MAJOR RICHARD WINTERS

BACKGROUND

• Born: January 21st,1918 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
• He lived on a farm. Did random jobs to save up for college.
• Went to Franklin and Marshall college. Graduated in 1941.
• He enlisted in the United States Army. He hoped to serve 1 year.
• Winters went to AOCS, where he met his good friend Lewis Nixon

BACKGROUND P.2

• Winters was assigned 101st Airborne, as a Second Lieutenant
• Went to parachute training, and was assigned E. Company, 2nd B. 506 PIR
• While in training, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and executive officer
• In September 1943 Easy Company was deployed to England for the D-Day invasion

PERSON

• During the Normandy invasion, the plane carrying the HQ for E. was shot down
• This made Winters the commanding officer of Easy. He was notably the best CO of Easy
• He led 13 men to destroy a German gun battery, and secured a map which gave away hundreds of enemy locations
• It's now known as the "Brecourt Manor Assault". Winters recieved the Distinguished Service cross.
• He showed renowned heroism again in holland in Sept. 1944 by taking out 200 enemies with only 20 men.

PERSON P.2

• Easy company is famous for what it did in Bastogne, winter 1944. They were surrounded
• Winters led them through it as the battalions commander. They lost 122 people there
• Winters was promoted to captain in holland and then Major in Belgium
• They found a concentration camp in April 1945. It changed their view of the war
• Easy was about to invade Tokyo, when they surrendered. Winters worked for Nixons company

IMPACT

• Winters assault on Brecourt Manor is now a practiced assault at Army bases
• Many books and a TV show have been written about Winters and his company
• "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose. "Parachute Infantry" by David Webster
• A TV Miniseries based Stephen Ambrose's book, which made the company famous
• The Army built a statue for Winters on Normandy Beach on June 6th 2012 for his bravery

WORKS CITED

Anderson, Christopher J. "Dick Winters: Reflections From Major Winters Of Easy Company." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Dick Winters Reflections From Major Winters Of Easy Company Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Boland, Timothy E. "Richard Winters." Richard Winters. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

S, Samantha. "10 WWII Heroes: Richard Winters 8/10 | Le Chaim (on the Right)." 10 WWII Heroes: Richard Winters 8/10 | Le Chaim (on the Right). N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Scarvetta, Rick. "ARMY.MIL, The Official Homepage of the United States Army." Normandy Monument Dedicated to Maj. Richard Winters. N.p., 12 June 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Brotherton, Marcus C. "Band of Brothers Books." Band of Brothers Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.