A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION memorializing Major Richard "Dick" Winters, commending him as a hero to all Hoosiers, and to all Americans.

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    A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION memorializing Major Richard "Dick" Winters, commending him as a hero to all Hoosiers, and to all Americans.

    Whereas, Major Richard "Dick" Winters, a revered and decorated Army officer whose courageous leadership through some of the fiercest combat of World War II was featured in the best-selling book and HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," passed away on January 2, 2011 at the age of 92;

    Whereas, Richard Davis Winters was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania to Richard and Edith Winters on January 21, 1918. When Winters was eight, he moved to nearby Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Lancaster Boys High School in 1937;

    Whereas, Winters went on to college, where he graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in June 1941 with a degree in business;

    Whereas, Winters enlisted in the Army on August 25, 1941. He took a series of tests to determine where he would best fit the army. He scored high enough that he qualified for Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, Georgia. While in OCS, Winters met Lewis Nixon, a close friend with whom he would serve throughout the war in the

101st Airborne Division;

    Whereas, Looking for a new challenge, wanting to serve with the best, and having a strong inclination toward sports and physical activity, prompted Winters to volunteer for the airborne. After completing the training, he was ordered to join the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, in Georgia;

    Whereas, Upon arriving at Camp Toccoa in August 1942, Winters was assigned to Company E (famously known as "Easy Company"), 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, serving under First Lieutenant (later Captain) Herbert Sobel;

    Whereas, The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was an experimental unit that was the first regiment to undertake airborne training as a formed unit. The training was extremely tough - most notably Currahee Mountain, from which both officers and enlisted men consistently had to run up and down. As a result, of the 500 officers who had volunteered, only 148 of them, including Winters, successfully completed the training;

    Whereas, Winters was deployed with his Easy Company cohorts to England in September 1943 to prepare for the eventual invasion of Europe;

    Whereas, On D-Day (June 6, 1944), Easy Company played a vital role in the invasion of Europe, as their objective was to secure Causeway #2, which linked to Utah Beach. The Germans had flooded the fields in between and the planned night-time capture of the causeways was vital to ensuring the success of the amphibious landings;

    Whereas, The operation started off treacherously as Allied aircraft, desperate to evade the incoming fire from German anti-aircraft guns, dropped troops far from the designated drop zone. Additionally, the aircraft carrying

Easy Company's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Meehan, and First Sergeant, William Evans, was shot down during the invasion, making Lieutenant Winters commander of Easy Company;

    Whereas, Making things more difficult, Winters had lost his weapon during the drop, and 90 percent of his men were unaccounted for. Nevertheless, Winters and 13 members of Easy Company did manage to set up headquarters in a farmhouse, where at daybreak they received intelligence that four German 105mm Howitzers, manned by a full platoon, were firing on Utah Beach. They were ordered to destroy the guns;

    Whereas, In the ensuing attack, Winters ordered half of his men to unleash an enveloping hail of machine gun fire, while another section of his squad, led by Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton, took the left flank and threw grenades at the first gun. Sergeant Lipton and Private First Class Myron Ranney took the right flank. This base-of-fire technique would become a textbook case for assault on a fixed position, and is still taught at West Point Academy today.

    Whereas, When the Germans at the first gun were eliminated, Easy Company made a full assault on the German trenches, spiking the guns with TNT and completing their objective with the aid of Dog Company, led by Lieutenant Ronald Speirs, who would later become the last commanding officer of Easy Company;

    Whereas, Winters received the Distinguished Service Cross for taking out the artillery pieces. It would not be the last time Winters's leadership skills earned him a commendation or promotion, as he eventually was promoted to major before the end of the war;

    Whereas, Beyond D-Day, Easy Company fought together through Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, and ended their European

campaign while occupying Adolf Hitler's mountainside retreat, the Eagle's Nest, nestled in the Alps above Berchtesgarden. Easy Company celebrated Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945) by drinking champagne from the Fuhrer's 10,000 bottle cellar;

    Whereas, The reverence for Winters never wavered. Late in the war, one of Winter's soldiers, Floyd Talbert, wrote him a letter from an Indiana hospital, thanking him for his loyalty and leadership. "You are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier that ever served," Talbert wrote. "I would follow you into hell";

    Whereas, Following the war, Winters worked for his close friend Captain Lewis Nixon at Nixon's family business, Nixon Nitration Works of Edison, New Jersey, becoming general manager in 1950;

    Whereas, Winters furthered his education through the GI Bill, taking a variety of business and personnel management courses at Rutgers University;

    Whereas, Winters was recalled to active duty in the Army in 1951 during the Korean War, serving as a training officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey;

    Whereas, Winters military career resulted in an abundant number of awards, including the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star (2), Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, American Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Croix de guerre, French Liberation Medal, Oorlogskruis, Belgian World War II Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and a Parachutist Badge;

    Whereas, For the rest of his career, Winters owned a farm in rural Pennsylvania and sold animal nutrition

products to animal-feed companies. He married Ethel Estoppey in 1948 and had two children. He lived the quiet and peaceful life he had promised himself after surviving the war;

    Whereas, Winters war story went untold for nearly a half-century until Stephen Ambrose came calling in the hopes of documenting Easy Company's role in winning the war. Winters said he honored Ambrose's request because he felt it important for future generations to learn about the war, its consequences, and the sacrifices made by soldiers. Ambrose's book, "Band of Brothers," was released in 1992 and became a national bestseller;

    Whereas, In 2001, a television miniseries adapted from Ambrose's work was released on HBO. The series, co- produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, won six Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. It starred English actor Damian Lewis as Winters and brought his story of heroism and fortitude to a global audience;

    Whereas, Winters published his own memoir in 2006, "Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters";

    Whereas, The reverence for Winters continued upon news of his passing. William Guarnere said what he remembers about Winters was his "great leadership. When he said 'Let's go,' he was right in the front. He was never in the back. A leader personified";

    Whereas, Edward Heffron said thinking about Winters brought a tear to his eye. "He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under. He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains. He took care of his men, that's very important";

    Whereas, When Winters was asked whether he was a hero, he echoed the words of his World War II buddy, Mike

Ranney, whose grandson asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Grandpa (Mike Ranney) answered, "No, but I served in a company of heroes"; and

    Whereas, Major Richard "Dick" Winters was an amazing leader of men, a true hero personified, and his service to our country is to be commended: Therefore,

    SECTION 1. The Indiana General Assembly memorializes Major Richard "Dick" Winters, commending him as a hero to all Hoosiers, and to all Americans.
    SECTION 2. The Secretary of the Senate is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the wife of Major Winters, Ethel Winters; his son, Richard T. Winters and his wife, Diana; his daughter, Jill Peckelun and her husband, Ed; and his grandson, Jake Winters.