But co-producer of 'Band of Brothers' says the soldier would ‘have simply asked all of us to never forget how his generation served.’
Steven Spielberg said that Richard "Dick" Winters, who died last week, personified the generation of Americans who selflessly fought and died for their country in World War II.
“Dick Winters was at the vanguard of representing ‘The Greatest Generation,' “ Spielberg said in a a statement.
But the co-producer of the 2001 HBO series insisted that the war hero would not have wanted that honor. Instead Winters would have passed on the message of never losing sight of his fellow soldiers’ sacrifices.
"(Winters) would not have wanted this credit," said Spielberg. "He would have simply asked all of us to never forget how his generation served this nation and the world in WWII."
The Associated Press reported that Winters died following a long battle with Parkinson's Disease and asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral.
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.
Historian Stephen Ambrose interviewed Winters for the 1992 book Band of Brothers, upon which the 10-part HBO miniseries was based. The series, co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, started airing in September 2001 to wide critical acclaim. Winters himself published a memoir in 2006 entitled Beyond Band of Brothers.
When people asked whether he was a hero, Winters echoed the words of a World War II buddy: "No, but I served in a company of heroes."
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How very sad, I hadn't heard. A truly amazing man. :sad:
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