#Beyond Band of Brothers The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

"Stephen Ambrose, in his book, called us a “band of brothers.” Yet in the way we took care of each other, protected each other, and laughed and cried together, we really were even closer than blood brothers. We were like twins—what happened to one of us, happened to us all, and we all shared the consequences and the feelings." - Dick Winters

[pfctipper]

Kind of fascinated by this little section in one of Dick’s books:

Our OCS class graduated on July 2, 1942 […] Following lunch at the officers club, we were free to go our own way, though few of us had actual assignments. Nixon was assigned duty at Fort Ord, California, and attached to the military police unit on post. With no immediate openings in the paratroopers, I returned to Camp Croft to train another contingent that had recently arrived. As an officer I didn’t last long at Croft: about five weeks to be exact, before receiving orders to report to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, at Camp Toombs, Georgia […] Following a brief leave, I arrived in Toccoa in mid-August. Disembarking from the Southern Railway train adjacent to the Toccoa Coffin Factory, Lewis Nixon and I were directed to board an army truck for “Camp Toombs” - Richard Winters and Cole C. Kingseed, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters (2006)

Camp Croft is in South Carolina and Fort Ord is in California. I don’t know much about the USA rail system, or how involved the army would have been in coordinating their travel, but regardless of whether Dick was travelling from South Carolina or wherever he was on leave - how likely is it that they’d end up on the exact same train into Toccoa? Maybe something they’d either planned themselves, or they’d departed from the same place (maybe Nix had leave too?)- or a coincidental train/station reunion after five weeks apart? Who knows, but very sweet that he makes a point of highlighting that the two of them (and only the two of them?) arrived together anyway.

[shelyue99]

Some thoughts about Operation Varsity, which Nix served as an observer and nearly died, portrayed in the Ep 9 of BoB—I’m not sure who actually assigned Nix to be the observer. In Dick’s memoir, he wrote he dispatched Nix, but in Biggest Brother, it seems it was Sink assigned Nix. If it was Dick and if Nix got killed in the operation, I just can’t stop myself imagining what kind of guilt Dick would feel.

The operation was launched on March 23, 1945. Nix returned the next day. The same day Dick wrote a rather bitchy letter to DeEtta. The tone of this letter is so out his usual character, just Dick being sassy and also mean. Dick was exhausted. Nix nearly escaped death and was shaken, withdrawing himself into alcohol. My theory is that Dick was in a bad mood because of exhaustion, and that Nix almost died.

Here is an excerpt from Dick's memoir, Beyond Band of Brothers:

The next evening, March 23, Field Marshal Montgomery launched Operation Varsity, a massive attack across the Rhine at Wesel with his entire 2d British Army. Though Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps, of which the 101st Airborne Division was an integral part, had originally been slated to participate in the offensive, changes in the troop list resulted in William (Bud) Miley's 17th Airborne Division being the only American airborne division participating in Montgomery's highly touted offensive. The 101st was allowed to send observers, so I dispatched Captain Lewis Nixon.

Fortunately, for Nixon, he was assigned to be jumpmaster of his aircraft. As he approached the drop zone, his plane was struck by heavy antiaircraft fire. Nixon and three other men made it out of the plane, but the rest were lost when the plane crashed. Nix remained with the 17th Airborne Division for one night and was then returned to 2d Battalion at Mourmelon on a special plane. Nix's brush with death left him visibly shaken, particularly when at this stage in the war, no one intentionally put himself in danger now that victory was at hand. Captain Nixon found his usual retreat in alcohol that evening, but I was glad to see him safe. On a side note, Nixon's jump with the 17th Airborne Division qualified him as one of two men in the 506th PIR eligible to wear three stars on his jump wings: Normandy, Holland, and Operation Varsity.

/

An excerpt from Biggest Brother, the Life of Major Dick Winters:

For his S3, Winters soon reclaimed the man he wanted most. Ever since Lewis Nixon had been elevated to Sink's staff, the colonel had become increasingly frustrated with the man's drunkenness. In late March Sink had assigned Nixon to jump as an observer with the 17th Airborne Division during Operation Varsity, the assault on the Ruhr, the industrial center that still propelled Germany's sagging war machine. Nixon was jumpmaster and in the first seat by the door. On March 24, as the plane lumbered over the drop zone, it was hit by flak. Nixon and three others managed to launch themselves out the door before the plane exploded. A day later Nixon was back with the regiment, and while he was drowning the memory with Vat 69, Sink was visiting Winters' headquarters.

"I have a problem, Dick," he said.

"It's Captain Nixon."

Winters knew what the complaint was, so it came as no surprise.

"Goddamit, the man's drunk all the time," Sink said. "I mean, I certainly tip a few myself at night and when off duty, but with him it's all the time. I can't get any damned work out of him. How did you find him to work with?"

"Captain Nixon and I get along very well, sir," Winters replied.

