Marcus Brotherton > Quotes

“The liberty that the Band of Brothers fought for was not a freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want, but rather a freedom from tyranny, a freedom of self-determination, a freedom to make something of our lives.”
― Marcus Brotherton, A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us

“By my twenty-second birthday, you know, I had killed eight men. Eight that I was certain of, eight that I could plainly count. That information was stuffed deep within my gut, and if anyone ever asked if I killed someone during the war, particularly if a child ever asked, I vowed I’d shake my head no, that information was never coming out."--SHIFTY'S WAR”
― Marcus Brotherton, Shifty's War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers

“I came to see soldiers as men willing to lay down their lives for the sake of others. They fight for themselves and the generation under immediate attack, but certainly they fight for the futures of free peoples. Decades beyond World War II, I am one who benefited. That I can vote in presidential elections and not bend my knee to Hirohito’s grandson is testament to the enduring work of the veterans of World War II. That I can write books for a living instead of sweating in a Third Reich factory is a product of Allied triumph.”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“Nearby sat a veteran in a wheelchair. He was young, handsome, and athletic, through missing a leg.

My daughter went to him and asked, "You're army - right?"

He said, "Yes, I am."

My daughter hugged him. "Thank you," she said. Tears welled in the man's eyes.

"Did you get my card?" she asked. "My school sent you a card. It said, 'Thank you for saving our Earth.'"

The guy just about lost it. He said, "You're welcome. Yes, we did get your card. Thank you for doing that."

- Michael Sobel, son of Herbert Sobel. Michael talking about his 6 year old daughter meeting veterans.”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“Our heroes are over there where the white crosses are. We're survivors over here.

None of us are heroes. I don't think you'll talk to a man who say we are. You figure a hero is someone who does above and beyond the call of duty, and when you give your life that's as above and beyond as you can get

- Earl McClung.”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“My thoughts always go back to the parents – here's their kid who wouldn't be coming back. I got this feeling all the way through. It didn't matter if I saw a dead American or German, I always figured he belonged to somebody. You knew somebody was going to miss him.

- Forrest Guth”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“When I was a teenager I took freedom for granted until I got through the army and saw what the Nazis had done in Germany. Then I realized that freedom isn't automatic; it has a price.

World War II was a justified and necessary war. Last year I met five survivors of Auschwitz concentration camp. The things that happened to those people should never have happened to any human being.

- Ed Tipper”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“The freedom I live with and enjoy was established in their blood. They didn't even know me, but they were paying a debt for generations to come.”
― Marcus Brotherton, A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us

“Liebgott stuck the Luger between the mayor’s eyes and pulled the trigger. The Luger misfired. Right when it clicked, this German went off running down the road. Speirs said, ‘Shoot him.’ One of our men shot and missed. I shot about thirty feet over the mayor’s head. Another man brought him down. I won’t say who. --Don Bond”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“In Holland, Ron was the battalion S-2 Intelligence officer for Colonel Robert Strayer. While on reconnaissance, Ron paddled across the Neder Rhine alone at night. The enemy opened fire on him and he dove into the water with a German bullet in his butt. He finished recrossing the river by swimming and was found bleeding and exhausted on the south shore. In spite of his wound, he brought back critical information and later received the Silver Star for that adventure.”
― Marcus Brotherton, A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us

“Sergent Earl Hale sent us out to get transportation. We went out to look for what we could find.

We came across Hitler's car, but it had no wheels. We found a bus, but it wouldn't start. We saw a fire truck and took that. On the way back to camp we had a wonderful time ringing the bell. Hale was upset. He didn't want a fire truck.


- Henry Zimmerman”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“The only course open is to pledge myself to the cause of making sure that the things he died for are not forgotten.”
― Marcus Brotherton, A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us

“...I was there when we opened the gates. Some of these poor wretches running out were so emaciated they actually died from the excitement of being liberated. I saw it happen several times.

These people in the camps – they were like walking skeletons. You could see all their bones.

The gates opened and the people ran out yelling, "I'm free! I'm free!" And some of them died right there. I was horrified to see what the SS had done to these people.

- Roy Gates”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“For us in Easy Company, a new hope stirred. It wasn’t a carefree hope, one that fills a man with energy. But an undeclared hope that drives a man to caution. It’s when you sense you might actually come through this thing alive.”
― Marcus Brotherton, Shifty's War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers

“One of the five new replacements went right on guard duty. He was hit in the neck within forty-five minutes. I don't know if he lived, but he never did come back. His war was pretty short.

- Don Bond”
― Marcus Brotherton, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

“The Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant”
― Marcus Brotherton, Blaze of Light: The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic Gary Beikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient

“the seasons of life”
― Marcus Brotherton, Shifty's War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers