Twenty-five years after HBO’s Band of Brothers introduced millions of viewers to the paratroopers of Easy Company, the National WWII Museum is giving fans a considerably more physical way to follow in their footsteps.
Beginning Oct. 1, the New Orleans museum and the Crescent City Classic launched the “WWII Challenge: Easy Company,” a virtual fitness event that retraces portions of the unit’s World War II journey from training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, through England, Normandy, the Netherlands, Bastogne and the Bavarian Alps.
Participants do not have to recreate the 101st Airborne Division’s marches across Europe. Instead, they can log miles by walking, running, biking or using a treadmill from wherever they live.
The museum says Easy Company traveled more than 2,400 miles during World War II. For the challenge, that history has been condensed into a 103-mile individual course and a 730-mile team course.
Following the Wartime Path
The virtual route follows 13 historic milestones.
It begins at Camp Toccoa, Ga., and continues through England, Normandy, the Netherlands, Bastogne, Haguenau, France, and Berchtesgaden, Germany. As participants log miles, they unlock information about what Easy Company experienced at each stage of the war.
Participants can walk, run, bike or use a treadmill from Oct. 1 through Feb. 28, 2027.
Registration costs $50 per person. Participants receive a T-shirt, finisher medal, commemorative race bib, printable virtual bib and 25% off admission to the National WWII Museum.
According to organizers, 100% of donations and a portion of registration proceeds support the museum.
Tying the Challenge to an Acclaimed WWII Program
The challenge arrives during the 25th anniversary year of Band of Brothers.
The 10-part HBO miniseries, based on historian Stephen Ambrose’s book, premiered in September 2001 and dramatized the experiences of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The National WWII Museum, which Ambrose founded, has been marking the show’s 25th anniversary with programming devoted to the unit, the series and the 101st Airborne Division.
The miniseries currently has a 9.4 rating (out of 10) on IMDB, out of more than 600,000 ratings.
HBO Max also returned to Easy Company this month with the Sept. 9 release of Band of Brothers: Legacy, a new documentary examining the making and continuing influence of the miniseries.
The documentary includes new interviews with cast members Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Michael Cudlitz, David Schwimmer and retired Marine Capt. Dale Dye, along with previously unseen archival footage and photographs of the real Easy Company soldiers.
Former Green Beret Chase Millsap directed the film. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman were the executive producers.
For viewers who first encountered Easy Company through a television screen, the museum’s latest anniversary project offers another way into the story. This time, following the company’s route requires a little more than pressing play.
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