"That's what I had thought," Sink said. "Do you want him back? Can you use him?"

"Oh yes, I can use him," Winters said.

"You got him," Sink said. "Hell, every time I need him he's always here with you anyway. He may as well stay."

So Lewis Nixon, now the only man in the 101st to make three combat jumps, returned to 2nd Battalion.

/

The letter from Dick to DeEtta on March 24, 1945:

Dear De-

What kind of stuff are you reading nowadays? From the line of icky stuff you wrote about my picture it sounds like 15¢ worth of pulp magazine. Something that would be called "Ten thrilling love stories" or "True confessions." Anyway don't hand me that kind of stuff. I get to look in the mirror about once a day when I shave and when I'm honest with myself, I just say, "Boy, are you ugly." So to be brief I am just glad I don't have to go around all day looking at myself.

Then you talk about my hair being darker. Hell, no, it's just dirty. I don't get a chance to wash it but a couple times a year. Then there's worry muscles on my forehead. My aching back! I've worry muscles all over my face and the longer this war continues, the deeper they'll grow for I've got over 600 big individual worries myself when I get time to think about my future.

Now we come to the part [in your letter] where my "eyes are keen and seem to follow you wherever you go." This is too much for me, I quit! Hell, that's the way I sleep!

Next, my "mouth seems firmer, and my face broader, yet muscular." Naturally, if you'd been beaten around for so long and eaten noth-ing but K rations, you'd need more than a lipstick to look ----

"When I think of what your eyes have seen, I just can't visualize or imagine that much." Have you read these combat stories in the newspapers and magazines and seen these movies on combat? It makes me shiver too. "Do you jump when somebody slams a door, hit the ground if a car backfires?" Well, that's about all there is to it. Once you've seen one French village, you've seen them all, Holland, Belgium, Alsace-Lorraine, Germany-all the same.

So you met a boy from the 511 [Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division]? Is that outfit in this man's army? Never heard of them doing anything! Gee, that sure must have been interest-ing to hear what the lad had to say about what paratroopers must go through. Terrible, I imagine. I'lljust bet they run him to death. And if his officers don't work him to death, he'll most likely get killed on a practice jump. Did he tell you about the time he killed three Germans with his bare hands? Or about the time he got a letter from his girl and he was so inspired he went out and killed ten more of those dirty old krauts?

Yes, yes, those poor, poor, tired old krauts, just aching to give up. All you have to do is walk over there and invite them to give up. Why, I imagine he told you how a Yank is better than any three, old, tired krauts. Then there's the one about how they can't shoot worth a damn, can't hit a thing. I know, I've heard them all. To be brief, that's about the same grade as the stuff you handed me in the letter I just went over with you.

Sort of tired tonight. This thing of running a battalion can be rough if you want to make it that way.

On the radio they just announced that the 101st jumped east of the Rhine today. Mighty interesting!

Wish they would have told me so I could have gone along.

Well, here's to the end. This letter looks and sounds like I must have been drinking but I am about as sober as a judge. Only just so tired I am too lazy to lift my pen, let alone think.

Well, I'll be seeing you in church-

Dick

[almackey]

Beyond Band of Brothers

This book is Major Dick Winters’s memoirs from World War II. Featured in the Tom Hanks-produced miniseries, Band of Brothers, Winters was the commander of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and later commander of the 2nd Battalion. When historian Stephen Ambrose finished his book, Band of Brothers, which led to that miniseries, he gave all his…

[lewis-winters]

"From a personal standpoint, I would have been devastated had Nixon been killed. As a leader, you do not stop and calculate your losses during combat. You cannot stop a fight and ask yourself how many casualties you have sustained. You calculate losses only when the fight is over. Ever since the second week of the invasion, casualties had been my greatest concern. Victory would eventually be ours, but the casualties that had to be paid were the price that hurt. In that regard Nixon seemed a special case."

-Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

hmm.

hmmm.

[harrypotterhousequotes]

GRYFFINDOR: "For those of us who served in Easy Company and for those who served their country in other theaters, we came back as better men and women as the result of being in combat, and most would do it again if called upon. But each of us hoped that if we had learned anything from the experience, it is that war is unreal and we earnestly hoped that it would never happen again." –Dick Winters (Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters)

[justforbooks]

Richard Davis Winters, usually known simply as Dick Winters,  was born on January 21, 1918. He was an officer of the United States Army and a decorated war veteran. He is best known for having commanded Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division, during World War II. He was eventually promoted to major and put in command of the 2nd Battalion.

As a first lieutenant, Winters parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later fought across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and eventually Germany. After the German surrender in May 1945, he left the 506th and was stationed in France, where senior officers were needed to oversee the return home. In 1951, during the Korean War, Winters was recalled to the Army from the inactive list and briefly served as a regimental planning and training officer on staff at Fort Dix, New Jersey. After volunteering and completing training to become a Ranger, Winters was issued orders for deployment and was preparing to depart for Korea, but instead left the Army under a provision that allowed officers who had served in World War II but had been inactive since to resign their commission.

