By John Wood (Woodman) (66.143.35.229) on Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 11:46 am:| By John Wood (Woodman) (66.143.35.229) on Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 11:46 am: |
'Band of Brothers' Want Medal for Leader
Wed Jul 16, 9:57
'Band of Brothers' Want Medal for Leader
Wed Jul 16, 9:57 PM ET Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The real-life "Band of Brothers" are taking up one last battle — this time to seek the Medal of Honor for their company commander.
The World War II veterans, who fought from Normandy's beaches on D-Day to capture Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden, Germany, will meet Thursday with Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee to ask that the nation's highest military honor be awarded to Richard Winters of Hershey, Pa.
Winters, 85, who first served as commander of Company E of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne, and later as its battalion commander, was given the Distinguished Service Cross for his D-Day fighting and strategy on Utah Beach. The service cross is the nation's second-highest military award.
But that's not enough for the men who served with Winters and are profiled in the Stephen Ambrose book "Band of Brothers," on which a miniseries on the HBO cable channel was based.
"He could figure out a battle in its plans," said Joe Lesniewski, 83, of Erie, Pa., who fought with Winters in Normandy. "That's how good that guy was. And every one of us, we'd follow him to hell. That's the type of guy he was."
Army Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin confirmed Brownlee plans to sit down with the vets in a meeting set up by Rep. Curt Weldon (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., a member of the House Armed Services Committee. The Army generally does not comment on its considerations for Medal of Honor recipients, which often take years to conclude.
Winters, in an interview Wednesday, bashfully declined to talk about his comrades' latest drive, except to say that he "had nothing to do with it." He assumed command of E Company on D-Day, after his lieutenant's plane crashed.
The company landed several miles from their destination shortly after 1 a.m. on June 6, 1944, and had to trek in full gear to Utah Beach, arriving around 8 a.m. Winters quickly captured the maps for the enemy command post — a major coup for the Allied forces.
Gathering 12 men — "I was the lucky 13th," he said — Winters worked his way into the enemy trenches and destroyed four cannons that had held Allied troops at bay.
"I crawled up there by myself and scouted the thing out, and decided that I knew where one gun was," said Winters, then a first lieutenant. "By getting in the trench by the right flank, I was then able to take them one at a time."
Winters lost three of the 12 men in that operation — all of whom he can quickly name.
But as horrible as the fighting was during the ensuing year in Holland, France, and finally Germany, nothing compared to what Winter and E Company found when liberating concentration camps outside of Munich.
"None of us were prepared. We had no concept that anything ever existed like that," Winters said. "You see individuals wounded and hurt and killed, and that's horrible, but to see the mistreatment of these people, who are no more than skin and bones, and laying in piles of bodies .... You never forget that."
At the rank of major, Winters was given an honorable discharge from the Army in 1946. Several years later, he was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, and eventually returned to Pennsylvania to work for an agriculture laboratory. "That was low key, and it suited me just fine," Winters said.
His fellow brothers are adamant about getting him the Medal of Honor.
"He should have had it years ago," fumed "Wild Bill" Guarnere, 80, of Philadelphia, who was one of the 12 men to follow Winters into the trenches on D-Day.
"It took a lot of guts, and a lot of know-how to do that, and Winters was in charge," Guarnere said. "You don't realize what you're doing, when you're doing it, because you'd say to yourself, 'You got to be nuts to do this.'
"So I hope he gets it," Guarnere said of the military medal. "He deserves it."
| By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 07:27 am: |
let's hope they can get it. *fingers crossed*
gold
| By Thomas Patton Crawford (Gr8fulson) (66.17.65.114) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 03:22 pm: |
derek & chris,
is there anything that we as a group should be/could be doing about this? with the 60th anniversary of d-day in new orleans next year & the WWII memorial dedication a week earlier (DC), is just seems like 2003-2004 is the year to make this happen.
we've got a pretty good sized task force right here on this site! any thoughts?
| By Thomas Patton Crawford (Gr8fulson) (66.17.65.114) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 03:27 pm: |
derek & chris,
is there anything that we as a group should be/could be doing about this? with the 60th anniversary of d-day in new orleans next year & the WWII memorial dedication a week earlier (DC), is just seems like 2003-2004 is the year to make this happen.
we've got a pretty good sized task force right here on this site! any thoughts?
| By Jonathan Jones (Jonjones) (81.131.104.223) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 05:26 pm: |
Ladies and Gentlemen. This is one of the most precious times that we now face as a web - based band of brothers and sisters. If ever we could agree on anything related to this site (apart from our mutual respect for war veterans) then this is it.
If anyone out there knows of any way that we can help serve this noble cause, could they please step forward? Otherwise we're left with prayers, holding our breath and keeping our fingers crossed.
Too many of "the" Brothers have made the final jump without ever knowing of this. This, I believe, is their last fight. I for one don't want them to feel alone.
