TAPS
RIP
Major Dick Winters, USA
"Band of Brothers"
Posted on 01/09/2011 5:43:04 PM PST by GQuagmire
Edited on 01/09/2011 6:25:15 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Amen to that. Maybe it's Sarah. . .
R.I.P. Major Dick Winters. You’ll be sorely missed, and will live on in my mind forever as the prime example of what it used to mean to be called an American. It was an honor serving in the division whose legacy you helped forge. Time for your next rendezvous with destiny. All the way, sir.
Changed churches here in Ohio from ELCA to MoSynod, and walked in one of the first few Sundays and there was Dick Winters identical twin. I about fainted. It was not, of course, cuz web searches indicated he was still in PA. But I still look at him and wonder. No mas.
Prayers up for all who served.
Another member of the greatest generation is now gone, but hopefully will never be forgotten.
RIP Sir.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWgsdexkv18
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
“He ain’t gonna jump no more!”
(CHORUS)
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more!
“Is everybody happy?” cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero meekly answered “Yes,” and then they stood him up;
He leaped right out into the blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The days he’d lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he’d left behind;
He thought about the medics, and wondered what they’d find,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
For it had been a week or more since the last a ‘chute had failed,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He hit the ground, the sound was “SPLAT” his blood went spurting high,
His comrades were all heard to say “A hell of a way to die!”
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
(slowly, solemnly)
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a’dangling from his Paratrooper suit,
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
And he ain’t gonna jump no more!
One of my superiors on active duty was an Aide to MG Westmoreland when he commanded the 101st.
I was there during the Petraeus days. MAJ Winters was a huge inspiration to us. That series came out while I was a Screaming Eagle.
Semper Fi Major
I bet St. Peter shakes your hand sir.
I believe he will rise in glory as we hope to.
Sorry to hear this. I know it is selfish, but I wished I had got to meet the man...on this side.
Bttt!
Rare.
Paying my respects.
What was done for us during WWII is beyond words.
But let me refer you to one of the best writers blogging today, Richard Fernandez, blogging at Belmont Club as Wretchard:
“But I suppose that is how history is. We are shaped by events that happen offstage, by heroics whose stories will never be told, by sacrifice given without memorial. Yet that is alright, for so long as we remember that our ordinary days are a gift from strangers. The ability to drive to work, watch TV, have a backyard barbecue, to sail a boat on a lake are all treasure won at great price by people who don’t ask to be remembered; who have invented, built or sacrificed for reasons of their own, and which incidentally means we can turn the page on the calendar on another boring, peaceful day.
To live decently and not to destroy is all that we owe to history. We stand on an immense mountain of life that is careless of its extravagant love.”
http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/01/08/the-old-bethel-temple/#more-11972
RIP
Major Dick Winters, USA
"Band of Brothers"
If YOUR country was being invaded, would you fight as if you were "too stupid to know you were beat?"
Rest in peace Major Winters.
Maj. Dick Winters, like Capt. Robert Prince, who planned the rescue of the Bataan survivors at Cabanatuan, was not career military. Men like these rise up when their country needs them.
They were not only brave but their plans/tactics are still taught at West Point. How did we deserve such men?
RIP Major. Thank you and God bless you.
Hand salute!
We have a Rendezvous with Destiny!
Our Strength and Spirit strike the Spark
That will always make Men Free!
Jump right down from the Skies of Blue!
Keep your Eyes on the Job to be done!
We're the Men of the 101st!
We'll Fight till the Battles won!
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