Winters was discharged from the Army and returned to civilian life, working first in New Jersey and later in Pennsylvania, where he set up his own company selling chocolate byproducts from The Hershey Company to producers of animal feed. He was a regular guest lecturer at the United States Military Academy at West Point until his retirement in 1997.

During the 1990s, Winters was featured in a number of books and television series about his experiences and those of the men in Easy Company. In 1992, Stephen Ambrose wrote the book Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, which was subsequently turned into an HBO mini-series Band of Brothers with Damian Lewis portraying Winters. When the miniseries won Primetime Emmy awards, Winters attended the ceremony to accept on behalf of Easy Company while other surviving members of the company watched from the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles.

Winters was also 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. During the interview segment of the miniseries Band of Brothers, Winters quoted a passage from a letter he received from Sergeant Myron "Mike" Ranney, "I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said 'No...but I served in a company of heroes'."

Awards

Combat Infantryman Badge

Parachutist Badge (2 combat jump stars)

Distinguished Service Cross

Bronze Star (2)

Purple Heart

Distinguished Unit Citation (2)

American Defense Service Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (3 campaigns and arrowhead device)

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation Medal

National Defense Service Medal

French Croix de Guerre with palm

French Liberation Medal

Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm

Belgian Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War

Winters died on January 2, 2011, at an assisted living facility in Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, 19 days before his 93rd birthday. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years. Winters was buried in a private funeral service, which was held on 8 January 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 in 2012, at age 89.

*Photo Above: Richard Winters in Holland, October 1944

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[searchingforacircuitbreaker]

As different in temperament as Nixon and I were, he was the one man to whom I could talk. He provided an outlet that allowed me to unburden myself as a combat leader. "Nix" and I completely understood each other. On reflection, Nixon always seemed to be around.

Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

[akane171]

Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters and Beyond Band of Brothers are focused on Dick Winters, so a must read if you are a fan.

Fierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Speirs and his Band of Brothers - I loved it. The author speculated a little too much sometimes for my taste, but he did a hella research and it is a great read.

Shifty's War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers

A Company of Heroes: Personal Memories about the Real Band of Brothers and the Legacy They Left Us - it is focused on the not so exposed men like Pat, for example. Short chapters, can recommend too.

A Screaming Eagle Series by Donald R. Burgett - he served in A Company and written 4 shorts books about his experiences. If you are interested in Screaming Eagles in general I recommend as HELL.

D-Day with the Screaming Eagles by George Koskimaki - 3 books, covering whole division. He included not only paratroopers but medics or glider pilots and it's a complete chronicle of all Screaming Eagles in Europe. Easy is mentioned a few times (well, haven't read the last one about Bastogne yet). There is a lot of "military" talking and sometimes it's hard to follow what exactly was going on, but the memories of the soldiers are very good.

Haven't read but people recommend Brothers In Battle, Best of Friends (Bill and Babe's book). And Buck's written one too Call of Duty: My Life Before, During, and After the Band of Brothers] - saw mixed feelings about this one.

Band Of Brothers and Masters Of The Air and The Pacific fans:

What are the books I need to read?

I got MOTA so I need which other ones?

Please and thank you!

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

One thing about combat was that a lot of men you thought were men were just petrified mummies and when they were not petrified, they shook like bowls of jelly.

~ Dick Winters

[shiftyskip]

What did Nix do after the war?

Hey! 

Sorry anon but I do not have my books with me so I could do more research but according to Wikipedia: 

“ Richard Winters served as the best man at the wedding. Nixon got his life back together and overcame his alcoholism during their marriage. They had no children. “ 

and 

After the war, Nixon worked at his family's Nixon Nitration Works in Edison (then Raritan Township), New Jersey, alongside his father, Stanhope, and longtime friend, Dick Winters. (Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-6411-6. page 306)

 Lewis Nixon died of complications from diabetes in Los Angeles, California, on January 11, 1995. Dick Winters gave the eulogy at Grace's request. (Winters, Major Dick; Kingseed, Cole C. (2006). Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. Berkley Hardcover. ISBN 978-0-425-20813-7. page 276)

In other books/memoirs/records

According to ancestry: 

Lewis Nixon married Grace Umezawa, who was of Japanese descent. She had, unfortunately and unfairly, been relocated to an internment camp during World War II. 

(Source Information Title U.S., Final Accountability Rosters of Evacuees at Relocation Centers, 1942-1946 Author: Ancestry.com Publisher: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher Date: 2013. Publisher Location: Provo, UT, USA Repository I)

His parents divorced in 1945. 

Nix’s mother died on June 24, 1948. 

Source for above: (Date: 1948-06-24Source Information. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.)

