Richard D. Winters

Biography

Richard D. “Dick” Winters (January 21, 1918 – January 2, 2011) was an American Army officer and decorated veteran of World War II. He served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and became one of the best-known American officers of the Normandy campaign. Winters enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1941 and later volunteered for the airborne forces. In 1942, he was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where he trained alongside the men who would become Easy Company. He became the company's executive officer and later took command during the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. On D-Day, Winters led a small group of paratroopers in an attack on a German artillery position near Brécourt Manor. The action was later regarded as a textbook example of small-unit leadership and earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. He subsequently commanded Easy Company during the Normandy campaign and participated in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. Winters later became executive officer and then commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In May 1945, he led his battalion into the Berchtesgaden area of Bavaria as Allied forces advanced into Germany. After the war, Winters returned to civilian life and worked in business. He remained involved with the veterans of Easy Company and became an important source for accounts of their wartime experiences. His story was featured prominently in Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 book Band of Brothers, which was adapted into the acclaimed HBO miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001, where Winters was portrayed by Damian Lewis. Winters died on January 2, 2011, at the age of 92. He was remembered for his modesty and leadership, and a monument honoring him and other junior officers who fought in Normandy was dedicated near Utah Beach in France in 2012.