Maj Dick Winters 1918-2011; Commander of WW II's "Easy Company"

I just heard the news that Major Richard D Winters passed away on January 2, two weeks before his 93rd birthday. Dick Winters was the commander of Company "E", 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, US Army,  popularly known as "Easy Company", who's exploits were told in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. In the series, Major Winters was portrayed by Damian Lewis, and Winters added some commentary to the series along with other surviving members of Easy Company.

Winters and his men parachuted into Normandy in the dark morning of June 6, 1944, and began to fight their way across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany. D-Day, the Bulge, the siege of Bastogne, and into Hitler's Germany; Winters and Easy Company were there. He was one of the dwindling numbers of our Greatest Generation, one of those men and women who fought to save civilization during World War II and then went home to post war America and set the stage for what would be the zenith of the American Century.

His was a remarkable story, and he led an extraordinary life.

We are all in his debt, as we are to all who served in that era. My condolences to his loved ones, and here's a final salute a man who's story and that of his comrades will live for generations.

For more on the life of Major Dick Winters click here.

8-18-10; The Last US Combat Troops Leave Iraq

It's been nearly seven and a half years after the United States invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein,  but as I type these words the last combat troops are crossing the frontier from Iraq to Kuwait.

And it's an odd thing to watch....so under the radar the average citizen may not be aware that it is happening. There is coverage on the 24/7 news outlets; each of the Big Four networks is staying with their regular programming.  There are no celebrations in Times Square or Griffith Park, no fireworks and church bells ringing as in VE and VJ Days. The television news coverage has all of the elation and suspense of watching a moving van going about it's business.

There is a sense of relief, however. On May 1st, 2003 President George W. Bush made his dramatic landing on the air craft carrier Abraham Lincoln and declared "Mission Accomplished", and told the world that America had won the the combat operations against Saddam Hussein.

But the war dragged on through his presidency, and into the next. And now, thank God, it really does look like the end.

The 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is the last group to leave Iraq; our first troops set foot on Iraqi soil on March 20, 2003. Though 50,000 troops will remain behind in non-combat roles, the "Last Patrol" is leaving; but another 4,415 American men and women did not. They are the ones who lost their lives in Iraq.

The State Department announced that the last combat forces would be leaving Iraq today at about 6:00PM EDT.....

More of the story, with updates, can be found here.

I'll be back with some additional comments tomorrow.