Noah Halili - The Journey of a Soldier at War

  The miniseries Band of Brothers portrays the many paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division who served in Easy Company during WWII. One such soldier is Sergeant Donald Malarkey who experiences immense change between the beginning and end of the war. In the beginning of the series, Sergeant Malarkey, like many of his fellow paratroopers, seemed upbeat and enjoyed cracking jokes between battles. In Episode 2: Day of Days, Malarkey is shown happily teasing Nazi prisoners of war and even risks his life over the chance to find a German pistol on the battlefield. He seems almost childish compared to the expectation for a soldier in a warzone. This trend is upheld throughout the series with Malarkey often laughing along with his closest friends among the company. However, as Easy Company makes their journey to Europe, viewers notice that Malarkey slowly begins to decline mentally. Similar to Sergeant Perconte, who I have previously discussed in this blog, the war begins to weigh heavily on Malarkey until it nearly breaks him.

The ultimate shift in Malarkey’s positive nature occurs in Episode 7: The Breaking Point. In this episode, Easy Company is pinned down in the forest as German artillery bombardments constantly occur. This Easy Company mission required them to survive in extreme conditions covered in snow for weeks without any Allied support. To make matters worse, the company found themselves completely surrounded by Nazi forces. This operation was one of the deadliest encountered by Malarkey and the company. In the earlier part of the episode, Sergeant Malarkey can be found laughing alongside his best friends as they try to relax after a bombardment. Suddenly, a new artillery strike begins and the soldiers quickly disperse and attempt to find cover in their foxholes. When the dust settles, Malarkey’s closest friends, Sergeant Warren H. Muck and Private Alex Penkala had been killed. Furthermore, his other best friend, Lieutenant Lynn D. Compton, had a mental breakdown after witnessing fellow paratroopers get hit by an artillery strike. As Sergeant Lipton states in the series, “Their death hit Malarkey the hardest. Malarkey’s best friends in the company had been Compton, Muck and Penkala. In less than a week, he’d seen two of them die” (Band of Brothers). After this point, Malarkey becomes a shell of his former self. For the remainder of the series, he becomes extremely somber and hardly ever smiles. By the end of the war, any interactions with Malarkey show him being tired of the war and at one point he even chooses to not lead an operation so that he could rest away from the fighting. 

Sergeant Malarkey experiences a meaningful interior journey that embodies much of what many soldiers likely faced during WWII. Beyond that, it is a testament to the extremely difficult journey experienced by the paratroopers of Easy Company. He witnessed loved ones passing and nearly died himself on numerous occasions. As the miniseries progresses and tells his part of the story, Malarkey changes from a boy full of energy to a damaged man. His story exemplifies how a journey can potentially change the hero. 

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