If you’ve watched the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers a dozen times like I have, you probably think you know every face in Easy Company. You recognize Winters, Nixon, and Malarkey instantly. But history is a lot messier than a ten-part television production. Some of the most vital figures in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment barely get a speaking line, yet they were the literal backbone of the unit. One of those men was Burton "Pat" Christenson.
He was an "original." That carries a specific weight in World War II circles. It means he was there at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, running up Currahee mountain under the screaming commands of Captain Herbert Sobel. Christenson wasn't just a bystander; he was a foundational piece of the 2nd Battalion.
Pat Christenson was actually one of the very first men to join Easy Company. He hailed from Bellingham, Washington, a Pacific Northwest kid who found himself in the humid, grueling hell of Georgia paratrooper training in 1942. When we talk about the Christenson Band of Brothers connection, we’re talking about a man who survived nearly the entire European theater of operations. That is a statistical miracle.
Why Pat Christenson is the Missing Piece of the TV Show
Television needs a narrative arc. It needs a hero. Because of that, the show focuses heavily on the officers and a handful of NCOs. Pat Christenson was a Sergeant, but his role was often behind the scenes or in the thick of the chaos where cameras didn't linger.
Stephen Ambrose, who wrote the book the series is based on, leaned heavily on the accounts of men like Bill Guarnere and Carwood Lipton. Christenson was a quieter source, but his presence was felt in every major engagement. He wasn't just "some guy" in the back of the C-47. He was a machine gunner. That’s a heavy, dangerous job. If you’re carrying the tripod or the M1919A4, you are the first person the Germans want to kill.
Christenson dropped into Normandy on D-Day. He survived the jump—which, frankly, was a coin toss for most of the 101st Airborne. He fought through the hedgerows. He was there for Operation Market Garden in Holland. He froze his tail off in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild he isn't a household name. He was one of the few who went from the very beginning at Toccoa all the way to Berchtesgaden and Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at the end of the war. Most men were killed, captured, or sent home with "million-dollar wounds" long before the 101st reached the Austrian Alps.
The Toccoa Hardship and the Sobel Factor
You can't talk about Christenson without talking about Captain Sobel. The show depicts Sobel as a petty tyrant, and while that’s mostly true, he did forge those men into something unbreakable. Christenson was part of that early crucible.
The training was insane. They ran three miles up and three miles down Currahee. Every day. Christenson once noted that the physical conditioning was what saved them later. It wasn't the tactics or the weapons—it was the fact that they were in better shape than any other soldier on the planet.
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When the mutiny happened—when the NCOs turned in their stripes because they refused to follow Sobel into combat—Christenson was in a tough spot. He was a loyal soldier, but he saw the writing on the wall. The Christenson Band of Brothers legacy is built on this internal friction between discipline and survival.
The Reality of Combat: More Than Just "Crossroads"
We all remember the "Crossroads" episode where Winters leads a charge against two SS companies. It’s cinematic gold. But for Christenson, combat was often a slow, grinding misery.
In Holland, during Market Garden, the 101st was spread thin along a single road. They called it "Hell's Highway." Christenson's job was to provide suppressive fire. It's not glamorous. You’re hunkered down in a ditch, trying to keep your gun from jamming while 88mm shells turn the trees above you into wooden shrapnel.
He saw friends disappear in seconds. One moment you're sharing a cigarette with a guy from Oregon, and the next, he's just... gone. That’s the part the history books struggle to capture. The psychological weight of being an "original" meant Christenson had to watch three or four "generations" of replacements come and go.
He became a mentor. By 1944, he was a veteran in a sea of scared kids.
Survival in the Bastogne Woods
The Siege of Bastogne is where the legend of Easy Company was truly cemented. It’s also where Pat Christenson’s endurance was tested to the limit.
They had no winter clothes. No boots. Barely any ammunition. Christenson spent weeks in a foxhole in the Bois Jacques woods. If you’ve never been in sub-zero temperatures without a coat, you can’t imagine it. Your feet start to rot. Your fingers stop working.
Christenson was one of the men who held the line when the German 130th Panzer Lehr Division tried to squeeze the life out of the 101st. He didn't break. He didn't surrender.
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There's a specific kind of toughness required to sit in a hole for 20 days while being shelled by "Screaming Meemies" (German Nebelwerfer rockets) and still be able to stand up and fight when the whistle blows. Christenson had that.
