George Luz

From Worldinherhands

George Luz is a character in the HBO series Band of Brothers. His PB is Rick Gomez and Robin is his player.

Brief History: George Luz was one of ten children to Portuguese immigrants and lived in Rhode Island during the early 20th century. As his family spoke only Portuguese, George himself was only able to learn English when he entered first grade, not from actual lessons, but by listening and mimicking what his fellow classmates would say. By the time he was around ten years old, the Great Depression hit America and while his family had to struggle to make ends meet, he still managed to enjoy life.

Then, the US finally entered World War 2 and rather then wait for the draft, George Volunteered for the Army and signed up for the Airborne, a recent creation of the US. Army where soldiers would be flown over and drooped into enemy territory. The concept was new, but the training was guaranteed to ensure that paratroopers were the 'best of the best', which certainly sounded more appealing than heading to the infantry where you were only trained as necessary-if asked though, George would say it was the extra fifty dollars in pay that made him join. He was assigned to E (Easy)-Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, U.S. 101st Airborne Division and sent with other members of Easy to Camp Toccoa, Georgia, to train. There, not only did they have to endure the heat, mosquitoes and halfway completed barracks, but the grueling training regiment of a CO who seemed more about barking orders and flaunting his rank than building respect for his company. At one point George even tricked their CO by making him believe that the CO of the companies was ordering him to cut a wire fence during a practice drill, releasing the cows of the land owner.

After becoming a full-fledged Paratrooper, Luz and the 506 were sent to begin the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, and the battles following, each time with George using his 'class clown' personality to help break the tension among the ranks-when he wasn't being a radio man. Liberating Holland in Operation Market-Garden seemed to go well in terms of planning and resources, but it failed to get the US and British Army into Germany and Luz and the rest of the Outfit were forced to retreat.

Luz enters the game from January of '45, during what would be called the Battle of The Bulge in Bastogne, France, just after he receives his dinner of 'hot' beans and broth.

Personality: First and foremost, George Luz enjoys a good laugh, and thrives on being the center of attention, usually provided by his imitations of people (even his friends) and joking around. He cracks jokes, dances around with strangers for the fun of it, and will even grab men's butts just for a laugh. Such was his personality that his antics and jokes were expected from the men in his company, even his 'ass grabbing'- except during marches and training. His talent at mimicry comes from his ability to read people and situations, and so he's able to tell when a joke may not be so appropriate: that's not to say that his mouth hasn't gotten him into trouble once and awhile, but it's never earned him any serious grudges either. That's not to say that George doesn't have his serious side: his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge left him with little to joke about, and the strain of trying to live through the mission left him and the rest of the company looking older than their time. He does know how and when to be serious if needs be.

A big kid (and goof) at heart, he has an uncanny ability to enjoy life and get the most out of it, even after all that he has seen and experienced in war and the depression-one might say it's because of them. Both the war and depression helped to created a man with a strong work ethic and capable of doing twice his amount of work,not because it might be expected but because it's right and because he enjoys helping people-even if it means putting a smile on their face. Not a violent sort of guy, he's not adverse to throwing punches in a ring, but he's the sort to understand when a punch is or isn't thrown in anger and will usually back off if it's the former-if it's the latter, odds are he still wouldn't take the fight that seriously: he had had enough of such fighting during the war.

note: This is a fictional representation of the real George Luz who really did serve in the Parachute Infantry