Because while everyone hated him, he helped create Easy Company and prepared them for action. It is said he deserved the credit for their survival. But seriously, there’s a lot about Sobel here. And honestly, it is kinda sad, especially the ending.
Herbert Maxwell Sobel was born January 26, 1912 to Max and Dora Sobel, aristocratic business people. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He had an older brother, Julian, who was about three years older than him. He had two younger sisters, Maxine and Ruth. Sobel and his family were Jewish.
He attended Culver Military Academy and was part of the swim team. He would come back to Illinois and graduate from the University of Illinois in Urbana and Chicago (he is shown in two places,a few years apart, it is possible he transferred), where he was the Business Manager of the Yearbook along with the B’Nai B’ Rith Hillel Foundation (a Jewish organization devoted to social and religious work among students) and in Chicago he was a part of the Infantry Officer’s Club. He was six feet tall and skinny. It is said his actor in the HBO series, David Schwimmer, was chosen because of the resemblance. After University he was a reserve officer until he arrived from Fort Riley, Kansas to serve with the 506th. He had been a military police officer at Fort Riley, which perhaps his strict expectations for rules.
Sobel was the first member of Easy Company and became its commanding officer. He told the officers that he would have no violence of discipline and that he expected Easy to be the best in everything it did, marching, marksmanship, and physical fitness. He wanted Easy to be ready for combat. But one thing he lacked, according to Winter, Sobel was not a great field officer.
Sobel was tough during training with Easy Company. His fitness tests were paired with water endurance: no man could drink without permission. During their training, Sobel was promoted from 1st Lieutenant to Captain. Sobel’s inspections and promotion led to him to be extra critical on the troops. Few men survived his inspections without getting their weekend passes revoked and another three miles up and three miles down Currahee.
Easy became a unit that exceeded expectations and became extraordinary. The credit belonged to the officers of Easy, even Sobel’s hard discipline and work. But even though he worked hard, Sobel was hated by almost every man in Easy. Steven Ambrose described Sobel as a “ petty tyrant”. His arrogance was also marked upon as he gained complete control over Easy. He was strict and harsh against any breach of command, even if it was imaginary.
He was given a nickname by his men and officers: Black Swan. This developed into “Herr Black Swan” as his perception as a tyrant grew among the men. He was described by Winters as “just plain mean”. As leadership was being tested in Easy, later in their training, Sobel’s moods got worse and it was sad during a bad one, he could go down a line of soldiers and mark up six men in a row before switching rows and gaining another three-four. Easy men could not have a fair, passable inspection if Sobel hated them. Yet Sobel was always on time, making him the only officer to not be penalized, and he would stand up for his company to higher powers. Before their march to the port, Sobel heard an officer was to be left behind due to being unsuitable. Sobel marched to the office and gave a “spirited defense” that the man was allowed to stay on. Sobel even asked family of his men back home to write to their men often, to give them a reason to fight.
Sobel’s harshness, high pitched, raspy voice, constant shouting, and interesting phrases such as “high-yo silver” got him laughed at behind his back. He could not read a map and failed at tactical fighting. The men took advantage at this to get back at Sobel. George Luz even mimicked a higher ranking officer’s voice and commanded the panicking Sobel to cut barb wire and proceed with training. When confronted about his foolish mistake, Sobel did not realize he had been tricked until he was told that officer was not there. Sobel, as a result, did not have single friend in Easy as they headed off to Europe.
In Europe, Sobel’s NCO formed a “rebellion” against him and handed in their stripes after writing a formal protest against him. Sobel was eventually removed from his place in command in February of 1944 and placed in command of a new division training center.
Later in the war, during 1945, Sobel came back into contact with Easy. Where he witnessed what had become of the men he trained. Many of the men he had trained were in high command positions. Winters says the moment must have been bittersweet for the man. As Stephen Ambrose remarks “Sobel must have been doing something right back in the summer of ‘42 at Toccoa.”
