he usually took them out into the closest forest and shot them there. i was also inflicted with the typhoid. and then one night, we had -- the lights went on and we had everybody out, everybody out, and i'll make it brief because i don't want to take up all of the time. there were 87 people in that barrack that night in that quarantine. 86 people were shot right there. only one, only one came out alive. only one escaped that night. and that's the one person that is sitting here and speaking to you now. [ applause ]

i just want to go by fast because it's very important that i finish what -- i don't know whether i'll get more time, so i have to finish with this. going through the different concentration camp in 1945 in alaska where i was, the american air force came and destroyed the ca camp. we seen the war is coming close an end. we just didn't know whether we were live another hour and see the uniforms, to see the liberators coming and freeing us. we were placed on the dead march. the destination which we found out afterwards was to take us to the salt mine, place us in the salt mines and there destroy us. on the third day on the dead

march in the middle of the forest, if anybody heard about the information rece forest, mi highway, we were working and our guards left us in the middle of the highway a. and i always wouldn't be able to finish without telling. i have the deepest, deepest respect and gratitude for men and women that i see in the uniforms. it is for the man in the un fors we first saw and especially you guys, you in our opinion called the liberate tors. because if you wouldn't have come, another three months none of us, none of us would have survived the war. so my salute and my thank you to

you men and women. i can say thank you to you. [ applause ]

>> izzy and his family buried several religious art facts in the bottom of a basement in a house.facts in the bottom of a basement in a house.ifacts in the bottom of a basement in a house. in two weeks, we're taking izzy back to that house where he will unearth those arrest aty facts will bring them back to his family. question up there, please. okay. over here first, george. sir, front row. >> i do not have a question, i have a comment. to the actors, we hang you for supporting the gentlemen to your left. and for al, ed, babe and izzy,

you are men among men. and we thank you very kindly. >> young lady upper left. >> my name is leslie grange errane r and my question is for the three members of easy company. what i wanted to know is in your experience as veterans, having experienced combat, coming home members of easy company. what i wanted to know is in your experience as veterans, having experienced combat, coming home transitioning back to that life 1250 style, what has been the number one thing that civilians an individuals can do to make you feel appreciated and supported z? >> the question is coming back from war and coming back to the united states, what is the best thing that civilians here on the home front during your war could

have done to make your transitionfront during your war have done to make your transition better, to support you more. sn we saw in vietnam that didn't go so well when those soldier cas came home. what was it about that generation well coming you back that made your transition easier? >> well, my opinion, it took a lot of american women -- >> cut! that's a different show. i know where you're going, but go ahead. >> let me tell you something. all the american women in this

country, with all the creek, a you know what creek i'm talking about, a and i've seen it. i come home on a weekend pass. never knew what existed. in my street, you couldn't get a truck through. it was too small. my mother went to my mother with that whatever on their head, whatever they use. and they had the broom, they had everything to clean the windows, the steps. we call them steps. new york, they call them stoops. i don't know why. really a stoop is a guy that's stupid.

but this is true. but the women standing in the group, i could dell you thekocor names. but they were talking. and i said, hey, ma, i'm home. she said go over to the house, babe. i knew she was in a good mood. called me babe. before i walked into the house, i hear my mother holler oh, my god, here he comes. and here come s a guy matde the turn on the corner. had a brown uniform on. guy delivered the telegrams. and they all screamed. and you know what they say?

i ain't allowed to curse. but the women, it's all right for them. and my mother and everybody else. and they hollered, oh, my god, my mother said, look at this, look. they looked. and they hollered keep going, you son of a bitch! keep going, you son of a bitch! and every time he would look like he was going to stop, they would say keep going, keep going. and once he did stop in front of mrs. medical snelson's house. i'm a witness to this. and he said it's mrs. nelson's house and they all -- here he had been caught in the wheel of the bicycle.

after he adjusted, he got back on and he continued his ride down the street. my mother come in the house and i said to her, ma, what are you all excited about? he said babe, that's the man who delivered the telegrams and it could have been your house, her house, mrs. bailey, mrs. thompson. so then i knew. i said how often does this go on. she said every morning. every morning we're out here on the pavement doing the steps and we look for him. and he comes every day. all during the war, we're out there doing the steps, doing the pavement. they were all housewives in that day. none of them worked because they had big families. we had one family in the street,