His sister, Blanche, died on November 4, 1955.  She had committed suicide and was found by Nix’s wife at the time. (This is not to bring any shame to the family, but to raise awareness that just because this family was wealthy did not mean they were okay)

Source:  (Date: 1955-11-04, California Death Index, 1940-1997AuthorAncestry.comPublisherOnline publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.Original data - State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics)

His father would die in 1958. 

According to Grace’s obituary from 2016:

“ In 1956, Grace married Lewis Nixon. In marriage, Grace and Lewis had a wonderful, loving life. They happily travelled the world, listened to music, supported charitable causes, and raised pets—among them Anubis the cat, Nicholas the one-eyed dog, and Peter the rabbit—as well as feeding a neighborhood family of raccoons and the annually migrating Mr. and Mrs. Duck. Grace and Lewis often spent time with their nieces and nephews, teaching them cards and backgammon and playing for keeps over the children’s allowance money.” 

One can assume that Nixon had a son with someone, as it is stated in her obituary, it is stated: “Grace is survived by her brother George and sister Dorothy, her stepson Michael and grandsons Miguel and Will, fourteen nieces and nephews, numerous grand- and great grandnieces and grandnephews, and by her devoted cat, Binky.”

Key word: Stepson Michael. Grace had not married someone else, as far as records go, so this must be Nix’s kid. 

To go even farther and possibly enter creep level, in will and estate appellete court case, after Nix’s father died. It talks about the estate of  Stanhope Lewis, it mentions Nix and his only child “a son, Michael, aged 14 when decedent died.”

 Nix’s father died in 1958. So doing the math, Michael was born in 1944 although I do not know when. 

I have no idea legal terms but I’ll attach some legal stuff here, “... remaindermen of the decedent's estate, of a life interest in a portion of the estate bequeathed to decedent's son, Lewis Nixon, which was renounced by the latter. “

Dick Winters states that Nix had several failed marriages until 1956, when he married Grace and found as Winters called it, “true happiness” and “peace within himself”. (Richard Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, 276) 

He died in January of 1995 and Winters was asked to give the eulogy at his funeral and he did so.  (Richard Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, 276)

It is known he attended at least one reunion, since Malarkey tells a story in his memoir about Nix and Compton at one in Dallas (Malarkey, Easy Company Soldier, 247) 

So there you have it, Nix’s life after the war was extremely rough. He lost nearly all of his family within a few short years but did manage to find love and happiness with his wife Grace. 

[shelyue99]

I came across BoB only last year (thanks Netflix the best thing you have done to me) hence 22 years late. I wish I had done it earlier (I definitely heard about the title, maybe in the 2000s, but I was too young at the time to take interests in it and I forgot about it), but because of it there are already a lot of resources and materials (and numerous fanfics) to dig into. I love research and meta and here are something I found interesting and relevant to BoB (with a focus on Winters and Nixon) :

Documentary:

Ron Livingston's Band of Brothers Video Diary

We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company

He Has Seen War

Book:

Band of Brothers, by Stephen E. Ambrose

Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoir of Major Dick Winters, by Dick Winters, Cole C. Kingseed

Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, by Larry Alexander

Conversation with Major Dick Winters: Life Lessons from the Commander of the Band of Brothers, by Cole C. Kingseed

Hang Tough: The WWII Letters and Artifacts of Major Dick Winters, by Erik Dorr, Jared Frederick

Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich, by David Kenyon Webster

Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers, By James Andrew Miller

Podcast:

HBO's official Band of Brothers 20th Anniversary Podcast

The Ross Owen Show, this blog has all the BoB cast interview recordings.

Dead Eyes

Other Materials:

"Band of Brothers" 20th Anniversary Symposium, the video can be found here.

Re the symposium, I love some of the trivia stories the cast shared, like when some replacement guy (I remembered it's Rene Moreno who played Ramirez but my memory could be fuzzy) were having dinner with the OG Easy men at this posh restaurant after shooting. Someone asked Moreno what he did today and he said he cut his hair and got to shoot the gun something like that, and Neal McDonough (Compton) asked him to drop and gave him 20, Moreno looked at Ron Livingston for help, who he thought was the only normal person at the table, but Ron was like yeah you had to do it, and so he dropped and did 20 push-ups and startled the waitress and other customers.

The other interesting episode is that when they were shooting for the river crossing scene in Ep 8, a replacement guy (Ramirez or Hashey?) who wasn't in the bootcamp and wasn't that immersed, jokingly told Dexter Fletcher (Martin) to fuck off, everyone went quiet like how dare you say to that to the officer, and Ross McCall (Liebgott) asked, "Permission to throw him off the boat, sir," Fletcher said let him think about it. They didn't throw him off the boat but I find the comparison between those who went to the bootcamp vs. those didn't and thus didn't have a clue is so interesting. Oh, and Matthew Settle still scared the other cast and staff because Speirs is so scary lol.

