Major
Richard 'Dick' Winters awarded
On February 28, 2007, the Mayor of Eindhoven went to Hershey to award Major Winters in person with the Medal of the City of Eindhoven.
More than 60 years after he and his unit liberated
a town in Holland, retired Army Maj. Dick Winters still holds a special
place in the hearts of many Dutch.
To show it, the mayor of Eindhoven, Holland, presented Winters with a prestigious
award at the Hotel Hershey. (below)
Winters said he was honored to receive the award, but that it was he who should be thanking the people of Holland for the role the country played in helping America establish itself after the Revolutionary War. Without help from the Dutch, he said, America might not exist today as an independent country.
Major Winters awarded with the golden medal
and the certificate that goes with after he unveiled it together with Mayor
A. Sakkers. Behind them Cole Kingseed.
"For the Eindhoven citizens Dick Winters is a symbol for all the soldiers who freed Eindhoven from this German occupation,” Sakkers said, “so Dick Winters is an icon in Eindhoven for the freedom of the city.” That's why the award is also meant for all other Allied soldiers.
Above the cover of the
book that Major Winters especially made for us to commemorate our visit. Dick
Winters: “Our actions in 1944 were a way of repaying our debt to you
for coming to our rescue in 1782,” Winters said. “Payback was
needed and gladly given.” (See text in the book above right) This
gift was a great surprise to us and very much appreciated. (photos below)
“They were one of the first to come into the city, and everyone was so happy and so grateful for what these American soldiers did that every year they commemorate what happened in those days,” Sakkers said.
Sixty two years later, the mayor said, the people of Eindhoven still have great reverence for Winters.
On Sept. 18 last year, Sakkers called Winters from the town square as thousands of revelers crowded around him. He notified Winters he would receive the award. When he made the announcement, Sakkers said, all the people in the square cheered.
Winters said he returned to Holland once after the war and was able to walk peacefully on the battlefields where he once fought.
“The memories came back quickly because the main streets and the buildings might change on the outside, but basically they’re at the same spot,” he said. “So just to look at a building and to realize, yes, this was my headquarters.”
Winters recalled that the people living in the buildings where he and his men took residence after liberating the town were tremendously grateful, even though the soldiers tracked in mud and carried weapons and other equipment that damaged the houses.
“You’re just ruining the place as far as that mother is concerned, but there’s no complaints,” he recalled.
The award has only been given to about 20 people since its inception in the 1930s, Sakkers said. Winters is the first American to receive it.
“It's not given often, the mayor said. “It's a very special award for very special people.”
Major Winters also received his book "Beyond Band of Brothers" which was translated into Dutch. fltr: Dick Winters, Alexander Omhoff, Peter van de Wal, Mayor A. Sakkers.
Just some close ups from, as Col.
Cole Kingseed said "An 'old soldier' who was made very happy today."
(right with his his wife Mrs. Ethel Winters. )
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