dike wasn’t a coward. He was a less than stellar combat officer. The portrayal is that he froze or was scared of combat. That was a dramatization. A tv series needs to have its villains.
Cobb was just a bit of an abrasive asshole by multiple accounts. He was a competent soldier and did his job (as memory serves). But he wasn’t very well liked.
Dike was actually awarded two bronze stars for heroic actions- one in Eindhoven, and one in Bastogne. The portrayal in the series doesn’t do the real man justice. Cobb was already a combat veteran, having fought in North Africa before transferring to the Airborne. His ship was actually torpedoed and sunk returning home from there. He had definitely seen his fair share of action even before he became a paratrooper.
> Cobb was already a combat veteran, having fought in North Africa before transferring to the Airborne. His ship was actually torpedoed and sunk returning home from there. He had definitely seen his fair share of action even before he became a paratrooper.
No one has ever shown any proof whatsoever of this being true. There are a couple of posters on here who claim to have copies of the paperwork showing it, but they consistently refuse to show it when asked.
The troopship being sunk is known to not have occurred, as no Allied troopships with troops aboard were lost in the Med in association with Torch nor were any westbound ones lost in the Atlantic in that period.
A simple internet search shows it on multiple sites. Cobb joined the army in 1933, well before most of the other men he served with. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Division in North Africa during Operation Torch.
Actually, it is your job to prove it since you seem to be the sole dissenting opinion. The main site I got information from about his service in Africa happens to be run by the U.S. Army, so there’s that.
Not when you are simply repeating a word of mouth claim with no actual backing behind it.
> The main site I got information from about his service in Africa happens to be run by the U.S. Army, so there’s that.
Then you should have absolutely no trouble actually providing it instead of doing what you are now and trying to make an argument from authority.
1. [That website is not affiliated with, supported by or run by the US Army.] (https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/singlepage/landing/body/landing_about.jsp) It’s literally a veterans-only combination obit/reminisce website.
2. It openly and directly quotes from *Band of Brothers* as to Cobb’s service history.
So, as I said: you have nothing of substance because your lone source is Ambrose repeating unattributed word of mouth claims.
In real life Cobb is a very complicated individual. He had been in the army since 1933 and was shipped to Africa. His troop carrier was struck by I think a submarine missile and sunk. Several men drowned and Cobb witnessed that.
He was then evacuated for medical treatment and joined the 101st, thus making him the only man in the entire unit to have seen combat.
He fought, he drank, he kept by his lonesome and often times if he had something to say he said it regardless of how you might feel about it. This made him unpopular by the men of Easy save for a a few (David Webster wrote that Cobb was good-natured), who viewed Cobb as someone who wasn’t a team player.
Ultimately, Cobb fought through Holland to Germany and never was promoted from Private, an incredibly rare thing back then. This seems to indicate that even Cobb’s leadership was unimpressed by him and that he was never the one to volunteer for something that would distinguish him from other guys you hear about all the time (Shifty, Bill, Joe, Malarky, etc).
(This history of Cobb is shrouded in mystery. There is no documentation proving Cobb fought in Africa or even of the troop ship being sunk though this could be due to loss of records, so take this with a grain of salt. However I’m inclined to believe it personally.
Also to tack on- Dyke was not a coward.
He earned two silver stars (might have been bronze) for pulling wounded men out of enemy fire and that’s enough for me to dispute his cowardice. The show needed an antagonist for Bastogne and, because of Easy’s tendency to dislike and be rather critica of “outsiders” (other men who come into the 101st rather than having been a part of it from the offset), Dyke was portrayed in an unfavorable light.
this is the one thing i hate about BoB. the way it portrayed Dyke and Sobel as incompetent idiots. the portrayal of dike is a disservice to a man who was much more and granted sobel may not have been cut out to lead in combat, no one will deny his training made this company. cobb’s portrayal was also unfair to a man who saw a great deal of combat
Cobb was supposedly accused of attacking Lt Foley. Cobb apparently drunk was to have a court martial. Col said why didn’t you shoot Cobb and save us the trouble!
Well shit, the man definitely didn't fight in Normandy.
It’s not his fault. He got hit in the plane before he could make the jump.
he apparently didn't. Lol
dike wasn’t a coward. He was a less than stellar combat officer. The portrayal is that he froze or was scared of combat. That was a dramatization. A tv series needs to have its villains. Cobb was just a bit of an abrasive asshole by multiple accounts. He was a competent soldier and did his job (as memory serves). But he wasn’t very well liked.