[isabellesoares101]

Dia 7: Major Richard Winters

Richard Davis Winters (New Holland, 21 de janeiro de 1918 - Hershey, 2 de janeiro de 2011) foi um militar estadunidense que serviu na Companhia Easy, 2º Batalhão, 506º Regimento de Infantaria de Paraquedistas da 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada do exército norte-americano durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Winters alistou-se no Exército em 1941. Após a graduação do treinamento básico ele foi selecionado para frequentar a Escola de Oficiais do Exército norte-americano. Ali conheceu seu amigo Lewis Nixon, com o qual ele passaria toda a Segunda Guerra Mundial, na 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada. Como membro inicial da Companhia E ("Easy Company"), Winters começou a trabalhar como líder de pelotão após graduar-se no programa da Escola de Oficiais do Exército norte-americano em Fort Benning, Georgia, EUA.

Durante o treinamento inicial de paraquedismo no Campo militar de Toccoa, no estado da Geórgia, Winters engajou-se na Companhia E como Oficial e foi promovido a Primeiro Tenente enquanto o comandante inicial ainda era o Capitão Herbert Sobel.

Após o envio da 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada para a Inglaterra, surgiram reclamações dos sub-oficiais da Easy Company naquilo que o próprio Winters mais tarde chamaria de "motim". O capitão Sobel foi substituído pelo primeiro-tenente Thomas Meehan III no comando da Easy Company pouco antes do Dia D.

Em 6 de junho de 1944, aproximadamente às 01:15h, o C-47 que carregava a equipe de paraquedistas número 66, levando Meehan e o quartel-general da Easy Company, foi abatido pela bateria antiaérea alemã matando todos a bordo da aeronave. Desconhecendo o destino de seus companheiros, Winters assumiu o comando da Easy Company. Ele permaneceu como comandante da Easy Company durante toda a Batalha da Normandia.

Após pousar seu paraquedas fora da rota prevista, perto de Sainte-Mère-Église e tendo perdido sua arma durante o salto, o tenente Winters conseguiu identificar a sua localização, agrupou alguns paraquedistas, que também pousaram fora da área prevista, e marchou na direção do seu objetivo perto de Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

O tenente Winters foi indicado para receber a Medalha de Honra (condecoração mais alta dos EUA) por liderar o pelotão que destruiu uma bateria de canhões Obus alemães de 105 mm que disparavam nas vias de acesso que serviam como saídas principais da praia de Utah durante a invasão do Dia D. As armas eram defendidas por, pelo menos uma guarnição de 50 alemães. Winters tinha somente 12 homens. A tomada dos canhões alemães ocorreu ao sul de Le Grand-Chemin e frequentemente é lembrada como Operação Brécourt Manor. Além de ter tomado a bateria de canhões, Winters também encontrou um mapa detalhando todas as posições da defesa alemã na área da praia de Utah. A condecoração foi rebaixada para Distinguished Service Cross, a segunda maior condecoração militar por combate, em função de uma política de premiação de somente uma Medalha de Honra por Divisão. O tenente-coronel Robert G. Cole fora o soldado da 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada premiado com a Medalha de Honra pela Batalha da Normandia.

Após o lançamento da minissérie Band of Brothers, foi lançado um abaixo-assinado visando a premiação da Medalha de Honra retroativamente, ao major Winters.

A própria Operação Brécourt Manor ainda é estudada em academias militares ao redor do mundo com um exemplo clássico de tática de pequenas unidades. Em julho de 1944, Winters foi promovido a Capitão.

Durante o decorrer da Operação Market Garden na Holanda, em setembro de 1944, Winters recebeu tarefas de oficial executivo no 2º Batalhão, 506º Regimento de Infantaria de Paraquedistas. Apesar de tais tarefas serem de responsabilidade de um major, ele assumiu as responsabilidades enquanto ainda era capitão. Durante a Campanha na Holanda, o capitão Winters liderou um ataque bem sucedido com 20 membros da Easy Company contra uma força de 200 soldados alemães.

Em 16 de dezembro de 1944 os alemães lançaram uma contra-ofensiva contra os Aliados na Bélgica. Após a transferência da 101ª Divisão para Bastogne, na Bélgica, em 18 de dezembro, o capitão Winters (como comandante executivo do 2º Batalhão e da Easy Company) manteve as linhas de batalha a nordeste, próximo à pequena cidade de Foy durante o que tornou-se conhecido como a Batalha das Ardenas.

