her, and she’s lost not knowing what to do in life other than isolating herself and draw. One chance encounter leads her to find her place: falling down a hill and finding herself in a house of “magical girls”. They tell her it’s destiny, and she reluctantly agrees to go into a life of magic, adventure, and needlessly flashy clothing. After time being a magical girl, she finds out it’s a little bigger than she bargained for. Say, to a galactic scale perhaps? (Magical girls.... in SPACE!) Rika and her new team have to team up to combat against a magical threat bent on corrupting magical girls and trapping them in its dark hivemind.

Dead Man’s Mask

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Horror

Format: Webcomic/Graphic Novel

Demographic: You like (fictional) murder? You like the original comic for The Mask? Here you go, baby. For ages 16-18+

Premise: Alyx is a historian and up-and-coming collector given the task of protecting and restoring a priceless “cursed” artifact: the Dead Man’s Mask. Rumor has it that it was the creation of a secret society that used it to trap the soul of one of its most violent enemies within. And if the mask attaches itself to you, it claims you as its new host. Alyx falls prey to this curse, becoming the vessel to this mask bent on bloody revenge. It will not let anyone get in its way. Alyx fights for control over her own body, but it might just be pointless.

Ghost Town Gulch

Genre: Old West/Action/Comedy/Drama

Format: Webcomic/Graphic Novel

Demographic: I think it’s pretty self-explanatory who this would interest. Age range is 12-18+

Premise: Welcome to the wildest frontier of all: Purgatory. It’s a wild, wild, afterlife. The souls of the dead live in a desert land of skeleton cowboys, sheriffs, bandits, and more. No memory of their past lives, just the fact that they are dead and need to survive in their new world. The only way out of purgatory is to either find out how you lived and died to move on... or die all over again to face the void. There’s one man who wants neither. The stoic bandit, Mad-Sun Ray. He’s just a grumpy man who wants to make a not-so-honest living when he comes across a town in peril. He’s begrudgingly roped into helping save the small town (and maybe purgatory itself) from a great threat. In hopes of a reward, of course! Definitely not out of the secret kindness of his heart. Who gave you that idea?

Cherrywood Creatures

Genre: Horror/Dark-Comedy

Format: Comic Strip (Possibly slightly ask-based)

Demographic: You like random violence and chaotic stories in funny little strips? With a little bit of cutesy spookiness to add a little flavor? This one might be for you! Ages 16-18+ (Think of it as diet The Playhouse, honestly.)

Premise: Cherrywood is the home of many cute and cuddly creatures. It is a place of fun and chaos. And needless violence. Why does the cat have a knife- Didn’t that worm just get killed? Does he remember dying? Where am I? What do they want with me? I want to get out of here, I want to go home-

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.12 (after 1940)

1944 – Waffen-SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema. 1944 – Nazi German troops end the week-long Wola massacre, during which time at least 40,000 people are killed indiscriminately or in mass executions. 1944 – Alençon is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces. 1948 – Between 15 and 150 unarmed members of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement are killed by Pakistani police. 1950 – Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre: Seventy-five American POWs are massacred by the North Korean Army. 1952 – The Night of the Murdered Poets: Thirteen prominent Jewish intellectuals are murdered in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union. 1953 – First thermonuclear bomb test: The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4) using a "layered" scheme. 1953 – The 7.2 Ms  Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed. 1960 – Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched. 1964 – South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies. 1969 – Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside. 1976 – Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the Lebanese Civil War. 1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. 1977 – The Sri Lanka Riots: Targeting the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, begin, less than a month after the United National Party came to power. Over 300 Tamils are killed. 1981 – The IBM Personal Computer is released. 1984 – An infamous brawl takes place at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres. 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Osutaka ridge in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520, to become the worst single-plane air disaster. 1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota. 1992 – Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 1994 – Major League Baseball players go on strike, eventually forcing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. 2000 – The Russian Navy submarine Kursk explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise, killing her entire 118-man crew. 2015 – At least two massive explosions kill 173 people and injure nearly 800 more in Tianjin, China. 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 2017 - The Unite the Right rally occurs in Charlottesville, Virginia, leading to the deaths of 3 and injuring nearly 50 more. 2018 – Thirty-nine civilians, including a dozen children, are killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sarmada, Syria. 2021 – Six people, five victims and the perpetrator are killed in Keyham, Plymouth in the worst mass shooting in the UK since 2010.

[odds-to-endings]

“Far from beaten, on Sunday June 11, the German Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6 withdrew from Carentan and took up positions southwest of the town. The Germans had been joined by the newly arrived 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division...and were planning to break through American lines and recapture St-Côme, thus driving a wedge between Carentan and St-Mère-Église, forcing the 101st Airborne back to the beaches.”

-Ian Gardner, Airborne

For those who have watched Band of Brothers, you can apply the above excerpt to episode 3, “Carentan” - shown in the show is E Company’s refusal to withdraw (credited to Lieutenant Winters, who had yet to receive his official promotion to Captain) after F company withdrew, which forced D company to also withdraw - exposing E co’s right flank. On the other side of F company (to F’s right) was 3rd battalion, where Ed Shames was operating. This engagement is most commonly known as the battle of bloody gulch, although in his own words, Shames calls it “bloody gully”.

[lyselkatzfandomluvs]

Band of Brothers screencaps/edits (285/?)

The bespectacled G.I. from the 2nd Armored Division who found Blithe after the battle of Bloody Gulch near Carentan.