Goodreads Reviews: We Who are Alive and Remain

We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers by Marcus Brotherton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading so many books about Easy Company, you would think one would get tired of the stories? Not true. Not with me at least. We Who Are Alive and Remain tells the stories of the lesser known soldiers (Dick Winters, Don Malarkey, Babe Heffron, Bill Guarnere and Buck Compton already had their own biographies, plus they were also prominent characters in the mini-series). Starting with the bombing on Pearl Harbor, 20 Easy Company men give their testimonies of their lives before, during and after WWII. Every chapter has a contribution, sometimes a couple of pages, sometimes a sentence from each men.

One of the most unique aspects of the books is there's a guide that shows the battles that each man fought in and if they were original Taccoa men or replacements. Some men were complete Taccoa veterans and fought all the way from Normandy to the Eagle's Nest. Some men only fought in one battle. However long their record was each men dedicated his life and soul to the war effort. When they came home, some adjusted to the new America and others did not.

There is a raw and deep honesty with these men. For so long they never talked about the war. Even during the reunions they said they would talk about anything and everything except the war. So to open up after so many years must have been very painful at first. I loved reading their stories and seeing everyone's' different perspective on the same events. I also enjoyed reading about their growing up years in Great Depression and how that 10 year span molded 'the greatest generation.'

In the beginning 5,800 men volunteered to become paratroopers, 1,948 survived their training and earned their wings. By the end of the war only 366 men came home. Less than 50 of their stories have been told. We Who Are Alive and Remain was written 12 years ago and many of these men featured are not alive today. At the very least, they told their stories for generations to follow.