I was not a fan of the show in its original run as a kid, though my father never missed it. I came to discover it on cable TV after my father passed away, and I quickly grew to appreciate it, along with "12 O'Clock High" (which as an Air Force vet I liked better...).
Like many others, I preferred the episodes in which Vic Morrow had the lead role, as I got to know Sgt. Saunders and the individuals who composed his squad: Kirby, the constantly complaining goldbrick; Littlejohn, the gentle giant; the tough Caje whose fluency in French helped build bridges with Maquis resistance fighters in the French villages where they fought; and Doc the sanguine medic.
But there was a piece of trivia that added more realism to the show's portrayals of both the American and German fighters that I recently learned: Selig Seligman, creator and executive producer, was an Army lawyer who moved into television production in the early days of TV. In his final Army days, he served as an attorney for the prosecution...at the Nuremburg war trials!
Like many others, I preferred the episodes in which Vic Morrow had the lead role, as I got to know Sgt. Saunders and the individuals who composed his squad: Kirby, the constantly complaining goldbrick; Littlejohn, the gentle giant; the tough Caje whose fluency in French helped build bridges with Maquis resistance fighters in the French villages where they fought; and Doc the sanguine medic.
But there was a piece of trivia that added more realism to the show's portrayals of both the American and German fighters that I recently learned: Selig Seligman, creator and executive producer, was an Army lawyer who moved into television production in the early days of TV. In his final Army days, he served as an attorney for the prosecution...at the Nuremburg war trials!