Toda a 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada e partes da 10ª Divisão blindada americana detiveram diversas Divisões de elite alemãs por quase uma semana, antes que parte do 3º Exército norte-americano cruzasse as linhas de defesa alemãs ao redor de Bastogne. Ele foi promovido a Major logo após a Batalha das Ardenas. Winters e a Companhia E continuaram a marchar Europa a dentro até que em abril de 1945, o 2º Batalhão entrou na Baviera. Em maio, ele e seus homens capturavam o Berchtesgaden, também chamado de O ninho da Águia. Logo depois, a Companhia Easy tomava a cidade de Thalham, no interior da Alemanha. Em 8 de maio de 1945, Winters e a 101ª Divisão Aerotransportada foram notificados oficialmente da rendição da Alemanha Nazista. Em 29 de novembro de 1945, Richard Winters deu baixa no exército.

Winters trabalhou por algum tempo com seu amigo dos tempos de guerra Lewis Nixon nos negócios da família de Nixon. Voltou a ser convocado durante a Guerra da Coreia para treinar a infantaria e os Rangers do exército americano entre 1950 e 1953. Após este segundo período de serviço militar, Winters administrou seus próprios negócios, vendendo ração animal para fazendeiros no estado da Pennsylvania. Ele e sua esposa Ethel compraram uma pequena fazenda onde Winters construiu sua casa, pedra sobre pedra e criou seus filhos, Tim e Jill. Aposentou-se em Hershey, na Pennsylvania, perto da cidade de Harrisburg. Winters tornou-se um ícone de sua geração com o livro de Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest de 1992 e com a mini-série da HBO Band of Brothers (onde é interpretado pelo ator Damian Lewis), baseada no livro.

Winters foi matéria do livro Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, escrito por Larry Alexander e publicado em 2005. Também escreveu suas próprias memórias: Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters a duas mãos com o historiador militar e coronel aposentado do exército, Cole C. Kingseed, publicado no início de 2006.

Apesar de sempre ser muito elogiado, Winters permaneceu humilde sobre o papel que desempenhou. Em um dos episódios da série Band of Brothers, Winters citou um trecho de uma carta que recebeu do Sargento Mike Ranney, "Eu guardo as lembranças de uma pergunta que o meu neto me fez outro dia quando me disse: "Vovô, você foi um herói na guerra?" Vovô disse "não ... mas eu servi em uma companhia de heróis."

Winters residiu em Hershey, Pensilvânia, e morreu em 2 de janeiro de 2011 num asilo na cidade de Campbelltown, Pensilvânia. Ele foi enterrado no cemitério da Igreja Evangélica Luterana Bergstrasse em Ephrata, Pensilvânia, em uma cerimônia particular. Há vários anos sofria da doença de Parkinson. Está enterrado ao lado de seus pais na sepultura da família Winters onde esta escrito Richard D. Winters WW II 101st Airborne.

Fonte: Wikipédia.

[lyselkatzhappynerding]

Band of Brothers bibliography

Non-exhaustive list, only my 506th PIR Easy Co/101st Airborne related readings so far:

🦅 Stephen Ambrose - Band of brothers

Only kinda mandatory because the show is based on it but to be taken with a pinch of salt.

🦅 Dick Winters - Beyond Band of brothers

Very interesting to read Winters' own words. Although not my fav because it's (unsurprisingly) very factual and analytical. Good for historical/chronological reference.

🦅 Cole Kingseed - Conversations with Major Dick Winters

Interesting, mostly focused on Winters' leadership qualities

🦅 Larry Alexander - Biggest Brother

❤ A fave! The approach is more personal and human (also most of the nuggets about Nixon are from this book).

🦅 Don Malarkey/Bob Welsh - Easy company soldier

❤ A fave!!! Little warning, it's pretty melancholic, I always cry a lot rereading. (If I loved TV!Skip before, I totally fell in love with he real guy after that, second hand feels and all)

🦅 William Guarnere/Edward Heffon/ Robyn Post - Brothers in battle, best of friends:

❤ A fave!!! This one is both hilarious and devastating -because war is hell. (I usually reread a chapter after Malarkey's to soothe my poor little heart.)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - Shifty's war

❤A fave!!! Biography written with 1st person POV, Shifty's voice is beautifully captured. (It's so heartwarming, I'm in perpetual beaming "Awwwwww" mood)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - A company of heroes (anthology):

❤A fave. Individual focus on a selection of biographies with testimonials from their family. (I totally fell in love with Smokey reading this one)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - We who are alive and remain (anthology): Global retelling of the whole story with multiple accounts.

🦅 Larry Alexander - In the footsteps of the Band of brothers, Return to Easy Company's Battlefields with Sgt. Forrest Guth

What the title promises! Prepare the travel bucket list!

🦅 David Kenyon Webster- Parachute infantry

I was a little refractory at first, because it looks like it was a big referencee in the writing of BoB and I'm still salty about Ambrose's work.

That being said, it's interesting as an individual's experience of the war and gives little details on the sceneries and every day activities of a private.

🦅 Chris Langlois - How Easy Company Became A Band of Brothers

❤ A lovely book for younger audiences from Doc Roe's grandson. Beautifully illustrated by Anneke Helleman.

