SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT, France - With World War II-era military planes darting overhead and Normandy's Utah Beach visible in the distance, a bronze statue emerged from beneath a camouflage parachute, in tribute to the late Maj. Dick Winters whose quiet leadership was chronicled in the book and television series "Band of Brothers."
The unveiling of the statue was one of many events marking Wednesday's 68th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied operation that paved the way for the end of the war.

The 12-foot tall bronze statue in the Normandy village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont shows Winters with his weapon at the ready. It is part of the larger Richard Winters Leadership Monument, dedicated to the memory of all junior U.S. military officers who served that day .

Winters - a native of Lancaster County who died last year at 92 - only accepted serving as the statue's likeness after monument planners agreed to dedicate it all those who led soldiers on D-Day.

"There were many Dick Winters in this war, and all deserve the bronze and glory of a statue," said former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, present as the bronze statue, draped in a camouflage parachute, was unveiled.

After the war, Winters lived for many years on a farm near Fredericksburg before moving to Hershey.

Jordan Brown, a 13-year-old South Lebanon Township resident who helped raise more than $98,000 toward the monument primarily by selling green "Hang Tough" wristbands, also spoke at the ceremony.

"I talked about Major Winters, leadership and my project, and I also talked about the vets," Brown said in a phone interview. "I think it went amazing. It was really inspiring to listen to everyone else."

Brown, who recently completed sixth grade at Cedar Crest Middle School, said the statue is beautiful. "It's perfect," he said. "It really resembles Major Winters."

Also attending the ceremony were several D-Day vets, including two who served in Winters' "Easy Company," Al Mampre and

Herb Suerth Jr.
The statue was made near Boulder, Colo., and transported here, to a roadside between the village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Utah Beach, distant but visible behind the statue.

It was here that Winters and his small band of men dropped out of the sky soon after midnight on June 6, 1944, on a death-defying mission to destroy four German 105mm artillery guns that threatened the Allied invasion force.

Winters "was a humble, simple person thrust into a position of leadership in which he excelled," said Suerth, a D-Day veteran who heads the association of former Easy Company vets, only 19 of whom survive.

During the ceremony various World War II-era military aircraft flew overhead, including a U.S. artillery-spotting plane just like those that would have darted through the skies on D-Day.

French President Francois Hollande was among dignitaries paying tribute Wednesday to the soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, France and other allied forces who took part in the D-Day invasion.

"It was very moving," Brown's mother, Yasmin, said of the ceremony.

Yasmin Brown said she was struck by all the respect and thankfulness the people of Normandy still have for the people who fought there during World War II.

"You would think it just happened last week with the way the people are here," she said.

Jordan Brown said it was great to meet the veterans who attended the ceremony and hear their stories.

"They said they thought hat I was doing was great, and they enjoyed hearing my progress as I went along," he said.

( Lebanon Daily News staff writer Brad Rhen contributed to this story.)

Click here to read more.

January 31, 2026