Dick Winters QUOTES

1 " One day my grandson said to me, grandpa were you a hero in the war? And i said to him no I'm not a hero, but I have served in a company full of them. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

2 " There is no need to tell someone how to do his job if you have properly trained your team "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

3 " Lastly, ''Hang tough!'' Never, ever give up regardless of the adversity. If you are a leader, a fellow who other fellows look to, you have to keep going. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

4 " War brings out the worst and the best in people. Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men. War is romantic only to those who are far away from the sounds and turmoil of battle. For those of us who served in Easy Company, and for those who served their country in other theaters, we came back as better men and women as a result of being in combat, and most would do it again if called upon. But each of us hoped that if we had learned anything from the experience it is that war is unreal, and we earnestly hoped that it would never happen again. "

― Dick Winters

5 " I certainly didn’t feel like writing anymore. I couldn’t explain why, but the only emotion that I could arouse were feelings of anger and after staying mad all day and half the night, I was just plain tired. Mad at what? Just about everything, for just about everything was done wrong or it wasn’t done perfectly. Since nothing but perfection was acceptable, I stayed mad. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

6 " I Treasure a remark to my grandson who asked, "Grandpa were you a hero in the war?"
Grandpa said, "No.... but I served in a company of heroes”.
- Mike Ranney "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

7 " Before I dozed off, I did not forget to get on my knees and thank God for helping me to live through this day and to ask His help on D+1. I would live this war one day at a time, and I promised myself that if I survived, I would find a small farm somewhere in the Pennsylvania countryside and spend the remainder of my life in quiet and peace. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

8 " Captain Lewis Nixon and I were together every step of the way from D-Day to Berchtesgaden, May 8, 1945 - VE-Day. I still regard Lewis Nixon as the best combat officer who I had the opportunity to work with under fire. He never showed fear, and during the toughest times he could always think clearly and quickly. Very few men can remain poised under an artillery concentration. Nixon was one of those officers. He always trusted me, from the time we met at Officer Candidate School. While we were in training before we shipped overseas, Nixon hid his entire inventory of Vat 69 in my footlocker, under the tray holding my socks, underwear, and sweaters. What greater trust, what greater honor could I ask for than to be trusted with his precious inventory of Vat 69? "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

9 " Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time. "

― Dick Winters

10 " From a personal standpoint, I would have been devastated had Nixon been killed. As a leader you do not stop and calculate your losses during combat. You cannot stop a fight and ask yourself how many casualties you have sustained. You calculate losses only when the fight is over. Ever since the second week of the invasion, casualties had been my greatest concern. Victory would eventually be ours, but the casualties that had to be paid were the price that hurt. In that regard Nixon seemed a special case. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

11 " Floyd Talbert wrote shortly before his death, “Dick, you are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier who ever served under you. You are the best friend I ever had…you were my ideal, and motor in combat…you are to me the greatest soldier I could ever hope to meet. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

12 " Far more humbling to me was a letter I received years later from Sergeant Talbert. Referring to the attack at the intersection, he wrote, “Seeing you in the middle of that road, wanting to move, was too much. You were my total inspiration. All my boys felt the same way.” “Tab” was far too generous with his compliments. His own action at Carentan personified his excellence as both a soldier and a leader. He helped clear that intersection and carried a wounded Lipton to safety. Later when the Germans finally counterattacked, Talbert was everywhere, directing his men to the right place, supervising their fire, before he himself was wounded and evacuated. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

13 " Ten Principles for Success Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage. Lead from the front. Say, “Follow me!” and then lead the way. Stay in top physical shape—physical stamina is the root of mental toughness. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination or your creativity. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind. Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect—not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character. Hang Tough!—Never, ever, give up. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

14 " After ten months of infantry training, I realized my survival would depend on the men around me. Airborne troopers looked like I had always pictured a group of soldiers: hard, lean, bronzed, and tough. When they walked down the street, they appeared to be a proud and cocky bunch exhibiting a tolerant scorn for anyone who was not airborne. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

15 " Attempting to express his gratitude to the men of Easy Company, he pondered, 'What is my attachment to men such as yourself, whom I have never met? Is it respect because you put your own life on the line to ensure younger people like me have the world we live in today? Is it awe that you could live from day to day watching friends being gunned down or blown apart and still get up the next day prepared to face the same horrors? Or perhaps, fascination at how you and your comrades were able to return to relative normality after the war, with the ghosts of the dead watching what you made of the life they were denied? "

― Dick Winters

16 " Hang Tough "

― Dick Winters

17 " What bothered Easy Company’s officers, me included, was not Sobel’s emphasis on strict discipline, but his desire to lead by fear rather than example. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

18 " For all his faults, Captain Sobel had seen that the men were highly proficient in conducting nocturnal patrols and movement. The problems associated with forced marches across country, through woods, night compass problems, errors in celestial navigation, had all been overcome in the months preceding D-Day. Prior to the invasion, Easy Company had experienced every conceivable problem of troop movement under conditions of limited visibility. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

19 " Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind. "

― Dick Winters

20 " First and foremost, a leader should strive to be an individual of flawless character, technical competence, and moral courage. "

― Dick Winters , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

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