🦅 Ed Shames/Ian Gardner - Airborn, the combat story of Ed Shames,Easy company

(Quite salty) POV from the (at some point) 3rd platoon leader (A little mention of Nixon, whom Shames found difficult to work with, in S2)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton/Lynn Compton - Call of duty: I've tried to read that one several time but it just doesn't speak to me

🦅 Donald Burgett - Currahee/The road to Arnhem/Seven Roads to Hell/Beyond the Rhine

Easy reading, the whole ride from an Able company paratrooper's POV, same kind of personal memoirs packed with interesting details like Webster's (with less complaining 😂).

🦅 Ian Gardner - Tonight We Die As Men/ Deliver Us From Darkness/ No Victory in Valhalla

Following the 506 PIR 3rd battalion. A bit heavy but interesting for a larger view of the actions (from the battalion Doc Roe couldn't find in Bastogne, lost his way)

*The short documentary film "Seize and hold Carentan" by N3DLand follows this battalion.

🦅 George Koskimaki - D-Day with the Screaming Eagles/ Hell's Highway/Battered Bastards of Bastogne 

Very information packed collection of personnal recollections. A bit confusing if you are not already familiar with the subject.

(I only picked bits of each book so far, wanting to find out what happened to the 326 airborne medical unit. Also interesting for Lipton and other vets' recollections)

🦅 Charles Whiting - American Eagle

Very interesting, from an non American POV. I learnt about some stuffs only mentioned in passing or not at all, like the disaster of operation tiger in Slapton sand, or that the higher command wasn't exactly confident about the efficiency of such airborne units until Bastogne.

🦅🏥 Paul Woodadge - Angels of Mercy: Two Screaming Eagle Medics in Angoville-au-Plain on D-Day

❤ Medics!! The title says it all. Beautiful story. The medics are from the 501st PIR

*There's a WWII Foundation documentary "Eagles of Mercy" about this.

🦅 Robert Bowen - Fighting with the Screaming Eagles

Interesting personnal account from a glider's pov (401st glider infantry regiment) and life as a POW captured in the Battle of the Bulge.

🏥 Martin King - Searching for Augusta: the forgotten angel of Bastogne

❤ Remember the black nurse "Anna" in Bastogne? Her real name is Augusta Chiwy and that's her amazing story. (Just be aware that the author is a bit "salty" towards Renée Lemaire, more likely about the spotlight she received while Augusta was forgotten for so long)

*The book has a documentary counterpart.

🦈David Kenyon Webster - Myth and maneater: The story of the shark

❤ Don't mind the sensationalist cover choice from the publisher who finally accepted to publish it (posthumously), profiting from the cinematic success of Jaws.

It's beautifully and humorously written, very interesting and surprisingly ahead of its time (1960s) viewing sharks as much more than bloodthirsty monster.

[tabloidtoc]

Entertainment Weekly, December

Cover: Wandavision -- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision 

Page 1: Contents, Melissa Gilbert on the Little House on the Prairie Set in 1977 

Page 3: Sound Bites -- special holiday edition 

Page 4: Editor’s Note 

Page 6: The Must List -- Between the World and Me 

Page 8: The Orchard by David Hopen, Freaky 

Page 9: Chris Stapleton -- Starting Over 

Page 11: A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, Let Them All Talk 

Page 12: Batman/Catwoman 

Page 13: Nomadland 

Page 14: Soul, December Games -- Marvel’s Spider-man: Miles Morales, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Immortals Fenyx Rising 

Page 16: My Must List -- Kenan Thompson 

Page 19: First Take -- Bob Odenkirk in Nobody -- the Better Call Saul star plays an unlikely action here complete with a bloody good makeover in this thriller about a family man who decides to seek revenge after a break-in 

Page 21: Pedro Pascal and Christian Slater -- We Can Be Heroes 

Page 22: Cover Story -- Wandavision a wonderfully weird send-up of sitcoms of the past is Marvel’s key to the future 

Page 30: Untold Stories: Holiday Movies Edition -- an oral history of The Family Stone -- Thomas Bezucha, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Dermot Mulroney, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Craig T. Nelson, Claire Danes

Page 36: Making the Scene -- The Muppet Christmas Carol -- fans of the Muppets’ 1992 take on Scrooge know a key scene is missing from the DVD version and it’s now the most beloved number ever left on the cutting-room floor, Closet Confidential -- Bridget Jones’ Diary -- Colin Firth and director Sharon Maguire reveal the secrets behind Darcy’s ugly sweater 

Page 37: The Merriest Movies Years Ever -- Jeremy Arnold the author of the TCM book Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season reveals why 1947 and 2003 were prime years for yuletide films 

Page 38: Role Call -- Mary Steenburgen -- the Oscar winner is a holiday movie MVP and here we look back at the roles that put the Mary in Christmas 

