The Real Major Richard "Dick" Winters of Band of Brothers - Documentary

the story of major Richard Dick Winters is one of Courage leadership and sacrifice as a decorated World War II veteran and commander of the Easy Company second Battalion 506 parachute Infantry Regiment into 101st Airborne Division Winters played a pivotal role in some of the most significant battles of the war including Operation Overlord and the Battle of the Bulge his leadership and bravery inspired his men and his actions helped to turn the tide of the war Richard Davis Winters was born on a cold winter day in New Holland Pennsylvania on January 21st 1918 he grew up in a close-knit family with his parents Richard and Edith Winters and his younger sister Anne when Winters was eight the family moved to Lancaster where they settled and made their home as a young boy Winters had to work hard to help support his family during the Summers he would do odd jobs to pay his school fees despite these challenges Winters remained focused on his studies and graduated from Lancaster boys high school in July 1937 after graduating Winters went on to attend Franklin in Marshall College he was an active member of the Upsilon chapter of the Delta Sigma 5 fraternity and participated in sports and other extracurricular activities however he had to give up these Pursuits to focus on his studies and his odd jobs which he continued to work to pay for his college fees in 1941 Winters graduated from college with a degree in economics the following August he was drafted into the United States Army for his mandatory service initially Winters had no desire to participate in the ongoing World War II and hoped to keep his military service short he attended training at Camp Croft in South Carolina where he excelled as a coach for draf EES in April of 1942 Richard Winters was sent to Fort Benning Georgia to attend the army officer candidate school it was there that he met a fellow officer candidate named Lewis Nixon who had become a lifelong friend by July 1st Winters had been assigned to the 506 parachute Infantry Regiment which was being formed at camp tocoa in Georgia Winters volunteered for paratrooper training and was soon a second lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division he had also graduated from the Army officer candidate School in August of 19 42 Winters was assigned to Company E of the 506 P which was led by first lieutenant Herbert soel Soo was a tough and demanded leader but Winters was determined to learn from him and become the best soldier he could be Richard Winters had proven himself to be an exceptional Soldier and a natural leader in recognition of his skills he was appointed as the leader of the second platoon and eventually promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in October of 1942 Winters was appointed as acting company executive officer and he officially assumed the post in May of the following year however trouble was brewing between Winters and his former commanding officer Captain Herbert soo soo had been a tough and demanded leader and he had clashed with Winters on several occasions in October of 1943 Winters was Court marshal for failing to follow soo's order to inspect the latrine this incident created a rift between the two men and Winters began to doubt sobel's capabilities as a captain despite his doubts Winters kept his thoughts to himself and many enlisted men respected him for his leadership qualities they saw Winters not soble as their true Captain however Soo was not willing to let the matter rest and he came up with another charge against Winters after an investigation Winters was appointed as the Battalion mess officer at the headquarters of the company this move was seen by many as a demotion but Winters accepted it with Grace and continued to serve his country with dedication and bravery however many non-commissioned officers pressured the regimental Commander Colonel sink to decide whether or not soble should be dismissed from Company E sink finally transferred soel to Chilton foliat while canceling Winter's punishment and appointing him as the first leader of the platoon Winters acknowledged the role of soil's gring training sessions in boosten his competence on June 6th 1944 during the Normandy operations Winters flew with his parachute over centine Peninsula Normandy and successfully landed on St Mir IG unfortunately he had to leave his weapons during the Landon many jump planes and paratroopers were displaced from their assigned Drop Zones due to the heavy German anti-aircraft fire and dense clouds despite the obstacles Winters managed to assemble the troops and proceed toward their designated Target Richard Winters found himself as the de facto commander of Easy Company when the actual commander first lieutenant Thomas mahen with missing despite the circumstances Winters displayed exceptional bravery during the BR Court Manor assault which took place in the southern part of lran chamin Village his actions earned him a promotion to the position of Captain and the distinguished service cross award in September 1944 winter showed incredible heroism during operation Market Garden an Airborne operation that took place in the Netherlands with just 20 men under his command he managed to successfully attack a much larger German Force consisting of 200 soldiers for his outstanding leadership skills Winters was appointed as the Battalion executive officer on October 9th this post is usually given to a major but after the death of the previous EXO major Oliver Horton Winters was chosen for the role the despite only holding the rank of Captain as he was the most qualified for the position on December 16th 1944 Richard Winters LED his troops through the Battle of the Bulge successfully breaking through the Enemy Lines he was later promoted to the rank of major in March 1945 Winters returned home to the United States in November of that year Winters embarked on his journey from Marcil to the United States on the ship woster Victory upon arriving in New York City in November he was sent to Indiantown Gap where he was officially discharged from the Army in January 1946 until then he opted for terminal leave in December of that year Lewis Nixon's father offered Winters a job in their family business in Edison New Jersey Winters began working at Nixon nitration Works in January 1946 while also continuing his studies through the GI Bill he enrolled in several business and personnel management courses at Rucker's University which helped him further his career Major Richard Winters continued his work at Nixon nitration works until 1951 when he received a summons to rejoin the Army for the Korean war after being assigned to the 11th Airborne Division at Fort Campbell Kentucky he was later moved to Fort Dicks in New Jersey to serve as a regimental planning and training officer at Fort Dicks Winter's found that the training officers lacked discipline which disappointed OED him greatly as a result he was sent to attend the Ranger school to further his training after completing the program he graduated as a ranger Winters was promoted to major in the United States Army Reserve in January 1952 however he was given the option to resign from his commission and he chose to do so in April 1953 he was honorably discharged from the United States Army and in his military career Richard Winters returned to New Jersey in 1954 after serving in the Army he started working as a production supervisor at a plastic adhesive business in New Brunswick a year later he moved to Lebanon Pennsylvania to work at Whitmore Laboratories in 1972 Winters became an entrepreneur and started a company that delivered chocolate byproducts from the Hershey Company to animal feed producing companies in 1990 Winters met historian and biographer Steven Ambrose he shared his experiences from his time with Easy Company during World War II Ambrose wrote a book based on winter stories called Band of Brothers which was published in 1992 the book was later adapted into a home box office miniseries of the same name in 2001 with Damen Lewis playing the role of winters major dick Winters retired in 1997 and moved with his family to Hershey Pennsylvania in 2001 as the home box office office miniseries Band of Brothers began airing he started to make public appearances giv speeches and interviews about his experiences during World War II a new book about winters was released in 2005 titled biggest brother the life of major dick Winters the man who led the Band of Brothers it was authored by Larry Alexander and delved into Winters life beyond his military service in 2006 Winters released his Memoir Beyond Band of Brothers the war Memoirs of major dick Winters co-written with military historian Colonel Cole C King seed the book gave readers a firsthand account of winters experiences in the war and his leadership of Easy Company Richard Dick Winters married Etho estoy on May 16th 1948 together they had two children a daughter named Jill pelan and a son named Richard T Winters however on January 2nd 2011 Winters passed away in pal Lebanon County Pennsylvania due to complications arising from Parkinson's disease his death was a great loss to his family friends and the nation goodbye and rest in peace major Richard Dick Winters

Channel: Classic Hollywood Legend

Views: 440,024

Keywords: actor, actors, hollywood actors, Classic Hollywood Legend, Hollywood Legend, Old Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Stars, Greatest Actors, Classic Actors, Richard Davis Winters, Richard Winters, Richard Winters biography, Richard Winters memorial, Richard Winters legacy, Richard Winters documentary, Richard Winters in World War II, richard winters death, captain richard winters, richard winters band of brothers, Richard Davis life

Id: XMQJA2VLcSg

Length: 10min 14sec (614 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 08 2023