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For those who want to know: the text after the third episode from Band of Brothers mentions that the man died in 1948 as well...
this article is very incomplete
Why is he wearing both the 101st and 82nd Division Patches? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Daysleeper47 ( talk • contribs).
A patch on the right sleeve indicates a unit that he served in combat with (The 101st). A patch on the left sleeve indicates the unit that he was assigned to at the time (82nd). SoldierMedic —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.144.134.2 ( talk) 13:46, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
How did he serve in [Market Garden] and [Bastogne] if he wasn't released from the hospital until after the war was over? As stated previously, this article is incomplete, although it does at least elaborate on the incorrect information provided by the book and dvd. Also his discharge papers from 1945 list the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman badge, papers from the 1950's list the silver star and bronze star medal for service in the 506th. Something isn't adding up here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.255.61.196 ( talk) 16:18, 9 October 2010 (UTC)
There is something seriously wrong with the service history reported for this individual. There3 are repeated references to him serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in Korea, and during the Korean War. But - the 82nd never participated in the Korean conflict. Possibly, he was serving with the 187th Regimental Combat Team - but that was not part of the 82nd.
I have seen a copy of his orders for the master parachutist badge which also includes a list of the required 65 jumps that he "participated" in. One listed was the combat jump into Holland, as well as jumps stating that he served as a Jumpmaster and as a pathfinder, all these in 1943/44. Now how can a soldier that was still in a military hospital in September 1944 possibly make the Holland Jump? And no Private has ever served as a Jumpmaster. No where have I ever seen his name listed as a pathfinder from E/506.
I have also seen claims that he was awarded a silver star and bronze stars in Korea but his service record gives the award authority as the 506th. For a soldier that only served a couple weeks in Normandy how is it possible that he was awarded a silver star and 3 bronze stars?
I would venture to say he fabricated a lot of his service record, which I'm sure if someone did some good research would be able to verify what I've been thinking. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.23.150 ( talk) 02:25, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
Ok, here are some facts which have been verified as to his WWII service, he was wounded around the 25 of June 1944 which would mean he served approximately 20 days in combat. After being wounded he was sent back to the United States and never returned to the 506th which is why the members of Easy company thought he died from his wounds.
The book "Rendezvous with destiny" which is the WWII history of the 101st does not have him listed under the roster of silver star recipients, though this list could possibly not be 100% accurate. However with 20 days in combat it is HIGHLY unlikely that he could have been awarded 1 silver star, 3 bronze stars and 3 purple hearts. Pretty impressive, I would like to know what he did to supposedly receive the silver star and bronze stars. His grave marker at Arlington lists only the Purple Heart at the bottom of the Head stone.
As to his jump record it list's him serving as a Jumpmaster on various training jump's as well as the Normandy jump, never heard of a Private serving as a Jumpmaster. For example Lt Winters served as a Jumpmaster on his plane for the Normandy jump. As I previously mentioned his jump record lists the jump for Operation Market Garden, so if he never returned to combat after the 25th of June how again did he make that combat Jump on the 18th of September? His signature is on the jump record which confirms the record is true and correct to the best of his knowledge. So if there was a paperwork SNAFU why did he not have it corrected and why did he sign it?
Plus his jump record does not list a single jump between September 1944 and 16 November 1953, if he did serve with the 187th ARCT during the Korean war why are no jumps listed between these dates? The 187th made 2 combat jumps during the Korean war, I suppose he did not participate in those jumps.