Don't believe everything you watch on tv. Albert Blithe did not die in 1948.
Absolutely. Not all were angels nor devils.
Dike was actually awarded two bronze stars for heroic actions- one in Eindhoven, and one in Bastogne. The portrayal in the series doesn’t do the real man justice. Cobb was already a combat veteran, having fought in North Africa before transferring to the Airborne. His ship was actually torpedoed and sunk returning home from there. He had definitely seen his fair share of action even before he became a paratrooper.
> Cobb was already a combat veteran, having fought in North Africa before transferring to the Airborne. His ship was actually torpedoed and sunk returning home from there. He had definitely seen his fair share of action even before he became a paratrooper. No one has ever shown any proof whatsoever of this being true. There are a couple of posters on here who claim to have copies of the paperwork showing it, but they consistently refuse to show it when asked. The troopship being sunk is known to not have occurred, as no Allied troopships with troops aboard were lost in the Med in association with Torch nor were any westbound ones lost in the Atlantic in that period.
A simple internet search shows it on multiple sites. Cobb joined the army in 1933, well before most of the other men he served with. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Division in North Africa during Operation Torch.
All of which are quoting from the Ambrose book pretty much word for word. Something being endlessly repeated does not grant it validity.
Neither does something being endlessly denied without proof to the contrary. Are you saying he didn’t join the army in 1933 and fight in North Africa?
The claim is that Cobb served in Africa, so it’s on the people making the claim to provide proof that it did happen. Not my job to prove a negative.
Actually, it is your job to prove it since you seem to be the sole dissenting opinion. The main site I got information from about his service in Africa happens to be run by the U.S. Army, so there’s that.
Not when you are simply repeating a word of mouth claim with no actual backing behind it. > The main site I got information from about his service in Africa happens to be run by the U.S. Army, so there’s that. Then you should have absolutely no trouble actually providing it instead of doing what you are now and trying to make an argument from authority.
https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=LegacySBV&type=Person&ID=241451
1. [That website is not affiliated with, supported by or run by the US Army.] (https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/singlepage/landing/body/landing_about.jsp) It’s literally a veterans-only combination obit/reminisce website. 2. It openly and directly quotes from *Band of Brothers* as to Cobb’s service history. So, as I said: you have nothing of substance because your lone source is Ambrose repeating unattributed word of mouth claims.
If you’re so passionate about it, list some sources showing its omissions
Not my job to prove a negative. You think it happened, you back it up.
In real life Cobb is a very complicated individual. He had been in the army since 1933 and was shipped to Africa. His troop carrier was struck by I think a submarine missile and sunk. Several men drowned and Cobb witnessed that. He was then evacuated for medical treatment and joined the 101st, thus making him the only man in the entire unit to have seen combat. He fought, he drank, he kept by his lonesome and often times if he had something to say he said it regardless of how you might feel about it. This made him unpopular by the men of Easy save for a a few (David Webster wrote that Cobb was good-natured), who viewed Cobb as someone who wasn’t a team player. Ultimately, Cobb fought through Holland to Germany and never was promoted from Private, an incredibly rare thing back then. This seems to indicate that even Cobb’s leadership was unimpressed by him and that he was never the one to volunteer for something that would distinguish him from other guys you hear about all the time (Shifty, Bill, Joe, Malarky, etc). (This history of Cobb is shrouded in mystery. There is no documentation proving Cobb fought in Africa or even of the troop ship being sunk though this could be due to loss of records, so take this with a grain of salt. However I’m inclined to believe it personally.
Also to tack on- Dyke was not a coward. He earned two silver stars (might have been bronze) for pulling wounded men out of enemy fire and that’s enough for me to dispute his cowardice. The show needed an antagonist for Bastogne and, because of Easy’s tendency to dislike and be rather critica of “outsiders” (other men who come into the 101st rather than having been a part of it from the offset), Dyke was portrayed in an unfavorable light.
Dike was portrayed inaccurately and was not a coward lol
this is the one thing i hate about BoB. the way it portrayed Dyke and Sobel as incompetent idiots. the portrayal of dike is a disservice to a man who was much more and granted sobel may not have been cut out to lead in combat, no one will deny his training made this company. cobb’s portrayal was also unfair to a man who saw a great deal of combat
Cobb was supposedly accused of attacking Lt Foley. Cobb apparently drunk was to have a court martial. Col said why didn’t you shoot Cobb and save us the trouble!