Jonathan.
| By keith suvara (Keith) (194.128.29.93) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 07:17 am: |
There's some information about this on the 506th AIR Association site
click here
and scroll down to 'The Battle Cry -Currahee! has been sounded'
and there's a good discussion about it on Wild Bill's site forum
click here
Hope this helps.
| By steve lundy (Breechblock) (216.209.116.1) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 11:29 am: |
Hi everyone,
It's been a while since I have posted here, but since reading Jonathans post I have a few suggestions.
We all know that next year is the 60th anniversary of D-DAY. We are all from different countries and backgrounds, but, we "all" share a common bond of deep respect and gratitude towards the veterans of WWII, lets face it, we are free today because of them. Whether you are British, Canadian, American or any other country in our world who answered the call, we should now stand up for these men and women who fought for us and say thankyou.
If you see a veteran on the street, make a point to walk over and shake his hand. If you see a veteran having lunch or even just buying a coffee, pick up the tab and tell them thankyou.
Join in the parades which your town or city might be having, let them ALL know that what they did for us will never be forgotten, and that our childrens children will know what was sacraficed for us.
Better yet, if you can afford to, make the trip to Normandy next year. Go to the places where the soldiers from your country landed, meet the heroes in person, listen to them talk and let them know it was never in vain.
I myself am going over to Normandy next year with a Canadian group and we will be on the beaches at 05:30 on the morning of June 6th, when the first Canadian shock troops hit the beach.
Hopefully some of the veterans will be there as well, for I have alot of thankyous to hand out.
These are just some of my thoughts.
Hope everyone is well,
Steve L.
| By Jonathan Jones (Jonjones) (81.131.70.3) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 01:41 pm: |
Thanks for the wonderful info, Keith. I'll check those site out ASAP.
Nice to hear from you, Steve. You're absolutely right with your sentiments. I love going to reunions and rallies. There's always someone who you end up talking to who has the most amazing and yet understated stories to tell. They're usually intertwined tales based upon humour and loss which usually end with a philosophical one liner from either themselves or you.
I was saddened at a recent Airborne reunion to see a senior officer who many (including myself) despise steal the limelight due to his seniority of rank. Real heroes (veterans of Normandy and Arnhem) wearing the red beret were sent scuttling by this idiot's entourage. Mention no names but it would have been a supremely precious moment to close with him and say, "So you're the guy who surrendered the Gloucestershire Regiment in the Korean War to save your own skin, eh?". I can imagine Alan's eyes light up right now...
In any event, I wouldn't swap those times at reunions for the world and I'd much prefer the company of veterans to many of those of younger generations today.
Jonathan.
| By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (4.42.202.200) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 05:59 pm: |
Thomas,
I think all the campaigning for Winters' has already been done. The fact that around 6 men of E Co. spoke before Congress last week should be a good indication that the grass roots effort was a success. All we can do now is await the decision.
Chris
a Roe grandson
| By Jonathan Jones (Jonjones) (81.131.194.27) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 04:11 pm: |
Thanks for helping to keep us in the picture Chris
Does anyone know of a date for the decision?
Jonathan.
| By Thomas Patton Crawford (Gr8fulson) (66.17.65.114) on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 04:37 pm: |
Nice looking group!
| By Jackie McConlogue (Jackiem) (64.252.17.226) on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:10 am: |
Hello, It has also been a while since my last post. But, I read all the posts that come to my email address and when I read Steve's a little light went off in my head. This past year I had been planning my Easy Co. Eurpoean Expedition because I was abroad in London and thought it a perfect time to take three weeks and travel the route of Easy. However after five months of traveling and being away from home I ran out of money and ambition.
However, this spring I have the same trip planned and this time as a graduation present. The original plan still stands, leave around mid May, start in Austria and go backwards to end up in Normandy for the 60th Anniversary of DDay. I suppose that I am proposing the same trip to anyone else who is interested and if not, at least proposing some sort of meeting in Normandy. I think that thanks to the Roe family we all have some common bond here and should stand together next year to show all our support for these men as one cohesive unit.
For everyone who is planning on being in Normandy next June I would like to get together and finally meet the people who I occasionally share ideas with and read about everyday. I would also like to suggest some sort of subtle indentification. Screaming Eagles are reserved for the men of the Company and T-shirts are too loud but perhaps some sort of arm band or even a ribbon, let me know your thoughts.
Everyday I read touching posts about tributes and wanting to make some difference and show them how we feel. I think this is a perfect time.
Let me know if I am getting carried away, I am very excited sitting in this chair, my mind is racing.
Cheers
Jackie
| By stephen stallebrass (Drstallebrass) (62.253.32.5) on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 01:23 pm: |
Hi all:
I have a 2 week trip to Normandy planned for the 60th Anniversary and I would love to meet up with anyone from this forum over their and have a beer or two.
No your not getting carried away I'm just the same, even planned quite a comprehensive itinerary of all the places I want to visit. I get excited just thinking about it too.
Kind Regards
Steve Stallebrass
England
| By fgewobyetap (24.164.58.7) on Sunday, December 23, 2007 - 09:02 am: |