It’s one of the best war movies ever made. And it’s a story about one of the best groups of soldiers America’s ever made. And certainly one of the great military officers of all time: Major Dick Winters.
It marks the unofficial beginning of summer: Memorial Day. Americans celebrate the day in a variety of ways: We attend parades and host parties — grills deployed in force. We eat, fish, shop, swim, play sports, watch sports, talk and drink. Laugh and drink.
Winters was born on Jan. 21, 1918, in small-town Pennsylvania. He was a relatively unknown retired soldier living not far from where he was born when Band of Brothers was released. Soon, his was a household name. And so were the men he served with. Richard Davis Winters was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and moved to Lancaster when he was young. He was raised on small-town values, one of which was service to his country. His family connection to the military went back to Timothy Winters, who served in the Revolutionary War and saw action at the Battle of Yorktown.
Nearly 500 officers volunteered to join that elite group of warriors — only 148 made the cut. Winters recalled the stark conditions at Camp Toombs, Georgia, where he did some of his training. “As their leader, you lead the way,” Winters told a reporter. “Not just the easy ones. You gotta take the tough ones, too.”
Major Dick Winters, who was portrayed by actor Damian Lewis in the miniseries"Band of Brothers," and executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, left, accept the award for Best Miniseries during the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Michael Caulfield/WireImage After the war, he found that quiet piece of land. He bought a farm outside Hershey, Pennsylvania, where he spent the rest of his life with his bride, Ethel. But true peace eluded him.
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