Editing Richard Winters (section)

====Training====
[[File:Richard Winters.jpeg|thumb|left|Winters at [[Camp Toccoa]], 1942]]

Winters wrote in his memoirs that he chose to [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940|volunteer for induction under Selective Service]] after graduating college and complete the required one year of service rather than waiting for a conventional call-up at a later date that might "interrupt a promising business career," subsequently availing himself of any future service commitment should the United States remain neutral; though Winters "felt a strong sense of duty," he "had no desire to get into the war." Winters was inducted into the Army on August 25, 1941, at the [[New Cumberland Defense Depot|New Cumberland Reception Center]] near [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]].<ref>'''Lancaster New Era''' (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), August 7, 1941</ref><ref>'''Lancaster New Era''' (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), August 25, 1941</ref><ref>[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=5&cat=all&tf=F&q=richard+d+winters&bc=sd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=3598743&rlst=1665468,3598743,1129024,4211009,7204658 WWII Army Enlistment Records]</ref> In September, he was assigned to [[Croft State Park|Camp Croft]], [[South Carolina]], for [[basic training]].<ref name="Beyond" />{{rp|7}} While the rest of his fellow trainees were deployed to units stationed in the [[Panama Canal Zone]] in early December, Winters remained at Camp Croft to help train draftees and other volunteers. In April 1942, four months after the United States entered [[World War II]], he was selected to attend [[Officer Candidate School (United States Army)|Officer Candidate School]] (OCS) at [[Fort Benning]], Georgia.<ref name="Beyond" />{{rp|8–9}} There he became friends with [[Lewis Nixon III|Lewis Nixon]], with whom he would serve throughout the war.<ref name="Beyond" />{{rp|13}} He was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[Second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the [[Infantry Branch (United States)|infantry]] after graduating from OCS on July 2, 1942.<ref name="Beyond" />{{rp|13}}

During his officer training, Winters decided to join the [[paratrooper|parachute infantry]], part of the U.S. Army's new [[airborne forces]].<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|12}} Upon completing training, he returned to Camp Croft to train another class of draftees as there were no positions available in the paratroopers at that time. After five weeks, he received orders to join the [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] (506th PIR) at [[Camp Toccoa]] in Georgia.<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|14}} The 506th was commanded by [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Robert Sink]].

Winters arrived at Toccoa in mid-August 1942 and was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR,<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|16–17}} which later became better known as "[[E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Easy Company]]" in accordance with the contemporaneous [[Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet]]. Serving under [[First lieutenant#United States|First Lieutenant]] [[Herbert Sobel]], Winters was made [[Platoon|platoon leader]] of 2nd Platoon, earning a promotion to first lieutenant in October 1942<ref name=Band>{{cite book|title=Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest|first=Stephen E.|last=Ambrose|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=1992|isbn=978-0-7434-6411-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bandofbrothers00ambr_0}}</ref>{{rp|25}}<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|39}} and made acting company [[executive officer]],<ref name=bio/> although this was not made official until May 1943.<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|39}} The 506th PIR was an experimental unit, the first regiment to undertake airborne training as a formed unit.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|18}} The training at Toccoa was very tough. Of the 500 officers who had volunteered, only 148 completed the course; of 5,000 enlisted volunteers, only 1,800 were ultimately selected for duty as paratroopers.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|18}}<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|18}}
[[File:Richard Winters.png|thumb|Winters at [[Camp Mackall]], 1943]]
On June 10, 1943, after more tactical training at [[Camp Mackall]], North Carolina, the 506th PIR was attached to [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[William C. Lee|William Lee]]'s [[101st Airborne Division|101st "Screaming Eagles" Airborne Division]].<ref name=Band/>{{rp|39}} Later in the year, they embarked on the ''[[RMS Samaria (1920)|Samaria]]'', and arrived in [[Liverpool]] on September 15, 1943.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|44}} They proceeded to [[Aldbourne]], [[Wiltshire]], where they began intense training for the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Invasion of Normandy|invasion of Europe]] planned for spring 1944.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|45}}

In November and December 1943, while Easy Company was at Aldbourne, the tension that had been brewing between Winters and Sobel came to a head.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|47–52}} For some time, Winters had privately held concerns over Sobel's ability to lead the company in combat. Many of the enlisted men in the company had come to respect Winters for his competence and had also developed their own concerns about Sobel's leadership.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|48}} Winters later said that he never wanted to compete with Sobel for command of Easy Company; still, Sobel attempted to bring Winters up on trumped-up charges for "failure to carry out a lawful order".<ref name=Band/>{{rp|51}} Feeling that his punishment was unjust, Winters requested that the charge be reviewed by [[court-martial]]. After Winters' punishment was set aside by the battalion commander, Major Robert L. Strayer, Sobel brought Winters up on another charge the following day. During the investigation, Winters was transferred to the Headquarters Company and appointed as the battalion mess officer.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|52}}

In the wake of this incident, several of the company's [[non-commissioned officer]]s (NCOs) delivered an ultimatum to the regimental commander, Colonel Sink, threatening to surrender their stripes unless Sobel was replaced. Winters tried unsuccessfully to talk them out of taking this step.<ref name=Band/>{{rp|53}} Sink was not impressed by the threat, and several of the NCOs were subsequently demoted or transferred out of the company. Nevertheless, he realized that something had to be done and decided<ref name=Band/>{{rp|54}} to transfer Sobel out of Easy Company, giving him command of a new parachute training school at [[Chilton Foliat]].<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|57}} Winters' court-martial was set aside and he returned to Easy Company as leader of 1st Platoon. Winters later said he felt that despite his differences with Sobel, at least part of Easy Company's success had been due to Sobel's strenuous training and high expectations.<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|287}} In February 1944, First Lieutenant Thomas Meehan was given command of Easy Company.<ref name=Beyond/>{{rp|57}}