Erika Atwood

18 April 2016

Christina Phillips

English 101/MWF 1420-1535

Yes, Sir!

Should one put away personal feelings and beliefs for the cause of one's country? Sometimes, this is the predicament some face once they are at war. For our servicemen, there is no choice. Upon enlistment, an oath is given where it is promised that the orders from those appointed over you will be upheld and obeyed.  If the order comes from someone directly, there may be a possibility of encouraging reconsideration. However, in the military, this is not the case and orders come from someone with a higher rank, an officer who has been trained and certified to lead. The answer is typically a "Yes, Sir," because it is the officer's duty to make the right decision. These cannot be disputed and many servicemen often find themselves questioning which belief they should follow, their own or their officer's? In the midst of a war, the answer to these questions must be made quickly and in favor of the officer. These servicemen may not have any aggression towards their enemy, but were killing them due to the simple fact of: they were told to. This happens in any war that is fought and every man encounters this agonizing question. Even with the terrible doings of Nazi Germany, the American Soldiers did not particularly despise the Germans and found it difficult to find reasons to kill them. In the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, one follows reenactments of a group of men, Easy Company, from their journey through the Second World War. In the ninth episode, titled "Why We Fight" the writer uses dialogue, scenery, and the interactions between the men to show the struggle our service men go through between what doing what they were told to do and what they felt they needed to do.

The episode "Why We Fight" shows the men of Easy Company nearing the end of the war and happening upon the Buchenwald Concentration Camp while scouting a wooded area north of Ettersberg. At the time, the men were unaware of these camps and were shocked to see so many people in such terrible conditions. It was only then when the American troops felt that there was a reason behind this war. Until that point, they had no personal reason to be at war. The episode begins with interviews with the World War II veterans that the series revolves around. They openly exhibit the fact that despite their beliefs, they followed the orders given by those appointed over them.  One many stated, "They have a job to do, the same way as me. So, we went about that and did the job that we had to do" ("Why We Fight" 00:32) to express how he had no control. Another man talked about the possibilities of having similarities with the some of the Germans and becoming friends, if they were under different circumstances. The episode progresses into the reenactment where the troops are settling comfortably in Sturzelberg, Germany. To exhibit the irony of the luxuries of being in the country of their enemies, one soldier says "Germany is as good as being home" (17:13). This quote shows that he feels comfortable in Germany and would like to stay in the noncombatant zones, despite being at war with them. His personal feelings for the country came from the living conditions, rather than the war. Later, the troops received orders to go to Ettersberg. Despite their comfort in Struzelberg, they had to follow orders and leave. 

Once they gathered their belongings, the men then piled into their trucks and tanks, where they sang songs cheerfully as they drove by a Nazi recruitment poster. How these men could sing happily as they passed by a poster recruiting people to the enemy forces was the writer showing the indifference of the soldiers to the Germans. The poster was strategically placed to where the soldiers could see it, but the way the soldiers ignored it enhanced the reality of their questionable presence.  While in the trucks, the soldiers conversed and one asked another what they were reading in the paper. His response was "It seems that the Germans are bad. Very bad" (25:34). They all take this lightheartedly and joke around, emphasizing that the Germans are bad. He even goes as far as to say "You learn something every day" (25:45). They do not take this too seriously because regardless of what they think the Germans are, they are the enemy. Along the ride, they pass by German soldiers that surrendered and an officer points out that, "Even in defeat, they still know how to march with pride" (28:13) to show that he still has respect for them and is impressed. One shouts from the back with a question that changes everyone expression: "What the fuck are we even doing here?" (29:03). These men have no personal reasoning for being at war and are now wondering why they are there. After the men found the concentration camp, a doctor expressed that the prisoners need to stay in the camp in order to assess their health. The translator explained that he could not tell these people to temporarily go back into imprisonment. The only words from his directly appointed officer were "You got to, Joe" (48:03). The order was from an officer ranked higher than the speaking, therefore the command was inarguable and he had no choice but to comply. He reluctantly accepted what he had to do and responded with a respectful, "Yes, Sir" (48:05). The writer of this episode ensures that the soldier says these words to show that he is respectful to his superior and will follow through with the order. 

