Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters [Paperback]

At last Major Dick Winters tells his story in his own words. Although many of the incidents in the book may be familiar to devotees of Stephen Ambrose's book "Band of Brothers" and the marvelous HBO series, Dick Winters' war memoirs are still compelling, enlightening and inspiring.

This volume is the next best thing to having this courageous, thoughtful, and exceedingly modest hero come and sit in your living room to tell you about the adventures and exploits of Easy Company. Time and again Dick Winters embodied the true spirit of the Fort Benning Infantry doctrine of "Follow Me."

Major Winters shares his reflections on the fighting and his tactics from Brecourt Manor and the Eagle's Nest. He is most proud of his unit's work at the Island. "In my estimation, this action by E Company was the highlight of all Easy Company's engagements during the entire war and it also served as my apogee as company commander," Winters tell us.

Major Winters is also quick to commend the gallant work of the men in his company, "The company belonged to the men-the officers were merely caretakers." In reading these pages it becomes abundantly clear that these citizen soldiers were magnificent caretakers of our freedom during some of the darkest hours of the 20th century.

"Leaving Easy Company was the hardest thing I had done in my life," the Major tells us. Putting his book down is pretty damned hard, too.

"Beyond Band of Brothers" is Dick Winters' account of his experiences with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the Second World War. Winters will already be familar to many readers from his role in "Band of Brothers" by Steven Ambrose, and in the HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers." As one of the last surviving officers of the unit and as custodian of a collection of diaries, letters, and other material, Winters has written his own war memoirs to complete the story of Easy Company.

The storyline of "Beyond Band of Brothers" will be familar to many readers; Dick Winters adds context, perspective, and additional detail. Winters lacks Ambrose's gifts as a writer; his style is serviciable but undramatic. More importantly, however, Winters provides the "How to" of being a successful leader of a highly effective unit. Winters was highly professional, morally and mentally disciplined, physically fit, constantly learning about his job, and acutely attuned to the spoken and unspoken voices of his troopers. He was supported by a strong religious faith. As Winters progesses from enlisted volunteer through officer candidate, junior officer, commander of Easy Company, and ultimately a battalion command in the 506th Infantry, he allows us to see his growth as a leader. Winters is honest about his fears and concerns throughout the war, especially in late 1944 when many soldiers began to break down under conditions of sustained combat. Throughout the book, Winters' care and concern for his soldiers is clear. He was a hard but fair leader who sought to bring as many of his troopers back alive as he could.

This book is highly recommended to fans of the story of Easy Company, and to those looking for lessons in leadership from a man who was clearly an excellent leader.

Are natural leaders born or made? It seems that Richard D. "Dick" Winters' life has been a quest to answer that question. And in the final chapters of _Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters_, he does provide the answer. Winters, the level-headed commander of Easy Company, portrayed in Stephen E. Ambrose's book, turned HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers," needs no introduction. Written in the autumn of his years, Winters culls a lifetime of inner reflection and a quest to live in peace, after leading soldiers in some of the most deadly combat of World War II. The result is a frank, sometimes brutally honest testament to the moral fiber of the American citizen soldier, who shouldered an undying responsibility to God, country, family, and above all, the men he led into battle. Sixty years from now, when the events of the Second World War sink ever so deeper into the pages of history, Winters' message will still be sought. Like the men he led of Easy Company, he will gain the respect of new generations of soldiers, and, if events mirror those of his life, continue to save lives.

As in a resent biography by Larry Alexander ( _Biggest Brother: ... _ [2005]) Winters pens only a dozen pages of his early life before delving right into his military career. Winters was the product of many good influences in his upbringing: his family, Mennonite background, a strong work ethic, and no vices. Unlike Alexander's gallant attempt to penetrate his subject without much success, Winters' prose is down to Earth. The sense the reader gets of the words coming from the horse's mouth is reassuring, and holds one's attention. Also unlike Alexander's biography, Winters refers to the correspondence with his wartime pen-pal, DeEtta Almon sparingly. Winters confesses early on that his aim in writing the book is to tell the stories that Ambrose and HBO left out. There are some new addenda. Sadly, Winters updates us of the most recent passing of the men from Easy Company we have come to know and admire for their portrayal in the film, and in the documentary, "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company." It is evident that Winters loves and respects those men as much as they do him. For the most part, however, Winters' version holds true to Ambrose's book, and Hanks and Spielberg's film, barring artistic license of the latter, of course. One can easily detect the strong contribution Winters had on Ambrose's work. In some places, the narrative is so similar to Ambrose, one gets the impression Ambrose quoted Winters liberally, without the customary quotation marks. Winters admires the late historian immensely, however, and devotes a chapter to Ambrose at the end of the book.

The bulk of Winters' memoir is devoted to the people and events that left an indelible mark on his life: the men and battles of Easy Company. He goes on at length about the man we have all come to despise: Herbert M. Sobel. Despite Sobel's brutal leadership style, Winters credits him with molding the character of the core of Toccoa men that made-up Easy Company. Winters offers his take on the myths surrounding Ronald Speirs, who was rumored to have murdered German prisoners, and shot an American sergeant who was allegedly drunk, and disobeyed an order to attack. Curiously, a strategically placed "typo" may perhaps be a loop-hole out of a possible slander suit...see if you can find it, and you be the judge. Likewise, Winters makes no qualms about utilizing what he called "my killers," in vital tactical situations, most notably, the silencing of four 105mm. guns at Brecourt Manor, the textbook execution that was without a doubt, Winters' crowning moment in combat. For devoted "Band of Brothers" fans, the two individuals he singles out will not surprise. There are also heart-felt accolades for his two closest friends, Lewis Nixon, and Harry Welsh, as well as, a cadre of Easy Company enlisted men, most notably, Floyd Talbert, and Carwood Lipton, just to name a few. The loving relationship Winters formed with the English couple he was quartered with at Aldbourne, Wiltshire, his "second parents," never left him.

Winters' life after the war is treated as briefly as his life before. Winters was a self professed "ninety-day wonder," whose warrior spirit was molded running up Currahee, and tempered in combat. As a combat leader, he felt there was no place for him in a peacetime, and "chickens**t army." His chapter spelling out his principles of good leadership should be memorized by every aspiring military officer or corporate manager.

So were Winters' leadership abilities innate, or nurtured? That is for the reader to decide.

We are indeed privileged to have this memoir of a truly extraordinary and humble man. But I am sure he would be the first to agree, that there were probably scores of Dick Winters who fought their way across the fields of Europe, or the deserted islands of the Pacific. Many lie beneath thousands of white marble crosses, or Stars of David. Many more, like the men Winters led, are embarrassed by the word "hero," and prefer to remain silent. Dick Winters is their messenger, their representative, and a model field grade officer of the Second World War. The media has made Winters a celebrity, and his peaceful life that he promised himself on D-Day has been shattered by well-wishing, and autograph seeking fans from all over the world. There is even a campaign to up-grade his Distinguished Service Cross to a Medal of Honor. This memoir is, I suspect, Winters' final word on the subject. Read it! Learn from its many lessons, and respect the officers and men of Easy Company. That is Dick Winters' legacy, and worth more to him than a chest full of medals.

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