Military personnel have been known to lie about their awards and decoration's, this is nothing new. Do a google search on CSM Stoney Crump and SGM John letuli for examples. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.23.150 ( talk) 00:52, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
The following website has a copy of his discharge from 1945 http://www.tircuit.com/bandofbrothers/messages/135/879.html, I see no silver stars, bronze stars or additional purple hearts listed. It does list his one purple heart and CIB from the normandy campaign though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.134.5.27 ( talk) 12:57, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
I have copies of Blithe's records courtesy of the National Personnel records Center, Blithe was never awarded the Silver Star, Bronze star or the extra purple hearts. According to NPRC records he was awarded one purple heart, not three. Additionally he never saw any combat in the Korean war, from Oct 1949 to September 1950 he served at Fort Meade Maryland and from Nov 1950 to Oct 1953 he was serving in Europe. Blithe's combat service lasted approximately 20 during the Normandy campaign, after being wounded on June 21st 1944 he never returned to combat. Why he wore unauthorized awards that he did not earn is something that will never be known. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.3.147 ( talk) 01:13, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
No confusion here, Blithe can be seen wearing those unauthorized awards in a photo at this site, http://www.506infantry.org/his2ndbnwwiiphoto24.html. The silver star can clearly be seen as well as the purple heart with 2 oak leaf clusters. He did falsify his jump record by listing the combat jump into Holland which can also be seen at the site linked above. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.3.147 ( talk) 21:14, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
So, this debate and all this research hit a dead end? This the reason for the article's pending deletion? It's been years and we still can't verify anything about this guy?
2601:87:4080:372:84D7:679C:1DA0:C7F6 (
talk)
20:13, 29 March 2018 (UTC)
I know nothing about the military. I am watching "Band of Brothers" for the first time and am reading a lot of military articles. This article had "ARCT" which was undefined and used only once. I find this common throughout the military articles I read. The Wikipedia guidance for use of acronyms says "Always consider whether it is better to simply write a word or phrase out in full, thus avoiding potential confusion for those not familiar with its abbreviation." Certainly most readers will not be familiar with the acronym ARCT. It is frustrating to read so many articles on a single topic (military), all of which are peppered with unexplained acronyms. Thanks for letting me rant. Very good article otherwise. Nick Beeson ( talk) 04:23, 25 October 2017 (UTC)
I've removed the statement that the report of Blithe's death was the fault of Stephen E. Ambrose. While Ambrose's error rate may be considered legendary, this was not one of them. Ambrose described Blithe's temporary blindness (page 98) and his being a member of a patrol—leading to his being wounded in the neck (pages 103–104). Blithe also appears in the index (page 322). Ambrose never mentions Blithe dying. Please review the text of the book at Band of Brothers on Google Books.-- Georgia Army Vet Contribs Talk 21:05, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
![]() | This article was nominated for deletion on 9 March 2018. The result of the discussion was no consensus. |
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
For those who want to know: the text after the third episode from Band of Brothers mentions that the man died in 1948 as well...
this article is very incomplete
Why is he wearing both the 101st and 82nd Division Patches? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Daysleeper47 ( talk • contribs).
A patch on the right sleeve indicates a unit that he served in combat with (The 101st). A patch on the left sleeve indicates the unit that he was assigned to at the time (82nd). SoldierMedic —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.144.134.2 ( talk) 13:46, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
How did he serve in [Market Garden] and [Bastogne] if he wasn't released from the hospital until after the war was over? As stated previously, this article is incomplete, although it does at least elaborate on the incorrect information provided by the book and dvd. Also his discharge papers from 1945 list the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman badge, papers from the 1950's list the silver star and bronze star medal for service in the 506th. Something isn't adding up here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.255.61.196 ( talk) 16:18, 9 October 2010 (UTC)
There is something seriously wrong with the service history reported for this individual. There3 are repeated references to him serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in Korea, and during the Korean War. But - the 82nd never participated in the Korean conflict. Possibly, he was serving with the 187th Regimental Combat Team - but that was not part of the 82nd.
I have seen a copy of his orders for the master parachutist badge which also includes a list of the required 65 jumps that he "participated" in. One listed was the combat jump into Holland, as well as jumps stating that he served as a Jumpmaster and as a pathfinder, all these in 1943/44. Now how can a soldier that was still in a military hospital in September 1944 possibly make the Holland Jump? And no Private has ever served as a Jumpmaster. No where have I ever seen his name listed as a pathfinder from E/506.
I have also seen claims that he was awarded a silver star and bronze stars in Korea but his service record gives the award authority as the 506th. For a soldier that only served a couple weeks in Normandy how is it possible that he was awarded a silver star and 3 bronze stars?
I would venture to say he fabricated a lot of his service record, which I'm sure if someone did some good research would be able to verify what I've been thinking. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.23.150 ( talk) 02:25, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
Ok, here are some facts which have been verified as to his WWII service, he was wounded around the 25 of June 1944 which would mean he served approximately 20 days in combat. After being wounded he was sent back to the United States and never returned to the 506th which is why the members of Easy company thought he died from his wounds.
