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If any man ever deserved it, Dick Winters does. The problem is that he was already awarded the Legion of Merit for his (their) actions against that artillery battery on D-day. That doesn’t mean that the award can’t be “upgraded”, but it’s a bit of a hard sell. The other qualifications that must be met are that 2 living witnesses to the action must be able to testify to the actions on that day and that intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty were met. Gaurnier and Babe are still alive, as are other members of the unit. Again, I think, any objective review of the circumstances of the actions of the leadership if Lt. Winters on D-day would meet all of the qualifications. The problem these days is “selling” it. Sad isn’t it? In reality, all it would take is a single member of Congress taking this on as a task to complete and it would happen.
If you watched Band of Brothers all the way thru to the end, Dick Winters volunteered to go to the Pacific Theater after the European war ended. General Gavin (I think I have the facts straight here), commander of the 101st Airborne, basically told him that he had done “enough”.
One of his men, in the outtakes that begin each episode of Band of Brothers, used the simple line “he was a real soldier”. I can think of no greater praise for anybody that has ever worn the uniform.
Jim
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