A war on such a massive scale brings many sacrifices. The will of the people, most not even fighting the war, takes precedent. "The most successful modern armies ought to be those that minimize the tradeoff between command and control and tribal warrior esprit."(Boyd). Armies rely on the obedience of their soldiers in order to create strategic plans. Many armies punish those who desert as well as disobey orders. Under Hitler, the brute of the German army greatly improved with the stricter policies on mutiny and desertion he put over them. Unlike the Germans, American forces did not emphasize socialization between the officers and regular troops (Boyd).  The officers have gone through some kind of training program where they are taught to lead. As for the regular troops, the enlisted, "their duty was to follow, as a group, the orders given to them by their superiors and to perform the many different tasks." (Roe).  They are expected to accept the task with a "Yes, Sir." and then perform it without any questions. The unfamiliarity and alienation between ranks sometimes causes the subordinates to not be able to understand the reasoning behind the command. The Americans tend to separate the officers from their troops so there is no risk of fraternization (Roe). In "Why We Fight" the officers are staying in different buildings and socialize with each other, rather than the enlisted. Without the socialization, the regular troops find it difficult to understand where the orders are coming form and how they were thought of. Without being given the basis of what they are doing, they have no choice but to put their personal beliefs aside. Sometimes, they do not get enough information from the officer to create a personal feeling or belief on the situations.  It is also believed that if an officer were to create friendships to some soldiers, the decision could be viewed as favoritism and possibly causes problems with the esprit (Roe). The officers do not show any favoritism and appear competent to the enlisted. Therefore, the men can carry out their orders with faith that it is for the best. The officers also typically made their decisions based on the needs of everyone involved, which made it easier for the enlisted to understand and agree with the officer (Marsh).

Luckily, due to the interactions that came with being in small combat units during the Second World War, the men were able to form strong social bonds between the enlisted. Even though in normal conditions officers are separated, in combat zones the officers also bonded with the enlisted due to horrible conditions and situations. Because of these bonds, the soldiers focused on being able to protect each other rather than themselves. They were not motivated to "distinguish themselves ... , to get promoted ... , save democracy, or to serve loftier purposes." (Marsh). Instead, they just wanted to stay alive. If these men did not feel as if their life or the lives of others were at risk due to a decision, they would obey them willingly. These men were also idealized to be down to earth and hoping to complete their service as soon as possible in order to go home. They believed that by following their orders, they would be able to go home sooner. The officers were believed to be strategic, so the enlisted believed that the orders given would help end the war in a shorter amount of time. U.S. soldiers also tended to be more aggressive towards the Japanese than the Germans. Their aggression also declined as their combat experience increased (Marsh). These aspects can be seen first hand in the episode, "Why We Fight" by the way the soldiers act lightheartedly when discussing the Germans. At this point in the series, the war is almost over and the men have been fighting for a couple of years. The writers use the cheerfulness and sarcasm of the soldiers to show that they are tired of the war in Germany and they just want to go home. 

From this mini-series, Band of Brothers, the viewer can see the conflicts the men fighting for America encountered during World War II against Nazi Germany. In the ninth episode of the series, "Why We Fight," the viewer can see exactly how these soldiers carried out the duties given to them without resistance.  The writer makes sure to showcase this with the use of dialogue between comrades and the scenery throughout the episode. The writer shows that it takes a lot of thought and trust to be able to follow orders, regardless of personal belief. That is what these men had in their country and each other to be able make the sacrifices they did. It was neither their hatred towards Germans, nor the thoughts of personal gain that led them to do the things they did.  Despite the differences in opinions, training, and duties, they were able to accept the orders given to them and perform with their best ability in hope come home sooner.  Throughout the war, the enlisted did what was told and responded only with two simple words. They gave no excuses and in the end, it won the war. 

Works Cited

Boyd, Robert and Peter J. Richerson. "Complex Societies" Human Nature. Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 1999. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Marsh, Robert M and T.P. Schwartz. "The American Soldier Studies of WWII: A 50th Anniversary Commemorative." Journal of Political and Military Sociology. 1999. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Orloff, John. "Why We Fight" Band of Brothers. dir. David Frankel. HBO. 28 Oct. 2001. Television. 

Roe, Christopher H., "The subculture of the U.S. Army during World War II and its impact on the construction of an airbase on Umnak Island, Alaska". UMI. Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
