RIP Dick Winters

Hero: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

I don't want to sound callus but a lot of times when I hear of a famous person passing away I say "oh ,that's too bad" and sort of move on.  But every so often I hear of a passing and I'm actually moved!  Hearing that Dick Winters passed made me very sad.  

Major Richard "Dick" D. Winters was a United States Army officer and a highly decorated war veteran. He commanded Company "E", 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II.  You might know the name as he was one of the main characters in "The Band of Brothers" which I believe is the very best WWII presentation!

Winters was a true hero. He parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, and fought across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany. He was in combat from the very beginning to the very end and was recalled for the Korean War but was never deployed.

One quote he had was "When this war ever ends I'm going to buy a farm and live a very quiet life".

He did!

He passed Janurarly 2nd and requested a private, unannounced funeral service, which was held on January 8, 2011

In one of his books there is another quote. 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said 'No… but I served in a company of heroes…'"

Rest In Peace Dick Winters.
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First Lieutenant Lynn D. Compton was another hero in The Band of Brothers. He was in the group that stormed Brécourt Manor and under the leadership of Winters, assaulted a German battery of four 105 mm howitzers firing on Utah Beach, disabling the guns and routing the enemy. 50 Germans vs. 13 of Easy Company.

He did not see the end of the war as he was evacuated from the Ardennes from battle fatigue after seeing his two best friend have their legs blown off from artillery.

Later in his life he successfully prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy.

The rest of the Band of Brothers once the war was over just slid back into society. How do you do that after going through what they did! Amazing.

Band of Brothers was written by Stephen Ambrose. Ambrose grew up in Whitewater Wisconsin and his dad Stephen Hedges Ambrose was my moms dentist!
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Have a happy snow-ish day