Major Dick Winters dead at 92.

[LagerHead]

America lost one of her real heroes today. Rest in peace soldier.

PHILADELPHIA -- Richard "Dick" Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were made famous by the book and television miniseries "Band of Brothers," died last week in central Pennsylvania. He was 92.

Winters died following a several-year battle with Parkinson's disease, longtime family friend William Jackson said Monday.

An intensely private and humble man, Winters had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral, Jackson said. Winters lived in Hershey, Pa., but died in suburban Palmyra.

The men Winters led expressed their admiration for their company commander after learning of his death.

William Guarnere, 88, said what he remembers about Winters was "great leadership."

"When he said 'Let's go,' he was right in the front," Guarnere, who was called "Wild Bill" by his comrades, said Sunday night from his South Philadelphia home. "He was never in the back. A leader personified."

Another member of the unit living in Philadelphia, Edward Heffron, 87, 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," said Heffron, who had the nickname "Babe" in the company. "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."

Winters was born Jan. 21, 1918 and studied economics at Franklin & Marshall College before enlisting, according to a biography on the Penn State website. Winters became the leader of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day, after the death of the company commander during the invasion of Normandy. During that invasion, Winters led 13 of his men in destroying an enemy battery and obtained a detailed map of German defenses along Utah Beach. In September 1944, he led 20 men in a successful attack on a German force of 200 soldiers.

Occupying the Bastogne area of Belgium at the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he and his men held their place until the Third Army broke through enemy lines, and Winters shortly afterward was promoted to major. After returning home, Winters married his wife, Ethel, in May 1948, and trained infantry and Army Ranger units at Fort Dix during the Korean War. He started a company selling livestock feed to farmers, and he and his family eventually settled in a farmhouse in Hershey, Pa., where he retired.

Historian Stephen Ambrose interviewed Winters for the 1992 book "Band of Brothers," upon which the HBO miniseries that started airing in September 2001 was based. Winters himself published a memoir in 2006 entitled "Beyond Band of Brothers." Two years ago, an exhibit devoted to Winters was dedicated at the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society. Winters, in frail health in later years, has also been the subject of a campaign to raise money to erect a monument in his honor near the beaches of Normandy.

Winters talked about his view of leadership for an August 2004 article in American History Magazine: "If you can," he wrote, "find that peace within yourself, that peace and quiet and confidence that you can pass on to others, so that they know that you are honest and you are fair and will help them, no matter what, when the chips are down."

When people asked whether he was a hero, he echoed the words of his World War II buddy, Mike Ranney: "No, but I served in a company of heroes."

"He was a good man, a very good man," Guarnere said. "I would follow him to hell and back. So would the men from E Company."

Arrangements for a public memorial service are pending.

Read more: 'Band of Brothers' Inspiration Dies at Age 92 - FoxNews.com

[E4 No More]

May this true hero rest in peace.

[MikePapa1]

I'm sorry to hear this. Rest in Peace.

[NashvilleStage]

I watched "Band of Brothers" for the first time last year and felt like I got to know him a little bit. I hope I can pass on the good things I learned from him.

[Guest Jamie]

I hate to see 'em go.

I grew up with veterans of every war since WW I, and have heard stories and accounts of all those conflicts, first-hand, from the people that were there.

It's a shame the younger generation is not going to have that opportunity to listen and learn.

Rest in peace, all of you. You've certainly earned it.

[Guest mustangdave]

Darn...I just teared up a bit. One more from the GREATEST GENERATION has left us...and I all of a sudden feel an emptiness in the pit of my stomach. I hope we have learned the lessons they taught us. I sure as heck don't want to learn em all over again....the bad way

[Guest Hillbilly Dan]

What a sad day for our country. We have lost a great one. Let's all try to follow the example he set and remember him and those with him.

Where would we be if they had not been there to do what they did? It is good to know his story and that of those with him.

They are true hero's.

Thank you to the great generations of true warriors

Hillbilly Dan

Life Member NRA

Friends of NRA

[safeandsecure]

I never knew Dick Winters.

But after watching "Band of Brothers," and reading about this gentleman (and gentle man) and the men of Easy Company, I wish I had.

May he receive the rest and reward to which he is entitled, and his family and friends be comforted. RIP, Dick Winters.

[BimmerFreak]

RIP Sir.

[wjh2657]

They (WWII) were a generation of giants, veterans and the people back here that worked to support them. I lost my favorite brother-in-law and sister-in -law recently. He had served with the sub chasers of the Coast Guard and she had riveted wings on B-24s at the factory while he was gone. Soon there will be no more of them left and America will never be the same.

[eapking]

They (WWII) were a generation of giants, veterans and the people back here that worked to support them. I lost my favorite brother-in-law and sister-in -law recently. He had served with the sub chasers of the Coast Guard and she had riveted wings on B-24s at the factory while he was gone. Soon there will be no more of them left and America will never be the same.

We'd all be wearing brown shirts now if it wasn't for these courageous people. RIP.

[Guest tnxdshooter]

I never knew Dick Winters.

But after watching "Band of Brothers," and reading about this gentleman (and gentle man) and the men of Easy Company, I wish I had.

May he receive the rest and reward to which he is entitled, and his family and friends be comforted. RIP, Dick Winters.

I couldnt have said it better myself. After watching "Band of Brothers" and reading the book I felt like I had known him for years and never really knew him ever. This saddens me to find out he is gone and I actually teared up a bit.

[peejman]

I couldnt have said it better myself. After watching "Band of Brothers" and reading the book I felt like I had known him for years and never really knew him ever. This saddens me to find out he is gone and I actually teared up a bit.

+1

[duckhunteresq]

I was saddened to hear this news of the passing of a "True Hero".

God Speed and Thank You for all you did to protect Freedom.

[Guest Russell]