The Making of a Leader: Lieutenant Richard Winters

Preview

Lieutenant Richard Winters was a commissioned officer during World War II who served in the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and was a part of the 101st Airborne during D-Day. He enlisted in the Army on August 5, 1941. He graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry. Not long after he graduated, he volunteered to join the newly born parachute infantry that the Army had just created. He joined in the 506th just five weeks later. 2nd Lieutenant Winters was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and acting Executive Officer of the 506th in Company E and platoon leader of 2nd Platoon under the command of Captain Herbert Sobel. As time went on, Company E was sent to different locations in England for training of the Allied Invasion of Normandy, France. There, tensions arose between Captain Sobel and Lieutenant Winters. Winters did not see Captain Sobel fit to lead ”Easy” Company into combat due to the fact of Captain Sobel’s screw ups during war exercises. Winters faced two court marshals that he felt was unjust by Captain Sobel. The first court marshal was set aside but the following day, Captain Sobel charged Lieutenant Winters with another infraction and was court marshaled again. During the time, the Non-Commissioned Officers of Easy Company demanded to Colonel Sink, the commander of the 506th Regiment, that either Captain Sobel was to be replaced or they would resign as NCO’s. Colonel Sink punished the NCO’s for mutiny but also relieved Captain Sobel of his duties of commanding Easy Company and Lieutenant Winters was brought back.

Three Things On What Makes Lieutenant Richard Winters A Leader

One: Never Backing Down.

Richard Winters was put in a trial of court marshal, not once, but twice for unjust reasons. During the time of both court marshals, he never backed down and gave in. He stood for what he believed was right. During D-Day, he lead a group of 13 men against a platoon of 50 Nazi Soldiers and German Howitzers firing on Utah Beach. Winters seeing he was outnumbered, ammunition was low, and not enough supplies, he not only did not back down from his objective, he completed it.

Two: The Respect of His Men

Lieutenant Winters had a long time friend that he served with since Officer Candidate School, Lewis Nixon. Richard Winters quoted “Captain Lewis Nixon and I were together every step of the way from D-Day to Berchtesgaden. I still regard Lewis Nixon as the best combat officer who I had the opportunity to work with under fire.” And not only did his fellow commissioned officers respect him, his Non-Commissioned Officers had all come to respect him and follow his lead. To me, there’s no greater feeling than to have full confidence from your men.

Three: His Will To Lead

Richard Winters made two combat jumps during his time in World War II. Operation Overlord & Operation Market Garden. From Normandy, to Holland, Belgium, and to Germany in almost every major battle on the Eastern Front, Richard Winters saw. All of that time, he never left the 506th. He was promoted to Captain and the XO of the 506th following Major Oliver Horton’s death. Then, promoted to Major. He lead the same group of men since Camp Mackall and never wished to be transferred. His will to lead was astonishing and his story is a must hear.

Medals & Afterlife

Medals:

Combat Infantryman Badge

Parachutist Badge with two Combat Jump Stars

Distinguished Service Cross

Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster

Purple Heart

Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster

American Defense Service Medal

American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 Service Stars and Arrowhead Device

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation Medal

National Defense Service Medal

French Croix de Guerre with palm

French Liberation Medal

Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm

Belgian Commemorative Medal of the 1940-1945 War

Afterlife

After Richard Winters was honorably discharged from the military in 1945 after the end of World War II, he wanted to spend the rest of his life in peace after he had decided he had seen enough of war and murder. He worked with his longtime friend, Lewis Nixon, and his company. In 1948, he married the love of his life, Ethel Estoppey. In 1951, he was recalled for active duty for the Korean War and join the 11th Airborne Division. Winters knew this wasn‘t what he wanted to do. He went to Washington D.C. in hopes to convince General Anthony McAuliffe not to send him to Korea. General McAuliffe understood Winters’s concerns but wanted him to train the commissioned officers due to his experience. Winters found that the officers failed to show up at scheduled meetings and lacked discipline. As a result, Richard Winters became a US Army Ranger and was set to deploy in Korea. During his pre-deployment administration in Seattle, Washington, he was given the opportunity to resign his commission and return to civilian life. In which, he accepted.