Band of Brothers mini series - strangecharms

Albert Blithe 57
28. [7]
Misreports of an early death
Blithe is the subject of a particularly glaring error in the book and mini-series, Band of Brothers. Fellow Easy
Company Currahee veterans interviewed while writing the book and mini-series had believed, in error, that Blithe
was wounded in the neck, and that he did not recover. In the book, author Stephen Ambrose reported those errors as
fact, and stated that Blithe had died in Philadelphia in 1948. Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series,
in which episode 3, "Carentan", episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the
wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."
After viewing the mini-series, the Blithe family publicly corrected this historical error, and requests were made to
edit the mini-series to remove it. Photographs and records documenting his service after 1948 and his 1967 death are
now posted on the website of the 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association. [2] However, the error has not been
corrected in the book (though the 2001 UK edition makes no mention of Blithe's death) and has been perpetuated in
the DVD editions of the mini-series. It is still in repeated broadcast of the series as recently as the September 3, 2012
broadcast of the episode on Spike TV.
The Blu-ray version has an interactive guide called "In the field with the men of Easy Company", stating correctly
that Blithe died in 1967, but episode 3 still contains the error.
References
[1] Blithe's DA-638 Recommendation for Award (http:/ / www. arlingtoncemetery. net/ albert-blithe. htm) lists the Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars,
and 3 Purple Hearts.
[2] Blithe G., Albert (2007-10-24). "MSG Albert Blithe" (http:/ / www. 506infantry. org/ his2ndbnwwiiphoto24. html). Currahee. Archived
(http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20090211133244/ http:/ / www. 506infantry. org/ his2ndbnwwiiphoto24. html) from the original on 11
February 2009. . Retrieved 2009-01-01.
[3] Social Security Death Index record (http:/ / ssdi. rootsweb. ancestry. com/ cgi-bin/ ssdi. cgi?ssn=186-12-3279)
[4] WWII Army Enlistment Records: on-line NARA Archival Database (http:/ / aad. archives. gov/ aad/ record-detail. jsp?dt=893& mtch=1&
cat=all& tf=F& q=albert+ blithe& bc=& rpp=10& pg=1& rid=753805)
[5] Ambrose, p.98.
[6] Ambrose, p.103.
[7] "Albert Blithe" (http:/ / www. arlingtoncemetery. net/ albert-blithe. htm). Arlington National Cemetery. 2004-08-27. . Retrieved 2006-09-27.
Bibliography
• Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy
to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-6411-6.
• Brotherton, Marcus (2010). A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the
Legacy They Left Us. Berkley Caliber. ISBN 978-0-425-23420-4.
External links
• Blithe in Taiwan from Currahee website (http:/ / www. 506infantry. org/ hiswwii/ his2ndbnwwiimemo22. html)
• Find A Grave (http:/ / www. findagrave. com/ cgi-bin/ fg. cgi?page=gr& GSvcid=100656& GRid=19080453& )
• Normandy 1944 (http:/ / www. normandy1944. info/ veterans/ albert_blithe. htm)
• The Battle of Normandy (http:/ / www. dday-overlord. com/ eng/ albert_blithe. htm)