Major Dick Winters on Adjusting to Civilian Life after WWII (Band of Brothers)

Major Dick Winters has been a personal hero of mine ever since I've seen the show "Band of Brothers" as a young man. Here are some clips from an interview of Dick Winters done by Rep. John Payne, which was recorded in the early 2000's. Thank you Rep. John Payne for sharing this interview with the world.
Here's the links to his interviews:

[ralphgreenjr.]

I was drafted in 1969 and retired in 1999 from the US Army. There was a group of 5 of us, all career military, that met every deer season in Ohio/Michigan/West Virginia to enjoy a special bond. It is deer season in Ohio and I am alone, the last man standing. It makes me remember that we joked about who would be the last one standing.There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of them. Every day I take my rifle and go afield they are with me. God bless, Mike, George, Bob, Vince, and Jonathan.

[eronavbj]

My dad was a machine gunner in the 9th Infantry Division and fought in Normandy at St. Lo. In the mid-50s, Mattel came out with a “burp-gun” that fired specially manufactured caps via a rotating wheel. He took me to a toy store and browsed through a newspaper while the store owner loaded caps around the wheel, wound the gun’s mechanism and pulled the trigger.

My father hit the floor like a rock. I was only 10 at the time, but I had heard about and witnessed some of the aftermath of his WWII experiences. This was the most vivid example I had ever seen, but he did have a 4 or 5 year period of adjustment after the war. He would go into the basement during thunderstorms, would stop and listen intently whenever a plane flew overhead.

Dad always cautioned me whenever we watched a WWII movie together. “That’s not what it was really like, boy, ” he would say as we watched a specific combat scene. After high school, he told me NOT to go into the Army or Marines, but the Navy or Air Force instead, so I could avoid his infantry experience.

I know he had trouble with PTSD for several years, but he worked diligently, supported a wife and four children and passed at age 77. My siblings and I all have college degrees and successful careers. I credit my parents’ with instilling their work ethic into us.

They truly were the Greatest Generation.

[blueshattrick]

I'd say that Dick Winters is probably one of the most individually impressive people I have ever listened to.

[InfinitiG-gzic]

RIP Major Dick Winters. Not just a great American, but a great man.

[artisaprimus]

These men suffered PTSD on their own. Their families could never understand what these men experienced. My late father was a WW2 veteran who served in the Pacific theater. I knew he served in the war, but I didn't know he was Iwo Jima. Once, I was grown, I asked why he didn't talk about it, because he was part of history. He said " I've spent all my life trying to forget it. Why would I want to talk about it?"

[michaelgrey]

My Great Grandad was in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 as part of the New Zealand Division. After going over the top he got shot just above the heart. He laid on the battlefield a whole day before being rescued. It was the mud that saved him. We still have the uniform with the bullet hole in it. God bless all that have served and do serve.

[reno]

My uncle spent every night for 75 years after his discharge never having a restful night's sleep. He buried his 19 year old brother in Normandy. Love ya, Uncle Bud!

[BathSaltShaman]

I remember when you could run into WWII vets at the grocery store or anywhere in public and not bat an eye. Now they are all but completely gone. God bless them and every veteran of every era.

[tombranch]

Its heartbreaking when you listen to him, you can hear his voice falter at times, and you know there is a flood of emotions behind it, loss, trauma and pain that he had to carry his entire life, that was the true sacrifice of these men, it was not just blood and sweat and tears, it was that they carried the scars, both physical and emotional for the rest of their lives, all so that we didn't have to.

[sandraelsmaterialoblivion]

I was in the 101st ABN in 1994 - was selected with 12 other Soldiers to represent the division at a D Day Annivesary in DC. Not only did I sit and talk with Winters, but also, Babe Hefron and Gonorrhea. One of the most amazing and fortunate events for me.

[gregbanks]

My grandfather who was a B-17 pilot was shot down over Germany towards the end of the war, bailed out at high altitude suffering frost bite, twisted his ankle upon landing, was put in front of a firing squad where it was halted at the last second, force marched 25 miles to Stalag13, and turned 21 while there until he was liberated. I read this in his Veterans medical evaluation recounting. My mom and uncle had no idea as he never mentioned any of it. Amazing, greatest, generation and so thankful for their sacrifices.

[spanishpropertyconsultants]

"And as you can see it's even difficult right here today". Respect.

[zeus]

My Dad didn't start talking until after he saw Saving Private Ryan. I don't know why that was the "trigger", but it was. The next time I asked him something about the war, it wasn't "Oh, it was a long time ago." or "I don't remember it at all". This time it was actually the things he lived through in the South Pacific. He passed away in 2013, but I got alot of his story, and I am so glad I did.

[toma.]

After I came home from Desert Storm, I was walking in a Mall with my older sister. My sister jokingly pointed out the I did not need to walk so close to the store fronts. Without thinking, I told her that it was unsafe to walk out in the open, snipers might shoot you. The double take and look of horror she gave me was shocking.

QMC(SS)
USN (Ret.)

[andrewtaylor]

My goodness how could you not follow that man? He oozes leadership.

[ChuckMcC]

Was honored to meet Mr Winters. Nothing but deep respect for this Man...

[davidgreen]

My mother had a beau who was a B-17 co-pilot. Once they were in a car as passengers and there was a loud “thump” from driving over the expansion joints on the concrete roadway. The car was doing about 50 mph, and suddenly he broke into a cold sweat, and after a few minutes asked the driver to pull over and let him out. The driver did, and this brave man who flew a full tour and then some went into the grass on the roadside and began vomiting. Once he’d composed himself he explained the “thumps” from the expansion joint sounded like flak and cannon shells hitting his plane. As traumatic as that was, it was the gruesome death of the flight engineer/top turret gunner (killed by a 20mm cannon shell) that most affected him. They got back in the car, took surface streets, and nothing more was said by any one. These are the MEN who won the war in the air over Germany.

[FishtownRec]

Screw marvel superheroes this man a true American superhero who should be renowned by every citizen, man, woman, and child. God bless you Major Winters and thank you for your service!

[cmmittlererminenwerfer]

I knew so many WW2 guys - Americans, Germans and Brits - they were our teachers, parents and bosses. Society was so rich with them for most of my life, it's hard to believe they're essentially all gone now.

What I admire most about them is their wonderful attitude of getting on with life after the war, and not dwelling in, or on, the past. They quietly exchanged their uniforms for civilian clothes, got a job or went to college and then worked the next 40 years of their lives without bitterness or boastfulness.

If you pointed out something heroic they'd done, they'd simply say "Oh I didn't do much - everyone did their bit", or if you talked about their suffering, they'd always brush it aside and say "Others had it worse". They were so understated about everything... true men in every sense of the word. The world is a much lesser place without them still among us.

[guns]

The thought that he, along with millions of other combat veterans, spent the rest of their long lives still adjusting to the horrors they went through makes my heart heavy. Truly these people were THE greatest generation. Our nation was blessed to have had them.

May the memory of Major Winters, and his fellow warriors from all theaters, never fade with time.