- Sep 26, 2000
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Speirs
In the mini series they seem to make it pretty plain that Speirs shot the German P.O.W.'s. shortly after the jump into Normandy. Later on when Lipton asks him about he doesn't directly deny it.
So I looked it up on Wiki and found that the other incident that gets mentioned, the one where a soldier heard a rumor Speirs shot one of his sergeants for being drunk and disobeying an order WAS true.
from wiki:
Richard Winters, in his own book titled Beyond Band of Brothers: The Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, detailed exactly what did happen when Speirs shot a sergeant in one of his squads for being drunk on duty and refusing to take orders in combat. Winters notes that by shooting the sergeant, Speirs saved the lives of many other men. Winters also repeatedly calls Speirs "a born killer" and states that despite making occasional flawed decisions off the battlefield, Speirs was a superb combat commander, which Winters respected immensely. Winters also points out that Speirs did report this incident to his commanding officer and the name of the officer. However, that officer was killed in action the next day, and the incident was never pursued at any level. Winters suggests that officers higher in the chain of command were so desperate for competent field officers that they could not afford losing one of Speirs' caliber. The soldiers serving under Speirs respected him immensely, but also feared him. This incident eventually faded away officially but became legend among the troops.
I guess I can agree that shooting a drunk and treasonious officer to save lives is justified, but shooting un-armed p.o.w.'s doesn't seem right.
In the mini series they seem to make it pretty plain that Speirs shot the German P.O.W.'s. shortly after the jump into Normandy. Later on when Lipton asks him about he doesn't directly deny it.
So I looked it up on Wiki and found that the other incident that gets mentioned, the one where a soldier heard a rumor Speirs shot one of his sergeants for being drunk and disobeying an order WAS true.
from wiki:
Richard Winters, in his own book titled Beyond Band of Brothers: The Memoirs of Major Richard Winters, detailed exactly what did happen when Speirs shot a sergeant in one of his squads for being drunk on duty and refusing to take orders in combat. Winters notes that by shooting the sergeant, Speirs saved the lives of many other men. Winters also repeatedly calls Speirs "a born killer" and states that despite making occasional flawed decisions off the battlefield, Speirs was a superb combat commander, which Winters respected immensely. Winters also points out that Speirs did report this incident to his commanding officer and the name of the officer. However, that officer was killed in action the next day, and the incident was never pursued at any level. Winters suggests that officers higher in the chain of command were so desperate for competent field officers that they could not afford losing one of Speirs' caliber. The soldiers serving under Speirs respected him immensely, but also feared him. This incident eventually faded away officially but became legend among the troops.
I guess I can agree that shooting a drunk and treasonious officer to save lives is justified, but shooting un-armed p.o.w.'s doesn't seem right.
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