Biography
Major Richard D. Winters
Who is he?
Major Richard D. Winters was a military commissioned officer during World War 2. He is a decorated army veteran, and one of the most honored paratroopers that fought in the second world war. He is best known for being a leader of Easy Company, from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
Early life and Education
Dick Winters was born in Pennsylvania on the 21st of January in 1918. The Winters family moved to Lancaster when he was only eight years old. In 1937 he graduated from Lancaster Boys High School, and went to Franklin and Marshall College. He was considered an active student during his college years, but had to give up a lot of his favorite sports and activities to work part time jobs to pay for his college tuition.
Following his graduation in 1941, the war had just broken out. He later revealed in his famous memoir that he "...had no intention of being involved whatsoever..." but volunteered anyway so that he would not get drafted my the army later on.
Military Service
Winters enlisted in the army in August 1941, and underwent basic training at Camp Croft in South Carolina. In April 1942, he was one of the few people from his battalion to be selected to go to OCS (Officers Candidate School) in Fort Benning, Georgia. During his time in Officer Candidate School, he made friends with another soldier named Lewis Nixon, who he remained friends with until their later years. Winters was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant after graduating in July 1942.
During officer training, Winters decided to join the parachute infantry, a new combat unit in the airborne forces. He received orders to join the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, where he would start the legendary story of how he lead one of the best combat units in the American airborne division in the Second World War. The moment he got to Camp Toccoa, he received orders from Col. Robert F. Sink to join Easy Company, whose commanding officer at the time was Lt. Herbert Sobel. Training at Toccoa was known to be tough, and only 148 out of 500 officers passed basic training, alongside 1800 out of 5000 enlisted men.
After many more months of training, Winters got promoted to 1st Lieutenant and by the time they were ready to jump into D-Day, the non-commissioned officers of Easy company formed a mutiny, protesting against Capt. Herbert Sobel as their commanding officer. He was a good leader for training, but he couldn't read a map, nor could he keep calm under pressure, which was obviously an aspect needed by all soldiers from any division. So he was therefore transferred out of the company and replaced by another officer from another company, named Lt. Thomas Meehan.
During the attack on Normandy, Lt. Meehan's plane caught on fire due to flak, killing everyone in the plane. Winters was then put in charge of Easy Company until he got promoted to battalion commander.
All throughout the Battle of the Bulge, Easy company faced a downfall in performance, due to their change in commanding officer. As soon as Winters was promoted to battalion commander, his position was taken over by Lt. Norman Dike. Dike was an office person, he never had any combat experience and was sent to lead Easy Company for experience. During an attack on the town of Foy in Bastogne, he panicked under pressure, resulting in more casualties than necessary. He was then replaced by Capt. Ronald Speirs, who served to be Easy Company's CO until the end of their service.
By the time they had to move to Hagenau in France, Easy Company was very short of supplies and men. They were dirty, tired, and just done with the war at this point. Captain Winters liked to stop by to check on the men every now and then, but since he was battalion commander, he was busy taking care of the entire battalion instead of just his beloved company. By the time they moved out, he had been promoted to Major, the promotion handed to him by his best friend Capt. Lewis Nixon himself.
By the end of the war, he announced that every man in Easy Company could go home, and no longer had the need to join the Marines in the Pacific war in Japan due to their unexpected surrender. He was discharged as a Major, and went back home to Pennsylvania to run a company of his own.
Winters settled down and he and his wife Ethel Winters bought a small farm where they would later build their home and raise their two children. In 1972, Winters started his own company, selling animal feed products to farmers all over Pennsylvania. Soon afterwards, he and his family moved to Hershey in PA, and retired in 1997, aged 79.
He participated in a few television series and a number of books telling all about Easy Company's journey. In the 90s, Stephen Ambrose wrote a book titled Band of Brothers, which got famous, and was made an HBO miniseries by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Winters and a few other veterans were called to feature in the miniseries, for interviews, and to guide the actors who would be playing themselves as young men during the war.
He later wrote a memoir of his own entitled, Beyond Band of Brothers which basically told his perception of the war, and his experiences were explained in detail by him himself.
Richard Winters died on January 2, 2011, making him 92 years old when he passed. He had a disease called Parkinson's disease, which caused him difficulty in talking and doing everyday activities in general. He was buried in the Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in PA, and was buried next to his parents in the Winters' family plot. His grave is marked: "Richard D. Winters, World War II, 101st Airborne Division.
During officer training, Winters decided to join the parachute infantry, a new combat unit in the airborne forces. He received orders to join the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, where he would start the legendary story of how he lead one of the best combat units in the American airborne division in the Second World War. The moment he got to Camp Toccoa, he received orders from Col. Robert F. Sink to join Easy Company, whose commanding officer at the time was Lt. Herbert Sobel. Training at Toccoa was known to be tough, and only 148 out of 500 officers passed basic training, alongside 1800 out of 5000 enlisted men.
After many more months of training, Winters got promoted to 1st Lieutenant and by the time they were ready to jump into D-Day, the non-commissioned officers of Easy company formed a mutiny, protesting against Capt. Herbert Sobel as their commanding officer. He was a good leader for training, but he couldn't read a map, nor could he keep calm under pressure, which was obviously an aspect needed by all soldiers from any division. So he was therefore transferred out of the company and replaced by another officer from another company, named Lt. Thomas Meehan.
During the attack on Normandy, Lt. Meehan's plane caught on fire due to flak, killing everyone in the plane. Winters was then put in charge of Easy Company until he got promoted to battalion commander.
All throughout the Battle of the Bulge, Easy company faced a downfall in performance, due to their change in commanding officer. As soon as Winters was promoted to battalion commander, his position was taken over by Lt. Norman Dike. Dike was an office person, he never had any combat experience and was sent to lead Easy Company for experience. During an attack on the town of Foy in Bastogne, he panicked under pressure, resulting in more casualties than necessary. He was then replaced by Capt. Ronald Speirs, who served to be Easy Company's CO until the end of their service.
By the time they had to move to Hagenau in France, Easy Company was very short of supplies and men. They were dirty, tired, and just done with the war at this point. Captain Winters liked to stop by to check on the men every now and then, but since he was battalion commander, he was busy taking care of the entire battalion instead of just his beloved company. By the time they moved out, he had been promoted to Major, the promotion handed to him by his best friend Capt. Lewis Nixon himself.
By the end of the war, he announced that every man in Easy Company could go home, and no longer had the need to join the Marines in the Pacific war in Japan due to their unexpected surrender. He was discharged as a Major, and went back home to Pennsylvania to run a company of his own.
Later Life
He participated in a few television series and a number of books telling all about Easy Company's journey. In the 90s, Stephen Ambrose wrote a book titled Band of Brothers, which got famous, and was made an HBO miniseries by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Winters and a few other veterans were called to feature in the miniseries, for interviews, and to guide the actors who would be playing themselves as young men during the war.
He later wrote a memoir of his own entitled, Beyond Band of Brothers which basically told his perception of the war, and his experiences were explained in detail by him himself.
Death
"Hang Tough"
-Major Richard D. Winters
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