Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne was one of many cohesive units which served with distinction during World War II.
First brought to the public eye in 1992 by historian Stephen Ambrose’s book, “Band of Brothers”. These soldiers, then in their 70s, became international celebrities when the HBO miniseries under the same name was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
While many of us have watched the miniseries multiple times and still watch it when it comes on television on patriotic holidays, there are many who have not seen the miniseries or read the book. Difficult for us die-hard fans to fathom.
If you haven’t watched the miniseries, you’re truly missing out on one of the most critically acclaimed and most beloved pieces of television in recent memory.
But there are younger generations who are not getting exposed to the stories of WWII in schools like in decades past. Sometimes, WWII is condensed into just two days of instruction. A frightening simplification of the complexities of WWII. The phrase, “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it” can not be stressed enough here.
This adage is showing signs of life when it comes to a recent study featured on CBS News in April, 2018. The study found that more than one-fifth of Millennials in the U.S. – 22 percent – haven’t heard of, or aren’t sure if they’ve heard of, the Holocaust.
In an effort to reach middle/high school students about our WWII heroes, Chris Langlois, a grandson of medic Eugene Roe, who served in Easy Company, collaborated with artist Anneke Helleman from The Netherlands to create a new book as an introduction to the men of Easy Company.
Chris’ text supplements Anneke’s wonderfully received colorful artwork with the goal of beginning a journey for the reader to learn more about these heroes.
However, the book is not just for students. It will immerse adults alike (even those who are already fans) in some new stories of men who volunteered to join the Army, and then each one had to again volunteer to be a paratrooper.
They agreed to endure the toughest training the Army could offer and then agreed to be dropped into combat, with a guarantee to be surrounded by the enemy. They were a special and proud breed of soldier.
The book can be found on Amazon and 70 other online book selling websites around the world. In the U.S., contact Chris at: docroegrandson@gmail.com for signed copies (at the same price as Amazon).
If you’re a “Band of Brothers” fan, you’ll want this book to add to your collection. And then you’ll want to share with someone who hasn’t become a fan, yet! You can also like the Facebook page Doc Roe Publishing