Richard D. Winters

Biography

Richard D. “Dick” Winters (January 21, 1918 – January 2, 2011) was a distinguished American military officer and World War II veteran. He served in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and earned recognition as one of the most notable American officers of the Normandy campaign.

Winters joined the U.S. Army in August 1941 and volunteered for airborne service. Assigned in 1942 to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, he trained with the soldiers who would form Easy Company. He initially served as the unit's executive officer before assuming command during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

During D-Day, Winters directed a small detachment of paratroopers in an assault on a German artillery battery near Brécourt Manor—an operation later cited as a model of small-unit leadership, earning him the Distinguished Service Cross. He went on to lead Easy Company through the Normandy campaign, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.

Winters later served as executive officer and then commander of 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In May 1945, he led his battalion into the Berchtesgaden region of Bavaria as Allied forces pushed into Germany.

Following the war, Winters pursued a business career while maintaining ties with Easy Company veterans, becoming a key source for accounts of their wartime service. His experiences were central to Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 book *Band of Brothers* and the celebrated 2001 HBO miniseries, in which Damian Lewis portrayed him.

Winters passed away on January 2, 2011, at age 92. He was remembered for his humility and leadership, and in 2012 a monument was dedicated near Utah Beach in France honoring him and fellow junior officers of the Normandy campaign.