Noah Halili - Sergeant Perconte and Odysseus

  Frank Perconte was a sergeant in Easy Company during WWII and is portrayed in the 2001 miniseries, Band of Brothers. Sergeant Perconte relates to the Hero’s Journey by demonstrating how a journey can wear down a person. While many members of Easy Company experienced shifts in their mentality and attitude towards the war after fighting for years. His progression through the war reminded me of how Odysseus gradually changes into a merciless and battle-worn soldier during his journey home in the Odyssey. 

Similar to Odysseus, Perconte begins WWII relatively positive and unconcerned with his own survival. One of the first times the audience sees Perconte, he is showing off a number of wristwatches that he looted off the Nazi soldiers killed during D-Day. At this point early on in Easy Company’s journey, Sergeant Perconte is more concerned with the souvenirs he can take home than the impending battles. As the war continues on, Perconte, like many of his fellow paratroopers, begins to grow tired of the war and constant fighting. In Episode 3: Carentan, Perconte expresses frustration with two other paratroopers when he asks them “Why is Easy Company the only company who’s either at the front of an advance or, like now, exposed at the far edge of the line?” (Band of Brothers). By this point, the Allied forces had successfully landed in Europe and were slowly advancing towards Germany. By this point, Sergeant Perconte is already displeased with the constant fighting and effort the company must put into the war effort. 

Later on in the miniseries, we see more of Perconte’s mental shift on the war from an interaction between him and Private Patrick O’Keefe. This exchange occurs towards the end of the war when Easy Company is resting in Berlin. O’Keefe, who is a new member of the company with no prior combat experience, goes with Perconte to relieve soldiers on watch duty. When they get settled, O’Keefe happily tidies up the post and begins humming love songs. After telling him to be quiet multiple times to no effect, Perconte snaps and begins yelling at O’Keefe. He describes how he has no idea what WWII has been like and the many horrors he has seen since his initial deployment. Furthermore, Perconte explains that Berlin is the first time he has been able to have simple things like a warm bed and meal. He goes on to say that Berlin is the closest thing to home that he has seen during the entire war. From his first experiences in WWII when he was collecting watches to this conversation with Private O’Keefe, Perconte had experienced some of the bloodiest parts of the war. Like Odysseus, he had changed from a somewhat joyful soldier to a battered veteran that simply wanted to get home. 

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