Not much is stated about what Sobel was actually doing during the war. He was the regimental s-4 throughout the war, which meant he mostly worked with supplies and logistics.
Winters continued to feud with Sobel throughout the war. Often getting little jabs in at Sobel whenever he could. Winters was asked to hand back his silk map or pay $75. He had sewn the map into his belt throughout the entire war, it was a level of sentiment that Winters decided to keep it. Winters disobeyed, wrote Sobel a letter that said “Nuts!” signed it “Richard D. Winters, Major, Commanding.” He never paid and hung up the map in his office. His most famous encounter was after Winters had been promoted to Major when he ran into Captain Sobel one last time. Sobel ignored him but Winters called out to him, “Captain, we recognize and honor the rank!” (Better known as, “Captain Sobel, we salute the rank, not the man.” Winters claimed he said it one way, Ambrose said it was another) Sobel reluctantly saluted him.
After the war, Sobel married a blonde, former nurse in Italy, catholic girl. Her family were farmers, but she worked at a hospital in Chicago. They met when Sobel ran into her while visiting a wounded soldier. Although she was not accepted by his family due to the differences of religion and background, Sobel’s children were raised Catholic and they attended Mass regularly, although Sobel did not regularly go with them.
Sobel, for all his cruelty with his family, loved his wife to death. He doted on her lovingly and gave her constant affection and attention. He woke up early and made her breakfast every day. If it was winter, he’d go heat up the car for his wife to drive to work.
The loving couple had three sons, Herbert Jr., Michael, and Richard. They also had a baby girl that died several days after her birth. The family lived in the house that Sobel had grown up. “He was a great dad in many ways,” Michael said. “He was very loving and attentive. He doted on my mother and was very much in love with her. I never heard him use profanity or witnessed him losing his temper. He never raised a hand to us kids when we didn’t deserve it—and there were plenty of times we did deserve it and didn’t get it.” He made pancakes on Sundays and invited neighborhood kids to come in to join them.
Each of his sons were given nicknames that Sobel called them. Michael was Inky, his brothers were Footsie and Skookie. His sons played baseball and did work outs with him. Michael recalls: “Dad was always in great physical shape and could bang out pushups no problem. It’s odd that the HBO series showed him struggling with pushups. As kids we did 50 to 75 pushups per night, and Dad did them right with us.”
Sobel served active duty in the Korean War until 1953 (I cannot find his records but it is credited in Brotherton’s book by Sobel’s son Michael). He remained after the war in the reserves until he retired as a Lt. Colonel. He then worked as a credit manager for a company. It is said he did not miss a day of work. All of his savings went to all of his sons college expenses. Sobel told them that education was second only to family.
During the Vietnam War, Sobel’s relationship with his family was torn. One of his sons was drafted in the Coast Guard, one was diabetic, and Michael was away at Berkeley. Michael was arrested for protesting at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which strained his father’s relationship with him even more.
In 1970, Michael had transferred to Southern Illinois University, where he was laying low for a while due to his unpopular political opinions. He had not contact with his fathers in years. The police finally found him and had reported that his father, Sobel, had attempted suicide. His wife was inconsoable and could not understand why. It is believed that Sobel and his wife had seperated before his attempt, but at the time they were still married.
Sobel had shot himself in the head and lived. The bullet had entered from the left side and passed behind his eyes out the other side, leaving him blind. Michael found this rather odd, as his father was right handed.
Sobel was moved to assisted living in Waukegan, Illinois. The conditions were poor and he was often unresponsive or in a dream like state. There he remained for 17 years. His wife eventually divorced him. He died on September 30, 1987 due to malnutrition. His family did not attend his funeral. His sons were not bothered by the portrayal of their father in the HBO series and figured they just needed someone to take the fall.
One of Sobel’s men’s son met Michael at a speaking arrangement and hugged him. Saying that his father told him to because Sobel was the reason he was alive.
