Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends (2007)

Well I finished a another book related to the Band of Brothers—members of the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. The story is about two paratroopers who originated from Philadelphia: "Wild Bill" Guarnere and "Babe" Heffron. With each story, I seem to get to know each of the members of Easy Company more in depth. This story added pieces to the puzzle and muddied others. Parts of their story didn't match some of the other stories. Nonetheless, Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story was enjoyable from cover to cover. Read more ( )

In World War II, a group of men trained together and then were deployed together--those that survived continued to meet at reunions. Their stories inspired "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers".

Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffran both grew up in Philadelphia, but didn't meet until during WWII when Babe was assigned to the same company as Bill. That began a long friendship between the two men.

It was interesting to hear their real, first-hand experience of the war. And, as they note, war then was much different than it is today. I think I was most struck by their friendship though. ( )

Really enjoyed reading this dual biography of two boys from the same town that didn't meet each other until the war started and they ended up being best friends. Having seen Band of Brothers here these two veterans relate what happened in their experience with the Screaming Eagles. They reference the show occasionally as they were consulted during production. And they give some additional details.

I enjoyed their brief description of what life was like growing up lower middle class in America and how things have changed so drastically here.

Poignant, their sense of humor shines through often but so does the pathos of their experience in the war. Their story of revisits to Europe after the war has some pretty funny moments too. ( )

Europe 1944

Written by and about a couple of friends from the 101st Airborne Band of Brothers about their experiences during WWII. It's mostly told in their words, and it makes for a great story. ( )

This was an excellent story about two men and their friends in the 101st Airborne. The story is told by William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron of "Band of Brothers" fame. At times it was hilariously funny, at others it was exceedingly sad. The book was extremely interesting and held my attention the entire way through. The men told of their experiences beginning with their childhood growing up in Philadelphia during the depression, through the time of their enlistment with the 101st Airborne, their experiences during World War II, and it concluded with the tale of their continuing friendship which has lasted over sixty years.

These men experienced a lot of things during the war and it took many years before they were able to speak about their experiences. After hearing their story, I can understand why. My father was in World War II and traveled some of the same places that these men did. However, my father would never talk about his experiences there. Now that he is gone, I can never know what he went through. Being a person who loves to study history, I wish that I would have been able to get him to open up about it while he was still with us. But, as I said before, I can understand his desire not to speak of it. I really appreciate all the soldiers who have fought for our nation throughout its history. They deserve our heartfelt gratitude. Thanks to all of them. ( )