What Happened After the War?
Most people assume these guys came home and lived perfect, "Greatest Generation" lives. For some, that was true. For others, the war never really ended.
Burton Christenson returned to Washington state. He got married, had a family, and worked for the telephone company for decades. He was a talented artist, too. He spent a lot of his later years drawing and painting scenes from the war—not the violent ones, mostly, but the quiet moments. The landscapes of Europe. The faces of the men he served with.
He stayed active in the Easy Company reunions. He was close with guys like Richard Winters and Don Malarkey. He wasn't looking for fame. He wasn't writing a memoir to make a quick buck. He just wanted to remember.
Pat passed away in 1998, just a few years before the HBO series turned his friends into global icons. It’s a bit of a shame he didn't get to see the world finally understand what they went through, but then again, he probably would have just shrugged and said they were just doing their jobs.
The Christenson Family and the Legacy
His son, Chris Christenson, has been a major figure in keeping his father’s story alive. He’s shared letters and sketches that provide a much more intimate look at the 506th than any Hollywood script ever could.
When you look at the Christenson Band of Brothers story through the lens of his personal artifacts, you see a man who was deeply reflective. He wasn't a "killing machine." He was a person who missed his home and hated the cold but felt a profound sense of duty to the men on his left and right.
Correcting the Myths
Let’s get a few things straight about Pat Christenson and Easy Company.
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First, the "Band of Brothers" wasn't just Easy Company. The entire 506th was incredible, and sometimes the focus on one company makes people forget the thousands of others who died nearby. Pat knew this. He was humble about his service because he knew guys in Able, Baker, and Dog companies who did the exact same things he did but didn't have a best-selling book written about them.
Second, the "Originals" like Christenson didn't hate the replacements. That’s a bit of a TV trope for drama. While there was certainly a hazing period, men like Christenson knew they needed those new guys to stay alive. He was known for being a steady hand for the "green" soldiers.
Third, he wasn't just a soldier; he was a technician. Handling a machine gun squad requires a level of tactical intelligence that isn't always portrayed well. You have to understand grazing fire, interlocking fields of fire, and how to displace under pressure. Christenson was a master of the "light" .30 caliber.
How to Research the Real Easy Company
If you want to move beyond the TV show and understand the real Pat Christenson and his comrades, you have to look at the primary sources.
- Read "Beyond Band of Brothers" by Dick Winters. It gives a more tactical and grounded view of the leadership.
- Check out the "Men of Easy Company" archives. There are hundreds of hours of interviews with the survivors that were conducted in the 80s and 90s.
- Visit the Currahee Military Museum. It’s in Toccoa, Georgia, in the old train station where the recruits first arrived. They have exhibits specifically on the Pacific Northwest guys like Christenson.
- Look for the Artwork. Seek out the sketches Pat Christenson made. They provide a visual "vibe" of the war that photos often miss.
The story of the Christenson Band of Brothers connection is a reminder that history is built by individuals who didn't necessarily want to be heroes. They just didn't want to let their friends down.
Key Takeaways for History Buffs
- Pat Christenson was a Toccoa Original: He was with the unit from day one in 1942 until the end in 1945.
- Role: He served primarily as a machine gunner and NCO in the 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR.
- Engagements: He participated in every major campaign: Normandy, Holland, Bastogne, and Germany.
- Post-War: He was a dedicated family man and artist who helped preserve the history of the unit through personal sketches and reunions.
- Legacy: His story emphasizes the "unseen" backbone of the 101st Airborne—the men who did the heavy lifting without seeking the spotlight.
If you're ever in the Pacific Northwest, specifically around Bellingham, think about Pat. He was just a regular guy who lived through some of the most irregular times in human history. We owe it to men like him to get the facts right.
To dig deeper into the actual military records of the 506th, you should look into the National Archives' "Morning Reports." These are the daily logs kept by the company clerks. They aren't "fun" reading, but they tell you exactly who was where, who was wounded, and who was promoted on any given day. It’s the raw, unpolished truth of the war.
Explore the official 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association website to find detailed rosters and unit histories that include the names of those who served alongside Christenson. Supporting these veteran-run organizations is the best way to ensure these records remain digitized and accessible for future generations.