16 children. her name was mrs. gallagher. never forget. and they were all out there. but when they tell you about who the heros is of any war, i can tell you, and i mean this very sincerely, we know the kids who god killed. but at least their pain was over. but the women every day, every day they had the pain waiting for the telegram. think about it. and as i told these gentlemen before, how would you have liked to have been mrs. sullivan who lost five boys. when that priest came knocking on her door.

i'm telling you like it should be said. and she heard a bang on the door, she looked out the window, she saw the priest. she opened up the door and she said, father, which one. and he said mrs. sullivan, let's go inside. and he didn't have to say anything. she knew it was bad. the priest said you lost all five of your boys. she didn't carry a child for nine months. she carried five of them for 45 months. washed hethem, bathed them, fed them. you tell me who the heros of any war are. don't tell me. i've been there. [ applause ]

i don't say this this just for the hell of it. i stay becauay it because it's . it's true. what we did we had to do because we wear pants. >> thank you, babe. a question over here, a young gentleman decked out. >> best dressed man in the room. >> hi, i'm ethan shultz from dallas, texas and my question is for al. can you tell us a story when you jumped off the 34-foot building without a harness? >> oh, yeah.

i claim that they recruited in a specific intent that they would find the dumbest guys they could find and put them in one unit. you about we first got, my friend ed and myself, the camp was still under construction and there was a big tented area off of the mud slaps there. that was one place we called it cow company, it would have been a complete disgrace to be rejected and thrown into cow company to go somewhere else. so we were walking around there and we saw this tower. it was about 35-foot high. is that what you're referring to? yeah. and 34, 35. and we said, boy, oh, boy, we don't want to be chicken, they'll have us jump off of that thing so we went up and jumped off. and lucky it had been dug up and we didn't break anything. so lieutenant came along and said what are you doing? you're not supposed to be jumping off of there like that.

and we told them why we were jumping. oh, no, we didn't complete that thing yet, they were going to put a cable down. >> i'd like to add something to the question the young lady asked having to do -- and your question relative to reception when we came home. and that is that that war was different. everybody was in that war. women, children, mothers, father, aunts, uncles, soldiers. and so when the war was over, we were all coming out of the war. not just the soldiers. after that, seems like all the wars were separate from the people at home. and the wars took place in other countries, that sort of thing and our lives here in this country because at that time i was not a soldier anymore. just went on as usual almost. and it was sort of a detachment to the people doing the fighting

or so it seems like and they didn't get the reception they should have been really brought home properly. and reassembled-46 -- wiassimi in to the culture again. i think there was a lot of difference, too, between the war in europe and the war in the far east. the war in europe, there was an awful lot of fighting and a lot of firing. and i don't know why 15 times over. and people were just firing. in the far east, seems there was an intent to either kill you or maim you. preferably to maim you could take four or five more guys out of the picture. >> if you've seen the pacific, i thought the series did a great job of showing the brutality of the fight in the pacific that that war wasn't taught by a geneva convention. there were no rules in the

pacific. and it was having been there, having been to the canal and seen the conditions and knowing the enemy that you were fighting, you know, there were no villages that they could go into a into or find perhaps a young french girl perhaps just to talk to. there was none of that in the pacific. so it was just a totally different world. george, you have somebody with a question? >> my name is sergeant matthew from massachusetts infantry. i had the honor and pleasure of serving in afghanistan. and you are definitely absolutely not forgotten in that unit. every week we watched the series over and over. and the amazing part of this, when dick winders passed away, i was there in walter reed, but my

lieutenant informed me they stopped all missions in afghanistan on the day of his death. so big salute to you. you're not forgotten. and from the bottom of my heart, thank you. >> the gentleman fought with the 506 in afghanistan. veterans who can back talk about watching, they're in a tent in the desert and they're all gathered around watching band of brothers. and i think what a tribute that is to you guys that it's a different war, they're out in the desert fighting a different type of enemy, and yet they're gathered together and take motivation from their heros. and i think that's what he said. >> that's one of the greatest things that i've ever been told

about the show is, jimmy will go with me on this, we've traveled the world and every -- even when it's not involving band of brother, i've been on other tv shows where people come over to me and usually military me and guys who said i have a friend of mine. i was onset once is and a soldier who became an actor and television his first day. we had been doing the show for a season. he came over and he was a little sheepish with me. and you know, you okay kid? everything good? he was like, yeah. i've just got to tell you. i've watched you and the guys every day for two years. and he had served in afghanistan. and to hear that from, you know, fellas like yourself. by the way, thank you for everything you have been doing.

