“Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?” “No,” I answered, “but I served in a company of heroes.” These words of Sergeant Mike Ranney appear in Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers (1992). The book follows Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in World War II.
HBO turned the book into a ten-part miniseries in 2001. It won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries. Each episode opens with interviews with surviving veterans. Their names appear only at the end of the final episode.