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Book Review: “Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters”

Written By: Major Dick Winters, Commander, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Colonel Cole Kingseed, Ph.D

There is an old saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Brought up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to a Quaker father and a Mennonite mother, Richard “Dick” Winters encompassed an accurate definition for the aged adage. Growing up in a sturdy patriarchal and secular household, Dick was destined to be a leader of men even before he was through with his primary education. A university boy, who lived through The Great Depression, this doesn’t seem like the path one would take with such a bright future ahead of him; and neither did Dick believe the Army was part of his prospects. Dick enlisted in the Army right after college, due to the Selective Training and Service Act, any able bodied man was to serve one year of military service. It was Dick’s intention to serve his once year, then be free of his military commitment, since the year was 1941 and he didn’t want a draft to interrupt a promising business career; graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science and economics.1 But, as time would tell, 1941 was a year that will be forever stuck in American’s minds for the foreseeable future. December 7, 1941; The United States of America was attacked by the Japanese, leading to a War in the Pacific, and in Europe against the Italian’s and Nazi’s. The United States of America was perpetually altered, and so was the immediate future of Private Richard “Dick” Winters.

First off, I just want to get straight to the point and acknowledge that I have been following the stories of Easy Company since HBO put out the mini-series, Band of Brothers, in 2001. I have always been fascinated with World War II, even going to the point of telling my mother when I was young that if I ever had a second life, I wished it would have been during WWII. Furthermore, at the apex of the mini-series I had learned that a book had been written, in which the mini-series was profoundly based off of. So, for Christmas that following year my mother surprised me with the box set of HBO’s, Band of Brothers, and Dr. Stephen Ambrose’s book, “Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.” Since this point in my life I have watched the DVD collection from start to finish probably close to one hundred times, and have endlessly read and reread the book. I had always known that memoirs existed from the men who fought in Easy Company, were portrayed in the mini-series and Ambrose’s book, but it wasn’t until researching for an assignment for my historiography class, had I decided to purchase multiple sets of memoirs. Carefully sifting through the memoirs sent via Amazon, one seemed to grab hold of my attention and helped put into perspective how these men of Easy Company were able to create a bond stronger than just brotherhood. The memoir was from Major Richard “Dick” Winters along with Colonel Cole Kingseed Ph.D entitled, Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, was a riveting affair from start to finish. The records, letters and dialogue between Winters and his men during and after the war is something that you would believe only a museum or data bank kept. Ambrose actually used Maj. Winters to help round up the last of the surviving men for multiple interviews, and used a lot of Winters records in writing his initial book. To be fair to Dr. Ambrose, he had to write about a whole company of men, while Major Winters kept a personal collection of his own experiences. But, it’s what Winters includes in his work, which wasn’t able to covered by Ambrose; the genuine manners and outlook that the men of Easy Company experienced in creating a bond in brotherhood. Dick, up until his death in 2011, always reiterated a passage from a letter that Sgt. Myron “Mike” Ranney sent January 25th 1982.

“In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I am treasuring my remark to a grandson who asked, ‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’ “’No,’ I answered, ‘but served with a company of heroes.”’ 2,3

It is these types of anecdotes that separate a memoir written by somebody who was there, than someone who compiles the information as a secondary source.

Other than the Ambrose renowned piece, Band of Brothers, there are very few critically acclaimed books about the men of Easy Company, that aren’t considered memoirs. Since, these books are cherished celebratory pieces of work, mixed with the emphasis of the company not really come back into fruition until the early 1990’s with many members passing or losing their wits, it is very hard for a credible historian to