About 10 years ago, I was talking with my folks on a Sunday. The kids were over, and they were asking questions about "Battleground," that was on TV at the time.
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All of a sudden Mom piped in. "McAuliffe? You mean Nuts McAullife?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Daddy used to play golf with Nuts McAuliffe." she said. She meant my grandfather. She then launched into how my grandfather knew Nuts McAuliffe. It turns out they both ended up working for American Cyanamid after the War. From what I gather "Nuts" was not something you called him to his face, but everyone knew him as Nuts McAuliffe. McAuliffe was head of Personnel. Grandad was an executive VP of the Formica Division.
I watched Battleground with my buddy John once. John was not Airborne. He was regular Army on the other side of the salient. He had no idea the movie existed. He was mildly impressed, but was not all that moved by it.
I'm glad he did not live to see Band of Brothers and the 88's in the forest. The worst I ever saw John get was when he'd start dwelling on the 88's and how the Germans learned to shoot tree bursts. He said living through an attack from the 88's was the worst, because you had no protection in your foxhole or dugout. The trees would fall on you or the shrapnel from the 88's would tear you apart-- all from above. John saw the most number of his buddies torn up from 88's. When John would start talking about the 88's, you knew you were in for a long night. From listening to his stories about the 88's I could barely stand to watch that episode of BofB.
