Band of Brothers: Motifs

Alcohol

Nearly all the men of the U.S. Army drank throughout the war, and controlling their habits was essential to their group's success in achieving victory in Europe. Intoxication is the risk of alcohol. In between deployments, the soldiers earned passes to visit the Allied cities, where many experienced the bars and clubs, drunkenly fighting and causing mayhem. At times the men shirked their duties for a drink, sometimes causing such ruckus that only court-martial and incarceration could restore their sobriety. But when used responsibly, alcohol played an important part in troop morale. The Army psychiatrists found that combat exhaustion was inevitable after a peak of ninety days on the battlefield. The Army considered drinking essential for handling stress and stocked plenty of beer during basic training. For young men away from home for the first time, drinking was a rite of passage and bonding ritual with their comrades-in-arms. Drinking loosened inhibitions and facilitated the close relationships important on the battlefield. Once deployed to the war theater, drinking filled the boredom and buffered the stress of hazardous duty.

Foxholes

Foxholes represent the bitter realities of a foot soldier's vulnerability to attack as well as his responsibility for his own protection. A foxhole is an infantry necessity wherever geographical features or structures don't exist for cover. Easy Company's missions often entailed holding a position in the countryside or forest to stop an enemy's advance. Even resting for several hours required a foxhole. Soldiers learn in basic training to quickly dig a pit big enough for cover from gunfire or shrapnel. Certain types of foxholes can provide shelter from tanks. Easy Company got the most challenging deployments, often situating them in the line of artillery fire. Under these circumstances, foxholes afforded little cover. At Bastogne and the Island, the relentless shelling killed and maimed many men sheltering in foxholes or scrambling to get to them. Once Easy Company moved into German territory, they occupied buildings and houses as the German resistance crumbled. Ironically, by the time the enemy surrendered, the soldiers occupied some of the most exclusive hotels, resorts, and residences in the entire world as the spoils of war.

The ”Million-Dollar Wound”

Death and injury afford the only way off the perilous front line where men deal with imminent destruction every moment. A “million-dollar wound" is an injury that is not fatal or permanently crippling but gives the soldier a reprieve from fighting, usually by recuperation in a field hospital. War is a terrifying place, and some of the men suffer mental breakdowns and wound themselves to escape the conditions of the front line. Their comrades look down on those who fake or self-inflict an injury but congratulate those who honestly earn a break by a bullet from the enemy. No one wants to get injured, but the value soldiers put on getting away from the violence without compromising the mission objectives equates to a million-dollar wound. The men from Easy Company looked forward to returning to their brothers-in-arms after recovery.

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