The "A HERO For All Of Us" Story

Dick Winters childhood home on Fulton St. in Ephrata.

It was an ordinary day.  Just stopped at the white house with the black shutters on Fulton St. in Ephrata, PA to take a photo of it.  Seems that a Mr. Dick Winters, or you might remember him as Major Dick Winters who was the inspiration for "Band of Brothers",  lived in the house when he was a child.  

Headstone for Dick Winters.

Also stopped by the Richard D. Winters Memorial Trail to see where his statute will be placed after it is completed.  Snapped a photo of the 2,000-pound headstone that carries his name and the words "FOLLOW ME", a phrase for which Winters is known.   The Ephrata rail trail was officially dedicated the Major Richard D. Winters Memorial Trail this past June 6th.  Also on that day, a committee to bring a duplicate of the Major Richard D. Winters Leadership statue in St. Marie-du-Mont, France, to Ephrata was formed (more on that later).  In the years before my dad died he talked with me about Dick Winters and the fact that he was a HERO who happened to live close by.  Ever since I have felt the need to learn a little bit more about Maj. Winters so I too would know why he was the HERO that my dad talked about.  

Photo of Dick in the service as well as before his death.

Dick graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in June 1941 and immed- iately enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Private.  He completed his basic training, attended Officers Candidate School and became a paratrooper, eventually rising to the rank of Major.  It was on June 6, 1944, D-Day to most of you and a few months before I was born, after a jump into Normandy where he lost his Company Commander, that he instantly became the Commander of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.  

Photo of Dick when he revisited Normandy Beach.

The morning of D-Day, Dick led his company into the battle at Brecourt where they knocked out four German artillery pieces who were firing on the American soldiers landing on Utah Beach.  For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.  He continued to lead Easy Company through the Holland Campaign after which he was appointed Battalion Executive Officer.  

He led the battalion in the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne and was promoted to Battalion Commander.  He then led his troops into Germany and Berchtesgaden in 1945.  Many of you may already know Dick Winters, not because you lived nearby him as a child or went to school with him, but because you read the book "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose or maybe you watched the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" or maybe even read his personal memoir "Beyond Band of Brothers" which was written with the help of his close friend Col. Cole Kingseed who spoke at the dedication of the trail this past June in Ephata.  In case you were wondering where the title of the book-turned- HBO series came from, here's the source: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be never so vile. This day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day." ~ William Shakespeare.  

Statue in France.

After the war he worked his way through a few jobs until he became a grain broker and distributor of animal nutritional products for Poorbaugh Grain in Lancaster, PA.  In 1971 he formed his own company, eventually known as R.D. Winters Inc., which distributed animal feed products and nutritional supplies to feed mills.  Lancaster County was truly in his blood!  He died on January 2, 2011 and was buried in the family plot at his church.  On his grave it says: "Richard D. Winters - World War II 101st Airborne."  Well, as I said earlier in my story, a sculpture by Stephen Spears of Fairhope, Alabama was created for the town of St. Marie-du-Mont, France which was a town liberated by Maj. Winters and his men in 1944.  

The statue depicts Winters, rifle a the ready, charging forward, a determined look etched on his face.  The face of my dad's HERO.  The statue was actually to honor all the men who led the way on D-Day.  

Wording on the statue in France.  A replica of this statute
is proposed for the Winters Memorial Trail in Ephrata.

But, it was Winters who stepped up and took the leadership roll, so for that it was felt his image should be displayed on the statue.  But, his family, saying their father never wanted the limelight, has pushed to stop the statute at the Winters Memorial Trail in Ephrata.  But, some say that a legend, such as Maj. Winters was, should never have his story stopped being told.  We all need heroes and a statute would present Major Winters as that HERO.  As of now, a committee is attempting to raise the money for the statue with hopes of having in on location in Ephrata in the near future.  I believe the family now realizes that their dad was much more than just their dad.  He was the same HERO to the multitude as he was to my father.  I'm anxious to see what a real HERO looked like!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.