Band of Brothers

The eagle and the silver wings are symbols of the 101st. Both symbols are associated with flight, appropriate considering that the 101st is an airborne unit. These symbols also reflect the elite status of the members of the 101st and the innovative nature of the roles as paratroopers. 

Part of the items taken from Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s champagne is consumed by the men as Allied troops pacify Germany. The act of drinking the champagne signals the symbolic defeat of Hitler and the end of the war for the men. The men’s indulgence in the champagne and other fine liquors is also a reflection of the large-scale looting that they take part in once they arrive in Germany, one of the rights they claim as conquerors.

The “island” is a “5 kilometer wide” area in Holland that Easy Company helped to defend in the latter months of 1944 (141). The dreary conditions on the island—the men could only move around in the dark because of the danger of being shot by Germans, and the terrain was muddy and littered with dead animals—contribute to the battle fatigue of the men. At the end of their time on the island, the positions of the German and Allied forces are virtually unchanged, despite the casualties.The island represents the futility of war and the hard truth that soldiers bear the cost of the decisions of high-level leaders when it comes to war.

In Chapter Ten, Malarkey wins $3600 from gambling after the men receive their pay. Before his deployment to Bastogne, Malarkey deposits his winnings with the division fiscal officer “with the happy thought that after the war he could return to the University of Oregon and not have to wash dishes to pay his way” (176). Malarkey’s cash is a link to the civilian lives the soldiers left behind to fight. His concern about life after the war demonstrates that he does not see himself as a career Army man and distinguishes him from the professional German and American soldiers.

Corporal Hoobler manages to shoot a German riding on horseback during Easy Company’s objective in the Bois Jacques. He takes a Luger off the German. In a twist of irony, Hoobler accidentally shoots himself that night while socializing with the men as they hide in their foxholes (198). That he dies by chance and from a self-inflicted wound underscores the ubiquity of random death in the lives of the men.