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Band Of Brothers war hero Major Richard 'Dick' Winters, 92, dies
DAILY MAIL REPORTER ^ | 5:02 PM on 10th January 2011

Posted on 01/10/2011 9:38:29 AM PST by DBCJR

The U.S. officer whose quiet leadership was the central theme in TV's Band of Brothers has died aged 92. Major Richard 'Dick' Winters' World War II career was chronicled in a book of the same name. He died in central Pennsylvania on January 2.

Mr Winters lost his long battle with Parkinson's disease, longtime family friend William Jackson said today.

...

'He was one hell of a guy, of the greatest soldiers I was ever under. He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains' ...

The men led by the war hero paid tribute to their commander and remembered his 'great leadership'. William Guarnere, 88, said: 'When he said "Let's go", he was right in the front. He was never in the back. A leader personified'.

Another member of the unit, Edward Heffron, 87, said thinking about Winters brought tears to his eyes. 'He was one hell of a guy, of the greatest soldiers I was ever under. He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains', Mr Heffron shared.

'He took care of his men, that's very important.' Mr Winters became the leader of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day after his company commander died during the invasion of Normandy. He successfully led 20 men in an attack on a German force of 200 soldiers in September 1944.

He and his men later helped hold the Bastogne area of Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge - he was promoted to major shortly thereafter. ... When asked if he considered himself a hero, he relayed the words of his World War II comrade Mike Ranney: 'No, but I served in a company of heroes'. ...

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: History; Local News
KEYWORDS: bandofbrothers; dickwinters; ww2
Thank you, Major Winters! We salute you!
1 posted on 01/10/2011 9:38:34 AM PST by DBCJR
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To: DBCJR

Hitler counted on his crack Panzer units and his secret weapons......

But America had secret weapons too. Like the 101st Airborne and Dick Winters.

Hitler never counted on that.


2 posted on 01/10/2011 9:57:44 AM PST by NeverForgetBataan (To the German Commander: ..........................NUTS !)
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To: NeverForgetBataan

The German command structure didn’t allow for as much improvisation by lower level troops, they had to wait for orders, whereas Americans had much more leeway to improvise without requiring orders.


3 posted on 01/10/2011 9:59:18 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: DBCJR

I’ll never forget him saying this on TV: “ by grandson asked me if I was a “hero” in the war. I told him, no son, I was not a hero but I served with lots of them.


4 posted on 01/10/2011 10:10:02 AM PST by fish hawk (reporter to old Indian: you lived here on the reservation all your life? Old Indian, "not yet".)
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To: dfwgator

Yes, that old American trick of “improvise and kick ass” also was a factor against the Japanese.


5 posted on 01/10/2011 10:12:35 AM PST by fish hawk (reporter to old Indian: you lived here on the reservation all your life? Old Indian, "not yet".)
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To: DBCJR

Prayers for Major Winters and his family. My son begged for the “Band of Brothers” set. It is wonderful. To me, it showed simple men of all types doing what their country asked them to do. God Speed....


6 posted on 01/10/2011 10:35:08 AM PST by momtothree
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To: fish hawk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWXoYHgmTU


7 posted on 01/10/2011 11:15:34 AM PST by DBCJR (What would you expect?)
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To: DBCJR

8 posted on 01/10/2011 11:19:15 AM PST by Carpe Cerevisi
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To: DBCJR

Thank you, that is the one I was talking about. I did leave out the word “company” of men but hey, I’m 72 today. Lucky to remember anything. LOL


9 posted on 01/10/2011 11:36:06 AM PST by fish hawk (reporter to old Indian: you lived here on the reservation all your life? Old Indian, "not yet".)
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To: DBCJR
........I was just 3 yrs old when Major Winters was fighting for my Freedom........
..................RIP Dick................
10 posted on 01/10/2011 5:14:12 PM PST by GitmoSailor (AZ Cold War Veteran -Yes, We Need More Money-Please Donate Soon.........)
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To: DBCJR

Thank you so much for thie video.


11 posted on 01/10/2011 10:10:52 PM PST by Katarina (God bless ElRushbo and Mark Levin! Prayers for our troops!)
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To: DBCJR; zot; Interesting Times

Amen.


12 posted on 01/12/2011 6:34:50 AM PST by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: GreyFriar

May he rest in peace.


13 posted on 01/12/2011 1:44:24 PM PST by zot
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