The book "Rendezvous with destiny" which is the WWII history of the 101st does not have him listed under the roster of silver star recipients, though this list could possibly not be 100% accurate. However with 20 days in combat it is HIGHLY unlikely that he could have been awarded 1 silver star, 3 bronze stars and 3 purple hearts. Pretty impressive, I would like to know what he did to supposedly receive the silver star and bronze stars. His grave marker at Arlington lists only the Purple Heart at the bottom of the Head stone.
As to his jump record it list's him serving as a Jumpmaster on various training jump's as well as the Normandy jump, never heard of a Private serving as a Jumpmaster. For example Lt Winters served as a Jumpmaster on his plane for the Normandy jump. As I previously mentioned his jump record lists the jump for Operation Market Garden, so if he never returned to combat after the 25th of June how again did he make that combat Jump on the 18th of September? His signature is on the jump record which confirms the record is true and correct to the best of his knowledge. So if there was a paperwork SNAFU why did he not have it corrected and why did he sign it?
Plus his jump record does not list a single jump between September 1944 and 16 November 1953, if he did serve with the 187th ARCT during the Korean war why are no jumps listed between these dates? The 187th made 2 combat jumps during the Korean war, I suppose he did not participate in those jumps.
Military personnel have been known to lie about their awards and decoration's, this is nothing new. Do a google search on CSM Stoney Crump and SGM John letuli for examples. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.23.150 ( talk) 00:52, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
The following website has a copy of his discharge from 1945 http://www.tircuit.com/bandofbrothers/messages/135/879.html, I see no silver stars, bronze stars or additional purple hearts listed. It does list his one purple heart and CIB from the normandy campaign though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.134.5.27 ( talk) 12:57, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
I have copies of Blithe's records courtesy of the National Personnel records Center, Blithe was never awarded the Silver Star, Bronze star or the extra purple hearts. According to NPRC records he was awarded one purple heart, not three. Additionally he never saw any combat in the Korean war, from Oct 1949 to September 1950 he served at Fort Meade Maryland and from Nov 1950 to Oct 1953 he was serving in Europe. Blithe's combat service lasted approximately 20 during the Normandy campaign, after being wounded on June 21st 1944 he never returned to combat. Why he wore unauthorized awards that he did not earn is something that will never be known. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.3.147 ( talk) 01:13, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
No confusion here, Blithe can be seen wearing those unauthorized awards in a photo at this site, http://www.506infantry.org/his2ndbnwwiiphoto24.html. The silver star can clearly be seen as well as the purple heart with 2 oak leaf clusters. He did falsify his jump record by listing the combat jump into Holland which can also be seen at the site linked above. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.234.3.147 ( talk) 21:14, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
So, this debate and all this research hit a dead end? This the reason for the article's pending deletion? It's been years and we still can't verify anything about this guy?
2601:87:4080:372:84D7:679C:1DA0:C7F6 (
talk)
20:13, 29 March 2018 (UTC)
I know nothing about the military. I am watching "Band of Brothers" for the first time and am reading a lot of military articles. This article had "ARCT" which was undefined and used only once. I find this common throughout the military articles I read. The Wikipedia guidance for use of acronyms says "Always consider whether it is better to simply write a word or phrase out in full, thus avoiding potential confusion for those not familiar with its abbreviation." Certainly most readers will not be familiar with the acronym ARCT. It is frustrating to read so many articles on a single topic (military), all of which are peppered with unexplained acronyms. Thanks for letting me rant. Very good article otherwise. Nick Beeson ( talk) 04:23, 25 October 2017 (UTC)
I've removed the statement that the report of Blithe's death was the fault of Stephen E. Ambrose. While Ambrose's error rate may be considered legendary, this was not one of them. Ambrose described Blithe's temporary blindness (page 98) and his being a member of a patrol—leading to his being wounded in the neck (pages 103–104). Blithe also appears in the index (page 322). Ambrose never mentions Blithe dying. Please review the text of the book at Band of Brothers on Google Books.-- Georgia Army Vet Contribs Talk 21:05, 13 January 2021 (UTC)