Random Small But Poignant Details Fans Noticed In 'Band Of Brothers' (9 items)

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  (#1) Cobb Is Dishonorably Discharged

  From Redditor u/DiegoLapadula10:

  Is that Cobb been escorted by the PM? I Remember that the night before he was drunk and arguing with Lt Jones. So I wonder if he got punished or something. The episode is "The Last Patrol."

  Redditor u/miles_playvis answered:

  Private Roy Cobb was dishonorably discharged from service for assaulting his platoon leader, Lt. Jack Foley, whilst drunk on schnapps. Handing in the court martial papers, Colonel Robert Sink remarked, "Foley, you could have saved us all a lot of trouble. You should have shot him.”
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  (#4) The Real Soldiers Who Are Interviewed Are Not Named Until The Final Episode

  From Redditor u/mymousu:

  Rewatching on Hulu and I’m noticing that none of the real (old) soldiers have their names shown on the screen.

  I couldn’t sworn they used to label the interviews so you know who was talking. This is driving me crazy! I can only remember the real Winters and Guarnere

  From Redditor u/SEMHFreya:

  Apparently the idea was so that the viewer wouldn't know "who made it through the war." If they labeled Dick Winters, Bill Guarnere, etc., then initially the viewer would know that they survived the war. By removing their names, they wanted the viewer to have the feeling that they wouldn't know who would make it through the war, much like the men.

  From Redditor u/Astronaut-Bread:

  I think it was more powerful to make you wait to see who was who until the end. Their words carried no less weight when I first saw their real faces in those early episode interviews.

  And at the end, finally matching up the "characters" we all got to know through the series with the words the real people were saying at the start of each episode all along made much more of an impact, I think. You got to apply context to what they were saying now. You saw what they went through instead of just hearing them talk about it.
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  (#9) Why Shifty Puts A Flame To The Sight On His Rifle

  A Redditor asked why Shifty is shown holding a lighter up the sight on his rifle. Two Redditors gave possible reasons why, with the first specifying the military and hunting practice of "blackening" a rifle's sight.

  Redditor u/SirBigWater replied:

  Probably to make it darker, so no reflection in sun. And to keep it in sight easily at night.

  Redditor u/alsatian01 replied:

  He may have been sighting it. That point at the front and the one at the rear are adjustable. Everyone holds a rife differently and the sights are adjustable for what's called "zeroing." The front sight goes up and down, the rear sight goes left to right. It adjusts what is straight line down the barrel based on the way you hold your weapon. I always assumed he was heating it up to make it easier to adjust...
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  (#5) Winters Keeps A Compass On Him

  Redditor u/Cookie4634 asked:

  What did winters use in Episode 2 as a compass with the map and how does it work?

  Redditor u/timehathnomatter answered:

  Pretty sure it's a compass. I'm sure I remember in the book he had a compass sewn into the lining of his trousers. It was tiny. In addition he had a map I think sewn into his fatigues somewhere - there's a decent documentary on YouTube with Winters where he explains the stuff in his home office, and he mentions the map in there.

  Memory is patchy, but yeah, pretty sure it's just a compass.

  Redditor u/Restless_native answered:

  Allied servicemen often [or] typically had a button on their uniform which contained a small compass hidden under a screw cap; that’s what he was using. Once you triangulate your position from visible landmarks you can use your hidden compass to help you evade the tens of thousands of heavily armed [Germans] who’re looking for you!

  Both my grandfathers (1 RAF & 1 Black Watch) told me about their respective “escape & evasion” kits, and button compasses were a main component, along with maps printed on silk which were hidden in paperwork or wallets, etc. Hope that’s what you were meaning
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  (#3) A Soldier On The D-Day Jump May Be Colorblind

  From Redditor u/cokevanillazero:

  Early on, a soldier who is leading one of the jumps on D-Day tells another soldier to tap him on the shoulder when the jump light goes from red to green.

  It only took me like 15 years to figure out that he was colorblind and lied to join the service.
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  (#7) Webster Loses His Bond With The Other Soldiers

  Redditor u/freezyblanco asked,

  Martin is asked to assemble his squad for the river assault. Why does he go out of his way to pick Webster for the mission, while giving him the stink eye? Where does the ill will stem from? And why do the others snicker, "Webster... tries to get out of everything," after the briefing? I understand he missed Bastogne and as such he "got out" of that, but he doesn't protest being selected for the mission. Mind you, the snickering occurs before he goes up to Cpt. Winters and tries to get out of the mission by commenting on the fact that they have a translator already.

  Redditor u/onenight1234 answered,

  Mind you, the snickering occurs before he goes up to Cpt. Winters and tries to get out of the mission by commenting on the fact that they have a translator already

  He wasn't trying to get out of the mission, he was trying to get Liebgott out. It was showcasing what bastogne did to the guys, where they kind of "lost" the bond with Webster. The comment Liebgott initially says about him wanting to get out of everything, it wasn't true. They just didn't view him as one of them anymore even though he fought through D-Day and Market Garden etc. It was hammering home Bastogne was THAT bad.

  Redditor u/noodle_salad 9 answered,

  Martin is annoyed with Webster because it was Webster's meddling that got Martin pulled into the patrol. The initial plan was for Malarkey to lead the patrol, until Webster got Jones to talk to Speirs and Winters about Malarkey deserving a break. They agreed to give Malarkey a break, but since they still needed an experienced leader, Martin was pulled in.

  Also, Webster doesn't try to get out of the patrol when he talks to Winters. When Webster says, "There are two translators when only one is needed," it is left unspoken that he's advocating for Liebgott to be reprieved, not for himself.

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