I'll start this out by saying that I'm sure you've seen something related to World War II at some point in your life; it could've been a movie, video game, book or pictures on a PowerPoint in some high school history class. There's no lack of material out there, and if you were interested you could spend weeks searching through content finding new perspectives on WWII, but I would recommend "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" over almost anything.

World War II was fought between 1939 and 1945 and an estimated 70 million people died. To put that into perspective, that's the current population of New York City, Chicago and Boston combined each year. On D-Day alone, more Americans died on Omaha Beach than the entire war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. The importance and impact of WWII is definitely not news to anyone as we look back, but there's really nothing that can give us an idea of what it was actually like other than words from the veterans of the "Greatest Generation" themselves, and their numbers are fading in a big way. Today, an 18 year old American soldier joining the military in 1944 would be 90 years old, and as the years go by, the number of veterans of WWII still alive can only go down. With all the conflict around the world today, it's even more relevant to remember the past so that nothing like WWII could ever happen again. Granted, it's impossible for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks to give us an exact storytelling of what these men went through, but the series are just about as close as anyone can get.

Even though "Band of Brothers" came out back in 2001, I had been meaning to watch it for a while because of its 9.5/10 rating on IMdb, 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, overall consensus as the greatest miniseries of all time, and my general interest in learning about WWII. The 10-part series follows American soldiers in Easy Company, Second Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from training, to D-Day, to the Battle of the Bulge, and to the end of the war at the Eagle's Nest. Every part starts with interviews with the real veterans of Easy Company setting up the plot of the episode and then goes into a one hour movie-type experience recreating an important time in the war. It stars actors that were complete no-names at the time: Damian Lewis from "Homeland," Michael Fassbender from "Steve Jobs" (and a lot more), Michael Cudlitz from "The Walking Dead," Tom Hardy from everything, Donnie Wahlberg from Mark Wahlberg and more. And let me tell you, every bit of the hype is well-deserved.

"Band of Brothers" is as close as you can get to being perfect. The acting, directing and writing is phenomenal, but when you throw a heart-wrenching musical score, fantastic cinematography and unbelievable special and practical effects into the mix that's when you understand why it won seven out of its 20 Emmy nominations. It made me feel like I was on a journey with the characters every step of the way, and when the series finally came to an end I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I left with an overwhelming respect for the real men that went through the chaos I had just watched on a TV screen while eating Cheetos, understanding that I will never fully fathom what it must have been like fighting in WWII.

"The Pacific" isn't as highly acclaimed, but that's because it's a different kind of story. If you look at the title of each miniseries. it tells you what they will be about. "Band of Brothers" focused on a small group's experience and bond through the terrors of the European Theatre while "The Pacific" focused on the Pacific Theatre as a whole from the perspective of a handful of individual soldiers. "The Pacific" is also much, much darker. Don't get me wrong, both series are just as violent as Spielberg and Hanks' first WWII collaboration, "Saving Private Ryan," but the 2010 sequel to its European counterpart made sure we understood that a some of the "Greatest Generation" were killed before they could put a foot on the beach.

The acting is just as good as in "Band of Brothers" aside from that kid from "Jurassic Park," and "The Pacific" definitely had shining moments that even surpassed the higher rated series. Specifically there's a scene where a character is being consoled after reading about the death of his dog back home, and even with all the gunshots going on in the background acting as white-noise, I ignored all that because I was genuinely sad about the dog. Yes, I'm always sad about a dog's death on TV, but the realness of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks; every single one of those soldiers had a normal life back home. In that way, "The Pacific" is a masterpiece.

Here are some notes if you're planning on watching:

"Band of Brothers:"

Favorite Character: The entire group is fantastic, but if I had to pick one I would say Richard Winters

Favorite Episodes: Part 5 - Crossroads, Part 6 - Bastogne, and Part 7 - The Breaking Point.

Most Brutal Moments: Aftermath of the Holocaust, some violent and vivid death scenes

Final Rating: 10/10

"The Pacific:"

Favorite Character: SNAFU by far, Rami Malek is an incredible actor.

Favorite Episodes: Part 6 - Peleliu Airfield, Part 7 - Peleliu Hills, and Part 9 - Okinawa.

Most Brutal Moments: Mutilating corpses for fun, violent death, and civilian casualties.

Final Rating: 9/10 (The first three episodes can be a little slow)

If you can stomach the violence, I couldn't recommend them any more. Make sure to take a minute every now and then to thank both the veterans and the fallen soldiers of WWII for going through the unimaginable to make sure that we could all have the freedoms we have today. Let's not forget the "greatest generation."

If you're curious where I got some of my statistics and want to learn more, go here's and watch the video.