Jan 6, 2025
Speight, hoping to understand Skip better for the part he would play, phoned Don to talk about his buddy. He was simply asking questions when he heard the line go dead; Malarkey, it turned out, had hung up on the actor. “I just couldn’t take it,” Malarkey said. Being reminded of Skip so vividly had begun as fun but ended in frustration. Malarkey melted into a pool of sobs. The kicker was not only his sense of survivor’s guilt. It was his guilt for having let down the actor who would play Skip—which, of course, really meant letting down Skip himself. Don was right back in the endless loop of loss and regret and guilt again.
~ Bob Welch
#band of brothers#don malarkey#Saving My Enemy: How Two WWII Soldiers Fought Against Each Other and Later Forged a Friendship That Saved Their Lives#richard speight jr#if you think malarkey's book is a tough read then this one is tougher times ten#'letting down the actor who would play skip really meant letting down skip himself'#oh malarkey
