Dick Winters, the former World War II commander whose war story was told in the book and miniseries “Band of Brothers,” has died.
Dick Winters led a quiet life on his Fredericksburg farm and in his Hershey home until the book and miniseries “Band of Brothers” threw him into the international spotlight.
Since then, the former World War II commander of Easy Company had received hundreds of requests for interviews and appearances all over the world.
He stood at the podium with President George W. Bush in Hershey during the presidential campaign in 2007. He accepted the “Four Freedoms” award from Tom Brokaw on behalf of the Army. He was on familiar terms with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, producers of the HBO mini-series, the most expensive television series ever produced.
Winters was always gracious about his new-found celebrity, but never really comfortable with it. He never claimed to be a hero and said that he had nothing to do with the national effort to get him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor.
When people asked him if he was a hero, he liked to answer the way his World War II buddy, Mike Ranney, did.
“No,” Ranney said. “But I served in a company of heroes.” That became the tag line for the miniseries.
I was always awestruck when I listened to my grandfather and other great relatives talk about their experiences during WW II. There's nothing quite like getting stories first hand in person. Now virtually all the WWII vets are gone.
Sad to see any of the remaining WW II era vets go.
Winnow wrote:I was always awestruck when I listened to my grandfather and other great relatives talk about their experiences during WW II. There's nothing quite like getting stories first hand in person. Now virtually all the WWII vets are gone.
Sad to see any of the remaining WW II era vets go.
My grandfather was a navigator (i think thats what they called them) for the Russian air force during the WWII. He was 15 years old in 1943 and had to fake his papers in order to get into the air force. He finished the war in Berlin in 1945. Between his stories and watching Band of Brothers you begin to understand who the real heros were back in the day.
This is the picture of my grandfather on the last V-day! He has a lot more medals but they do not all fit on his jacket, he only wears the ones that mean the most:
Last edited by Zver on January 15, 2011, 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
You could really tell from those interviews how much he respected and cared for the soldiers under his command. Men like that are all too rare in today's armed forces, especially in the upper ranks.
"There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships." -Theodore Roosevelt