that goes for everybody in the room who has served. but to hear that and to hear that this show has that impact on today's military and today's men is absolutely a testament to these fellas. we show up. these are the real guys that did that. it's one of the greatest things i can hear ever is from today's military who have watched the show and said thank you. >> another question. >> good evening. two-part question. first one for mr. tipper. is the fence-cutting story accurate? is it portrayed accurately in the series? >> the fence-cutting episode with sobel where the fence was cut, george's dad was doing a major horton impersonation, did

it very well, and there seemed to be some renegade cows that made their way out. was that a true story? >> that all happened, it was true. but the thing that maybe was not included was that the cows went all over the landscape and the english farmer that owned those cows presented a bill to the united states government and was paid money. >> the second part real quick. just because we haven't heard about it all night. anything on basttone you could share? in terms of the weather. >> it lasted from december to january 27th. so there's a lot of stuff in there that wasn't shown, which couldn't be shown.

but what do you want to know about boston? >> one of your close friends was killed. and i know julian -- and i know even today it's difficult for you around christmas and new year's because of his death. >> we just sit home and don't bother. it gives you a lot of thinking to do. it was serious. in other words, there wasn't like the movies. the guys from california throwing snowballs and all that was a lot of huey. but boston was bad. we had conditions there that you don't know at night -- it ought

to be on the camera. it's about human nature and being guys and gals and all that stuff. but we were on our post one night and me and my assistant gunner, we were pretty tired. i thought we'd go right off to sleep because we lost a lot of men. we'd go two on and two off or whatever it required. and there was two men. body heat and takes up less space for the artillery shell to hit. instead of two holes, it would be just the one.

anyhow, we come back maybe 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. we hit the sack a. nothing warm about it. i felt something in my back. i thought what is this? so al has his hand over my arm like this and he's snoring like hell. i said, al, what's going on here? he said what's the matter? i said what's going on here? okay. i try to go back to sleep. about five minutes later, i wake up and he's got his hand up

here. i said, oh boy. i gave this one in the belly. i said, al, i can't turn around because the dirt comes down and the snow. al said, oh, honest, i swear. i was just dreaming of my wife. i said, dreaming of your wife, i'm in a fox hole with you and you're dreaming of your wife. so i thought that was one of the funny things that ever happened in boston. but you want to talk about war, that's war. you don't want to face it then you're kidding yourself. you're dirty, you're fiflty.

but it's true. when i asked them when they were going to bring anything up, supplies started to come up. i said, we need clothes up there. i have one sock about eight or nine days now. bring them up tomorrow. tomorrow never came. that was -- it was very deep water and they say to you, you're going to have it easy. you're going into a barn. you won't have to lay out on the ground. we went into the barn, we certainly did, but the barn had no roof.

here we are back again. we had a very, very serious incident that happened. every morning on the day, every morning when we were up there, the soldier would look at our lines and he would go like this. the next morning, same guy, same thing. so he said i'll get that. but he said, i'll get him. he gave them the artillery hit,

the next morning, there he is. he said i got a surprise for him. tomorrow morning, you watch. the next morning, here comes the krout. he was the most surprised guy in the world. his body ended up in scranton. it was over his head, the shell instead of hitting burst over his head and all we seen was a lot of little pieces. the birds had a picnic because, i'm telling you, this is what war is. this is what you have to face. so whether or not you like it or not, you want the stories, you get them. you don't want to hear them, i don't belong here.

>> we have time for a couple more questions with the men. >> bill henry, rhode island national guard. gentlemen, these days our veterans organizations are quickly depleting in membership. what would you say to the young veterans and young service members to encourage them to join these organizations so we can maintain the tradition and comradery with the military? >> veterans organizations, the membership is declining, what would you say to the younger generation to keep them active in veterans organizations, the legion, and others? >> i think they are fine organizations for one thing. they help veterans. they help people to assimilate. they help them in times of need. and if people get the message out, i think there will be a lot