​​Lieutenant Richard Winters Landing Point, Band of Brothers​

​​​Lieutenant Richard Winters was a platoon commander within Easy Company. After many years of training at Camp Taccoa in the United States of America, the 101st Airborne Division were transferred to the United Kingdom. This was in preparation for the pending liberation of Europe that would take place in 1944. 

From the quaint village of Aldbourne, Wiltshire the men would head to their respective airfields to board aircraft. Winters boarded his C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) at Upottery, Devon and would parachute into Normandy just after 01:00 on 6 June 1944. 

The parachute drops for both the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Division would become a challenge. Poor visibility to the west of the Cotentin peninsula with clouds caused problems for the aircrews. The C-47’s would come under intense German anti-aircraft fire from the ground as they approached their drop zones. This included the C-47 in which Lieutenant Thomas Meehan the officer in charge of Easy Company, was in. It was hit by anti-aircraft fire. The C-47 would crash close to Beuzeville-au-Plain killing all onboard, including Meehan. 

Lt Richard Winters jumped out of his C-47 and unbeknown to him at the time he was not over his parachute drop zone. Due to the speed of the C-47, the group of paratroopers on board known as a ‘stick’ would become scattered. 

Winters would touch down in this field which is to the western side of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. He very quickly realised that he was alone and isolated. He had also lost him main weapon during the drop and only had his bayonet. The sound of fire fights could be heard from the area of the village centre. This would have been from a stick of paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division that had landed around the main square. 

Winters with no weaponry knew he needed to move away from the area where he had landed and try to link up with men from his own stick. This would be done by following the flight path direction of the C-47, hoping to run into friendly forces.  

Winters moved off and headed towards the north of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. In doing so he began to come across other paratroopers, including men of the 82nd Airborne Division. He would then head towards the location of where his objectives were for D-Day. 

Winters should have parachuted into the area of Sainte-Maire-du-Mont. This is to the southwest of this position and is 10km away from where he did touch down in Normandy. 

At this point, Winters did not know of Lt Meehan’s death and what would unfold for him, becoming the officer in charge of Easy Company. This was a ‘day of days’ for him and the men of the Company. By the end of the war, he would hold the rank of Major.