Easy Company Lands at Normandy Beach

Forty-seven veterans of World War II’s Easy Company returned to Normandy last week, all clad in yellow jackets labeled with the title of the upcoming HBO miniseries that retells their story.

They came with their families to mark D-day, that famous 6th of June 57 years ago when, as young U.S Army paratroopers, they became the first Americans to jump through the clouds and behind enemy lines to fight the German invasion. Many are now in their 80s.

HBO brought the men to these shores, for the first time since the war for some of them, to attend the world premiere of “Band of Brothers,” a 10-hour miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks to be broadcast in September.

Based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Stephen E. Ambrose, also the author of bestseller “Citizen Soldier” and historical consultant on Spielberg’s movie “Saving Private Ryan,” the miniseries attempts to be as factual as possible.

“I think it’s wonderful,” commented Ambrose. “Everything you see happened, it’s accurate,” he added. “There’s not a line in the movie that’s made up.”

“Band of Brothers” recounts how the Easy Company was created, from training in England to the liberation of a concentration camp, paced all the way by very realistic combat scenes.

“They did so well at catching the spirit of being in combat,” said Carwood Lipton, 81, an E-Company veteran. “What struck me about it was that it created the feeling of danger and combat,” he added, very moved after the screening.

To respect history and be as fair as possible with the veterans’ memories, some actors became very close to the character they were playing.

“They would call the guy they played and say, ‘Hey listen, when you shot that German, did you laugh, were you crying, were you upset?’ ” said Ambrose. “For every single scene they would do that. I know that didn’t happen with ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and I know damn well it didn’t happen with ‘Pearl Harbor.’ ”

With a $120-million budget and a cast of 500 speaking roles, “Band of Brothers” is HBO’s most expensive production, and the hoopla surrounding the world premiere was in keeping with that. HBO chartered a 777 to fly the veterans, their families and actors to France. A train and special buses for the press and crew were mobilized to transport everybody to Normandy.

Utah Beach, one of five landing sites for the invasion, looks a lot different now: There is a World War II museum, a souvenir shop and two monuments. But once the veterans arrived, their emotion was palpable.

Hanks paid tribute to the vets, to a large round of applause and a dazzling French Air Force flyover.

At first closed to the public, the site progressively welcomed strollers and French veterans gathered on the site. A primary school class was also present, thrilled more by Hanks, a flesh-and-blood American celebrity, than by the history being commemorated.

After an hour of national colors being raised, national anthems played and wreaths laid, French and American troops saluted the E-Company survivors, and the screening began.

HBO had built an enormous tent to accommodate 1,000 guests. They viewed a 90-minute compilation of the miniseries, then gave a standing ovation for the cast, the production team but mainly the veterans, who were very moved by what they had just seen.

“I’m sorry. I’m confused right now, give me a few minutes,” said Buck Taylor, 80, before he finally confessed: “I came with my grandchildren, and I think I’ll have a lot of questions to answer now.”

On the way back to the train back to Paris, the veterans were all tired, physically and emotionally. The bus did a last stop at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, a village made legendary because an American paratrooper spent a night stuck on the steeple of the village’s church while German troops swarmed below. Since then, a dummy has hung on the church as a tribute. It was the last image of the day.