Friday, February 21, 2014

Major Dick Winters



If you saw the HBO TV mini-series, "Band of Brothers',  you might be familiar with the name of Dick Winters.  I just found out that there was a monument dedicated to him in Normandy,France..  This was unveiled two years ago , in June of 2012.( I was in England at that time and did not hear much of the news.)  
If you notice from my profile, I was born in Toccoa, Georgia/ The men from Easy Company, (The Band of Brothers) trained at Camp Toccoa, and I remember the stories of the men and how very much respected they all were, and how honored the town felt that the men had trained and lived there.  Perhaps that is where my great respect began for those in World War II, because of my very first memories of seeing the old Army Camp in the shadow of Mt. Currahee. (And my father, as a teenager, helped to build some of the camp.  It was his very first job.)   Even if you have seen the movie, "Band of Brothers", I urge you to seek out the book by the same title, by Stephen Ambrose.  (It was based on his book, of course.)   
A Bridge Too Far   is a World War II book and a movie also....and the bridge that is referred to is the same one that is in the Dick Winters story....Dick Winters died in January of 2011 but I am hopeful that his name and memory will not be forgotten.  I urge you to click on his name and read his story.

(If you watch the video, just stop it after Major  Winters has spoken...you don't want to hear the inane comments from the announcers.)  Typical of Dick Winters, he only agreed to the statue if it could be dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the D-Day landings.

22 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tribute to those that fought for us -and continue to fight for us. Love the stories you must have heard as a child about the training that went on there for WWII. Blessings- xo Diana

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    1. Thanks, Diana. I sincerely wish that I could convey how much I admire Major Winters and his "band of brothers"!

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  2. HI Kay, Thank You for coming to my blog. Please come back anytime. I am enjoying yours!!!!! I've been to Toccoa, GA. Hubby and I visited a pretty waterfall at the college there.

    Nice tribute to Dick Winters... I'm going to take a few minutes to see the video. Thanks so much.

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Thank you!
      Toccoa Falls is very beautiful indeed! In fact, "Toccoa" is the native American word meaning "beautiful"!
      Hope you got to see the video, the last full minute is taken up by the announcers and should really be skipped. Trust me.

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  3. Although it is futile to think about the "what ifs" in history, but I honestly shudder to think about what could have become of Germany (and, ultimately, of Europe) without D-Day.

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    1. Amen to that!
      Everything that was put into that one day alone is just so incredible to think upon, and it is something that should never be forgotten!

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  4. Le 'devoir de mémoire ' c'est extrêmement important !
    Have a nice week-end !
    Cath.

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    1. I think it is very important for us to remember!
      Thank you very much for your comment.
      I hope one day to see this monument in Normandy.

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  5. We need the memorials, we need to remember. Thank you for continuing to remind us.

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    1. I will speak of heroes as long as I am able!
      Thanks for being one of those who want to honor them!

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  6. We, and future generations, should never be allowed to forget these brave people and the sacrifices they made. They are the true heroes; the true legends.

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    1. I agree and I hope that in this "edgy" world we find ourselves in, that we don't lose sight of what is really important!

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  7. I have a problem watching war movies because of the death of my brother but I have so much respect for the soldiers who have served in all our wars. They are all heroes.

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    1. Oddly enough, when I first watched "Band of Brothers:", I think I saw one or two episodes, and then...it was Sept. 11, 2001...After that , I couldn't watch the rest of them, had to wait for several years before I could finish watching it. It truly is an excellent production.

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  8. One of my all-time favorite HBO series! I've watched it several times and am ready to watch it again. Thanks for sharing this tribute, Kay.

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    1. It was just so well-done, was it not? You know when you read a book that is really good, it so often happens that any film based on it just does not come up to par, but in this case, it did!
      Thanks, Les, for your comment!

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  9. I've never seen the series, but it's my son-in-law's favorite. I'll have watch it when my life slows down.

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    1. Your son-in-law has good taste.
      Of course, I don't have to tell you that, he married your daughter!
      :-)

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  10. Major Dick Winters story reminds us once again that Freedom is not Free! The liberties that today we take for granted have been paid for by the sacrifice and valor of those brave armed forces members who have gone before us.

    Allan Andrade
    Leopoldville disaster author/historian

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    1. Thank you very much for your comment, Allan. And I hope that we will NEVER FORGET the sacrifices made by them!
      For anyone reading this, please know that Allan Andrade wrote a book about the Leopoldville, it is entitiled "SS Leopoldville Disaster, Dec, 24, 1944".

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