Page 39: Behind the Music -- The Preacher’s Wife -- Whitney Houston’s rousing 1996 film boasts one of the all-time great Christmas movie soundtracks and producer Mervyn Warren tells how it came together 

Page 40: Investigation: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? It’s the debate that won’t die: does Bruce Willis’ 1988 action classic also qualify as a Christmas classic? With the help of some Die Hard alums we’re ready to settle this once and for all -- Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Dermot Mulroney, Zooey Deschanel, Mean Girls -- Christmas got a bit risque in the teen film’s memorial Jingle Bell Rock talent-show performance 

Page 41: 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Love Actually -- we actually unearthed some new tidbits from writer-director Richard Curtis about the much-discussed much-beloved Christmas rom-com 

Page 43: 3 secrets from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- it’s aired every year since 1964 but there are still some things you don’t know about the stop-motion Christmas special, 5-minute oral history -- Elf -- you’d better scurry for the story behind the film’s Baby It’s Cold Outside shower scene by Zooey Deschanel 

Page 44: Shondaland makes its Netflix debut December 25 with the swoony Bridgerton a Regency-era drama inspired by a series of romance novels 

Page 48: The Kane maker -- David Fincher and an all-star cast inhabit Old Hollywood for Netflix’s Manx the riveting behind-the-scenes story of Citizen Kane 

Page 52: In an era of rampant reboots it’s been awfully quiet on the Prairie so EW investigates why it’s taken so long for Hollywood to return to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved town on Walnut Grove in Little House on the Prairie 

Page 57: 2020 Gift Guide 

Page 66: News + Reviews  -- It has spurred sales and served as a balm for concert-starved fans but the best by-product of Verzuz is its celebration of Black excellence 

Page 70: Movies -- from modernized classics to fresh newcomers the Hollywood musical is back in style with a new inclusive look 

Page 73: Indie’s New Queen -- with another major and wild big-screen performance in Black Bear Aubrey Plaza is emerging as an art-house icon 

Page 74: Meet Your Maker -- Alan Ball -- the Oscar and Emmy winner behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under and True Blood brings his most personal project to the screen: the road movie Uncle Frank and here Ball shares his iconic cinematic and literary inspirations 

Page 76: Comedy of My Life: Melissa McCarthy -- the Oscar nominee and Emmy winner flaunts some Superintelligence in her fourth movie directed by husband Ben Falcone 

Page 78: The Shot -- Silver Linings Playbook -- inside the creation of a classic scene 

Page 80: TV -- after years as the grounding force on The Big Bang Theory Kaley Cuoco is now flying high as The Flight Attendant at the center of a juicy murder mystery 

Page 82: Class is back in session on Peacock where Saved By the Bell revival debuts 

Page 83: The Crown 

Page 84: Small Axe 

Page 85: Q+A with Bryan Cranston -- in the limited series Your Honor the Emmy winner is breaking bad again starring as a judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run 

Page 86: Unwrapping Christmas TV movies -- wisdom gleaned from a flurry of winters in Tinseltown 

Page 87: Role Call -- William H. Macy -- as he heads into the 11th and final season of Shameless he looks back on his most iconic projects, epic sci-fi series The Expanse is back with more cosmic chaos in season 5 

Page 89: What to Watch 

Page 96: Music -- Angus Young and Brian Johnson explain how AC/DC are back on track with a new album that honors late bandmate and brother Malcolm Young 

Page 98: Sam Smith 

Page 99: Q+A with legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins sheds light on his new album and his enormous collection of top hats 

Page 101: The Playback -- Joni Mitchell Archives: Vol. 1: The Early Years -- before she became an icon Mitchell was performing at local radio stations and recording homemade demos 

Page 102: A Band You Need to Know -- Sault -- the mysterious U.K. group has dropped two timely album-of-the-year contenders, Stupid Questions with Josh Groban -- the multiplatinum-selling golden-voiced baritone returns with Harmony but can he sing his way out of this comedic jam

Page 103: Epitaph -- Eddie Van Halen 

Page 104: Books -- Ernest Cline returns with Ready Player Two the sequel to his 2011 blockbuster and 2020′s most secretive novel 

Page 106: Comedians Rachel Bloom and Michelle Buteau have new memoirs but first they chat about bullying and Dick Jones and how Julia Roberts likes her eggs 

Page 107: High Anxiety with Cazzie David -- the writer and daughter of OG angster Larry David broadcasts her own neuroses in the essay collection No One Asked for This and here shares her deepest fears 

Page 108: The weirdest year in publishing history wraps up with an all-virtual literary awards season and here we break down the titles with their eyes on the prize 

Page 110: Screenwriter and director ad novelist John Ridley offers an alternative perspective in The Other History of the DC Universe 

Page 112: The Bullseye

[rossmccallsqueen]

23 & 27!

23. Summer or winter?

After this summer, winter

27. Last book you read?

Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters by the major himself

Send me some cute questions?