Book Review: A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories About the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us

In A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us, Marcus Brotherton shares stories of twenty-six men of Easy Company, 2nd battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Ever since watching the HBO series, Band of Brothers, the lives of these men have fascinated me. This book examines the lives as told by the families as the men passed away much too early.

This Brotherton book is 346 pages long. Each chapter focused on one of the men. The book is organized into four major parts: enlisted men, non-commissioned officers, officers, and those who died in battle.

Relatives of the soldiers told each of the stories. Letters home supported many of the stories.

Typically, each chapter shared what the family members knew about the soldier’s participation as a member of Easy Company. In a number of cases, the family member would clarify or correct what was written in Ambrose’s Band of Brothers book or shown in the Band of Brothers series.

The chapters also shared family history up until enlistment. One got a good sense of the soldier’s character. Many of the portrayed soldiers came from poorer than average conditions. Often they left school to work to support their family. Some were religious, some were athletic, but all wanted to be part of a winning team. Not all of these men were original Toccoa men, some were replacements.

What stood out most to me was their conduct after the war when they returned home. The effects of the war haunted many of them throughout their lives. Quite a number of them struggled with alcohol resulting in troubled marriages. Almost all of them kept their experiences to themselves.

A lot can be learned from the experiences these men had both during and after the war. Many of the previous books I read highlighted the exploits of these men in battle. What they endured had a cost. This was shared in A Company of Heroes. I would definitely recommend adding this to your Band of Brothers’ shelf. It shows another side of war.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: Shifty’s War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell “Shifty” Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers
• Book Review: Easy Company Soldier: The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from World War II’s “Band of Brothers”
• Book Review: Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story
• Book Review: Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
• Book Review: Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest
• Book Review: Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper’s Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
• Book Review: Call of Duty: My Life Before, During and After the Band of Brothers
• Book Review: We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories From the Band of Brothers
• Book Review: Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers
• Book Review: D-Day Through German Eyes
• Book Review: Conversations With Major Dick Winters: Life Lessons From the Commander of the Band of Brothers

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