Lt. Norman Dike survived Foy?

[techs]

On Band of Brothers, after Dike had been relieved and the battle was over a soldier asked Lipton if he knew what happened to Dike. Lipton said he did and the soldier said something like "thank god for small mercies"
I always assumed he meant Dike was killed.
But I noticed on Wiki he was not killed, so I assume merely relieved of command.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Dike

Norman Staunton Dike (19 May 1918 Brooklyn, New York ? 23 June 1985 Rolle near Lausanne, Switzerland), First Lieutenant, was an officer in World War II. Dike was a graduate of Brown University and the son of a New York State Supreme Court Judge. His mother was from the famous New York "Biddle" jewelry family. He was transferred from Division HQ to Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, shortly before the Battle of the Bulge and became their commanding officer.

Dike was relieved during Bastogne by Ronald Speirs, then moved on to become an aide to Major General Maxwell Taylor, 101st Airborne Division.

Richard Winters, the most famous commander of Easy Company, spoke in unflattering detail about Dike in his autobiography, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Richard Winters. Likewise, in Brothers in Battle?Best of Friends, Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron do not refer to him favorably.

His constant unexplained disappearances, inattention to the men under his command, and his preference for remaining in a foxhole, rather than fighting earned him the unendearing nickname of "Foxhole Norman" among the members of Easy Company.

After the war he earned his law degree from Yale University. He remained in the Army and retired a Lieutenant Colonel. He was very active with the Boy Scouts of America. His business interests caused him to move to Switzerland where he lived until his death in 1985




wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: techs
wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

If someone is good at their job, where's the logic in making them perform a different set of duties that they may be mediocre at?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I guess you must have missed this part. Which is odd, because its one of the most awesome parts of the series...

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
I guess you must have missed this part. Which is odd, because its one of the most awesome parts of the series...

It just shows Dike being relieved. We don't see him afterward.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
I guess you must have missed this part. Which is odd, because its one of the most awesome parts of the series...

It just shows Dike being relieved. We don't see him afterward.

I might be wrong - but I dont' remember hearing that he dies in the series?

 

[GullyFoyle]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
I guess you must have missed this part. Which is odd, because its one of the most awesome parts of the series...

I watched that clip many times. I always assumed that when they showed that German artillery peice blowing the crap out of a haystack, that it was the haystack that Dike was hiding behind.

 

[benzylic]

In the book it mentions that sometime after the battle of the bulge, Easy company was at a division ceremony and Lt. Dike (or whatever rank he was by then) was up at the front standing alongside General Taylor (101st airborne commander). So he became some division level staff officer.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: techs

wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

Just because he was a lousy combat commander doesn't mean he wasn't a good staff officer.

Blithe survived the war too.

 

[waggy]

one of the books i read mention Dike was a lousy field commander. but great in the office pushing papers and such.

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

Just because he was a lousy combat commander doesn't mean he wasn't a good staff officer.

Blithe survived the war too.

I didn't know that. Apparently when they said in the miniseries he died in 1948 from his wounds it was an error:


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 (coincidentally, his military serial number - RA 13111948 - ended with "1948"). Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which the "Carentan" episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

Just because he was a lousy combat commander doesn't mean he wasn't a good staff officer.

Blithe survived the war too.

I didn't know that. Apparently when they said in the miniseries he died in 1948 from his wounds it was an error:


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 (coincidentally, his military serial number - RA 13111948 - ended with "1948"). Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which the "Carentan" episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."

Yeah, Blithe was a career soldier and died while on Active Duty. I think he was a MSG.

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

Just because he was a lousy combat commander doesn't mean he wasn't a good staff officer.

Blithe survived the war too.

I didn't know that. Apparently when they said in the miniseries he died in 1948 from his wounds it was an error:


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 (coincidentally, his military serial number - RA 13111948 - ended with "1948"). Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which the "Carentan" episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."

Yeah, Blithe was a career soldier and died while on Active Duty. I think he was a MSG.

I didn't know that! interesting

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: drum

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: techs

wtf? I guess when you screw up badly the only thing to do is promote you, eventually to Lieutenant Colonel

Just because he was a lousy combat commander doesn't mean he wasn't a good staff officer.

Blithe survived the war too.

I didn't know that. Apparently when they said in the miniseries he died in 1948 from his wounds it was an error:


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 (coincidentally, his military serial number - RA 13111948 - ended with "1948"). Ambrose's errors were compounded in the mini-series, in which the "Carentan" episode ends with a slide stating that "Albert Blithe never recovered from the wounds he received in Normandy. He died in 1948."

Yeah, Blithe was a career soldier and died while on Active Duty. I think he was a MSG.

I didn't know that! interesting

Also, that he seemed to have turned into a pretty good soldier!