Inspiration for 'Band of Brothers' dies

[EnglishLady]

Telegraph Jan 10

Richard "Dick" Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were made famous by the book and TV series "Band of Brothers," has died.

Winters, 92, died last week following a several-year battle with Parkinson's disease, longtime family friend William Jackson said on Monday.

An intensely private and humble man, Winters had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral, Jackson said. Winters lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA but died in suburban Palmyra.

The men Winters led expressed their admiration for their company commander after learning of his death.

William Guarnere, 88, said what he remembers about Winters was "great leadership."

"When he said 'Let's go,' he was right in the front," Mr Guarnere, who was called "Wild Bill" by his comrades, said. "He was never in the back. A leader personified."

 

[layoutshooter]

We are losing our WWII vets at a really fast clip now. They are really up there in age. Some members in here have lost family members who were WWII vets. They will be missed.

 

[EnglishLady]

We are losing our WWII vets at a really fast clip now. They are really up there in age. Some members in here have lost family members who were WWII vets. They will be missed.

Absolutely agreed

 

[LDB]

I believe I heard it's 400 per day that are dying. Obviously it has to come at some point. It is a terrible shame far more of them can't record their memories and their stories for us. My dad is a veteran and my biggest hero but I've got to say that meeting and visiting with Charles Coolidge, the Medal of Honor recipient, was a great honor and so far the highlight of my contact with military people.

 

[layoutshooter]

I believe I heard it's 400 per day that are dying. Obviously it has to come at some point. It is a terrible shame far more of them can't record their memories and their stories for us. My dad is a veteran and my biggest hero but I've got to say that meeting and visiting with Charles Coolidge, the Medal of Honor recipient, was a great honor and so far the highlight of my contact with military people.

Leo, they are recording memories. It is a project being done by the Library of Congress. They are looking for input at VA hospitals. My Dad was interviewed at the VA in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was sent a DVD of his interview about a month after. I will try to find out how you can access those interviews. I know it can be done.

 

[layoutshooter]

I believe I heard it's 400 per day that are dying. Obviously it has to come at some point. It is a terrible shame far more of them can't record their memories and their stories for us. My dad is a veteran and my biggest hero but I've got to say that meeting and visiting with Charles Coolidge, the Medal of Honor recipient, was a great honor and so far the highlight of my contact with military people.

Leo, they are recording memories. It is a project being done by the Library of Congress. They are looking for input at VA hospitals. My Dad was interviewed at the VA in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was sent a DVD of his interview about a month after. I will try to find out how you can access those interviews. I know it can be done.

 

[EnglishLady]

This from CNN


Gen. David Petraeus, who has commanded the 101st Airborne Division during his career, said in a statement on Monday that "Major Winters embodied the very best of what a leader and soldier should be. He and the men of Easy Company lived the "brotherhood of the close fight."

"The deeds of Dick Winters and his men from Easy Company will always live on," Petraeus said.

Steven Spielberg, the Hollywood mogul who produced the "Band of Brothers" mini-series, issued a release Monday saying in part, "Dick Winters was at the vanguard of representing 'The Greatest Generation' in bringing honor to all his Band of Brothers." Spielberg said Winters "would not have wanted this credit. He would have simply asked all of us to never forget how his generation served this nation and the world in WWII."

Reaction also came from Tom Hanks, who co-produced the series, and from the actor who played Winters in "Band of Brothers."

"When our days run their course and a man like Dick Winters leaves us, time and providence remind us that human beings can do giant things," Hanks said in a statement. "Dick Winters volunteered to go to war, leading paratroopers into unknown, yet certain, dangers. He led by both command and example; his wartime philosophy was simple -- 'Follow me.'"

Actor Damian Lewis, who portrayed Winters in the series, told CNN that Winters' support for him during the production was "generous and unstinting. I'll never forget his rallying cry to me to 'hang tough!'

"He has died quietly, in private, without fanfare and with the same modesty that he lived his life as one of the true heroes of his generation," Lewis added.

Winters did not make any money off his memoirs or the speeches he gave later in his life. His royalties from the book went to a variety of organizations, including veterans groups, breast-cancer research organizations and the Ronald McDonald house in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where he lived for years.

His family is planning a public memorial service for Winters in the near future.

 

[LDB]

Yes, I know there is a project going but it won't be enough. It won't be nearly enough for those heroes, arguably the greatest generation this nation ever saw. To think of what they did, what they sacrificed, what we owe them and to see what is going on now is more shameful than can be expressed. We can only try to recall those heroes and keep the memories alive.

 

[skyraider]

God bless them all,,,my Dad was an Army flyer, he died in
Aug ,2011, he had just turned 90 on july 8. He had outlived his buddies of that time. Calvin(B 17 pilot), Bud ( Europe), Bill( made it to Germany),Sterling( Italy), Bob( Europe),and many more. Amen.