Richard Davis Winters (January 21, 1918January 2, 2011) was a United States Army officer who served as a paratrooper in "Easy Company" of the 506th Infantry Regiment within the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his successful command of the assault on Brécourt Manor during the invasion of Normandy.
His exploits were featured in numerous books and in the 2001 HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, in which he was portrayed by actor Damian Lewis.
Early life and education
Winters was born in New Holland, Pennsylvania, to Richard and Edith Winters on January 21, 1918. The family soon moved to nearby Ephrata, and then to Lancaster when he was eight years old. In September, he was assigned to Camp Croft, South Carolina, for basic training. which were firing onto the causeways that served as the principal exits from Utah Beach.
Korean War
After his discharge from the Army, Winters worked as a production supervisor for his close wartime friend Captain Lewis Nixon at Nixon's family business, Nixon Nitration Works of Nixon, New Jersey (now Edison Township),
Winters was the subject of the 2005 book Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, written by Larry Alexander. His own memoir, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, co-written by military historian and retired U.S. Army Colonel Cole C. Kingseed, was published in early 2006. He also gave a number of lectures on leadership to cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
On May 16, 2009, Franklin and Marshall College conferred an honorary doctorate in humane letters upon Winters.
Despite the many accolades he had received, Winters remained humble about his service. at an assisted living facility in Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, aged 92. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years. Winters was buried in a private funeral service, which was held on January 8, 2011. He was buried in the Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, next to his parents in the Winters' family plot. His grave is marked "Richard D. Winters, World War II 101st Airborne". His wife Ethel died on April 11, 2012 at Country Meadows, Hershey. She was 89 years old.
Memorials
On June 6, 2012, the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the Richard D. Winters Leadership Monument, featuring a bronze statue of Winters by sculptor Stephen C. Spears was unveiled near the village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France . Winters agreed for the statue to bear his resemblance on the condition that the monument would be dedicated to all junior officers who served and died during the Normandy landings. Among the attendees were World War II veterans, former Pennsylvania governor and first Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and Maj. Gen. James C. McConville, the 101st Airborne's commanding officer. During celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the landings in 2014, a party including Lewis, fellow Band of Brothers cast members Ross McCall (Technician 5th Grade Joseph Liebgott) and James Madio (Technician 4th Grade Frank Perconte) and Private 1st Class Jim "Pee Wee" Martin of G Company, 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment laid a wreath there.
A cast of the sculpture was placed in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, in a plaza on the Ephrata-to-Warwick linear trail park near Railroad Avenue and East Fulton Street, where Winters lived with his family from ages two to eight. That statue was dedicated on May 25, 2015.