HBO Miniseries Episode 3 group of brothers, “Carentan” focuses on the perspective of an Easy Company paratrooper named Albert Blithe. At the end of the episode, after Blithe is shot in the neck, the ending passage says he never recovered from his injuries and died in 1948 — but that date is actually about two decades later.
The error is from the book by Stephen A. Ambrose group of brothers, the series is based on. Ambrose interviewed Easy Company veterans such as Bill Guarnere and Edward “Babe” Heffron, and it was from their accounts that he pieced together Albert Blithe’s story. Some of Blithe’s stories in “Carentan” are accurate; he experienced hysterical blindness. “Never seen anything like this‘” Winters recalls.He fainted from fear. Ghostly. This child can’t speakHowever, Blithe was actually shot in the upper right shoulder rather than in the neck, and he recovered from his injuries, receiving only a year of disability benefits before dropping it off to return to the army. Blithe served in the military. until his actual death in December 1967.
Both Guarnere and Heffron believe they attended Blithe’s funeral in 1948, which may have been due to their mistake or confusion with another Albert Blithe. Blithe’s family until group of brothers After it aired on HBO, his son, Gordon Blithe, started breaking records. “I get some really nasty emails from people who don’t believe that Stephen Ambrose and HBO really made a mistake.‘ Gordon recalls in Marcus Bratherton’s book, hero company. After much effort and the provision of many documents and photographic records, it was proved that Blithe did indeed live after 1948,”All those who need to be persuaded are persuaded” However, this error was never present in group of brothers book or miniseries.
Albert Blithe continued to serve in the Korean War, eventually dying while serving in the West German 8th Infantry Division. After attending an event in Bastogne, Belgium, celebrating the Easy Company’s standing in World War II, Blithe fell ill and was diagnosed with a perforated ulcer. He underwent emergency surgery but died on December 17, 1967, at the age of 44, from complications and kidney failure. Gordon Blithe is ‘in awe of his father’s sudden death: ‘he drank to death“
According to his son, Albert Blithe was a “chronic drinker” and drank alcohol daily. Gordon’s mother told him many times, “You just don’t know how war messed with your dad’s mind. “Despite being outspoken about his father’s problems and his struggles late in life, Gordon said at the end of the interview. hero company upsides.
“I want people to remember my dad this way: He was a true American paratrooper who gave his life for thousands of others in this country and around the world. serving people he didn’t even know. To fight. I’m proud of him, so proud. That’s how I want people to remember Albert Bright.”