Welcome back to HBO's Band of Brothers Podcast. This is Roger Bennett. I say Flash.

You say Thunder. Episode 2 Day of Days. The episode retails a story of operation over

Lord. The Allied invasion of Nazi-controlled Western Europe begins on the 6th of June

1944, a day on which it's hard to say this without it coming off as hyperbole. The future

of the free world hinged. But that's the truth. These are the stakes this episode confronts.

Nazi company's mission was to land behind the Germans' first line of defence to secure

the causeways beyond the beaches of Normandy, allowing men and supplies to roll on into

the French countryside.

If episode 1, Kerahee is a show letting us know that this story is going to take us on a

journey across Europe and that we're going to follow this cast of characters. Day of

Days is the series warning us as we do become emotionally invested in each individual.

We're going to lose many along the way. That and two more truths. Then everyone wants

a Luger, a specially malarkey, and non-fatal wounds tend to be shots in the ass.

Above all, this episode, which at 49 minutes is the shortest in the entire series, really

brings to life the emotion Stephen Ambrose articulates in his book when he wrote, getting

shot and shooting to kill, produce extraordinary emotional reactions. No matter how hard you train,

nor however realistic the training, no one can ever be fully prepared for the insanity

of the real thing.

My guest today is a remarkable gent, a man who became a television writer as a mid-career

switch and prepared to be blown away listeners, not only landed his first proper writing gig

on band of brothers, but in crofting episode 2, Day of Days and episode 9, why we fight

in his words, quote, kind of had to write, saving private Ryan and then Shinler's list

...