Major Dick Winters, of 'Band of Brothers' fame, dies

Rest in Peace, Mr. Winters. My thoughts go out to his many friends and family. I certainly enjoyed his story.

 

Major Winters apparently fought the good fight with Parkinson's disease. I just donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in his memory:
"Major Richard Winters, USA ---- "Currahee!"

You may donate in his memory at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

RIP, Major Winters

 

he will be missed. gone but never forgotten. RIP hero

 

"On a small hill outside Ephrata, a red-brick church stands as a shepherd over a modest cemetery. The only sounds that pierce the winter twilight are the rumble of trucks on a nearby road and the soft crunch of frozen snow underfoot.

"Down a paved pathway, near a far corner of the cemetery, a circular monument rises toward the sky, a family’s shrine amid the memorials of this central Pennsylvania farming community.

"Nearby, a few simple headstones in a row mark the resting places of loved ones.

"The second from the end, an unadorned stone, reads simply 'Richard D. Winters.'”

World War II hero Dick Winters was 'the kind of person that people wish they could be' | PennLive.com


Ephrata is a small quaint town near Lancaster, in the PA Dutch country.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.137941,-76.273956&spn=0.476642,1.209869&z=10


Dave

 

I wonder if Damien Lewis, the British actor that portrayed Maj. Winters in the HBO mini-series gave a statement. If anyone comes across it, please post it here if you don't mind.

 

more comments here.................link

I never knew Lewis was British. and I dare say most if not all Americans do

I also wonder if Winters had any say in Lewis playing his part

 

Did anyone see any news coverage on TV on his passing?

I didn't see anything myself and I attributed it to being overlooked by the tragedy in Arizona.

I understand if that is indeed the case, but it is still unfortunate. He was an awe-inspiring man.

 

On another site, a poster said something that I thought was very poignant for Major Winters and many other WW2 vets who are now passing on in their 90's: He got the greatest reward a combat hero could get, a full, happy and long life.

RIP to Major Winters, and to all the other veterans of all the other wars. The world as we know it today would not be possible without the countless brave men (and women) throughout history who were (and are) willing to sacrifice their all for freedom.

 

I don't know if this was broadcast but here is a snippet from CNN;

He was behind enemy lines on the most decisive day of World War II with nothing but a knife.
"I later discovered that in our small contingent from Easy Company, we all lost our leg bags and ended up using whatever weapons he could scrounge," Winters wrote in his memoirs. "This was a hell of a way to begin a war."


Central figure in 'Band of Brothers' dead at 92 - CNN.com

Rest in Peace

 

Many, if not most of the speaking parts in the BoB were British actors. They were selected for their resemblance to the real life counterparts. For more information about this and other trivia concerning BoB, go to www.imdb.com for the full story of the production.

 

Double post here, move along, nothing to see....

 

A-58 found this: Life at the Gables: The death of Major Richard Winters

God Speed Major Winters!

Regards
Clint

 

An ordinary man who did extraordinary things.

"The major put his aging hands around a cup of steaming soup, looked up from his seat in the deli booth and said something astounding:

“'Ethel and I went walking in the mall this morning … '

"I cannot recall what he said afterwards. How could I? Major Dick Winters, whose World War II exploits as commander of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Regiment, made him one of if not the principal character in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers, a man considered for the Medal of Honor, was a mall walker?"

Winters: Discovering The Man Behind The Legend - Pennsylvania News Story - WGAL The Susquehanna Valley

 

I was always interested in WW2 .very interested. and from a very young age

but then Band of Brothers came along and this group of American Paratroopers came onto my TV, and into my life.

The series had quite an effect on me.

The boys of Easy Co. 506 101st airborne were just a few amongst the millions of Allied combatants who fought and died in WW2.

But I felt like I knew them. A story well told ,I guess .and a film well made

Anyway,I finished building my house in a little corner of Scotland about 6 years ago .

I called my house Currahee

Hopefully one day,I`ll be able to cross the pond and walk up that mountain in Georgia

RIP Dick Winters.



Mac .
Scotland

 

I wonder, now that this great man has passed, will they speed up the process to upgrade his DSC to the Medal Of Honor? Iknow that it has been in Congress from some time. I mean he went above and beyond when he assaulted those guns on D-Day. I just wonder if the "powers that be" were in fact waiting for him to pass before they did it. I hope that he is now at peace and with his fellow soldiers that fought along his side during those critical yrs.

 

I just finished reading his book. Not sure if he would want them to "upgrade" his DSC. He was such a modest man. It was totally deserving though. This man makes me proud to call my self an American and also pushes me to become a better person. I hope you all are right and they are all up there some where sitting around a table telling stories again....

RIP Major Winters.

Josh

 

I'm glad I revisited this thread, and was able to read some of the articles that some Rogues linked to.

 

I was in Germany and Switzerland (where at least some of it was filmed) during their filming the series. I THINK my friend Juerg, said something about seeing some cast and crew while out and about not far from where he lives in Switzerland. I remember watching news stories on this on his TV set. Also, at the same time, there was something about the find of a shotdown American Bomber, that has also been discovered somewhere in Switzerland.