| A "Band of Brothers" Jump for Heroes |
| By Sally Haase October 8, 2011 2011 marks the ten year anniversary of the award winning HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers”. The series followed the real life soldiers of the 101st airborne division during World War II. The unit was led by Major Richard Winters. The actors went through a real boot camp in order to learn what it is like to really be in the military. To celebrate the ten year anniversary of the miniseries, Black Sky Radio producer Ross Owen began a series of radio interviews with the cast of “Band of Brothers”. An idea came to him when a listener sent in a question asking if any of the cast members have jumped out of a plane for real. “This is what planted the seed in my head about asking the cast to jump for charity.” says Owen. When the cast was willing, the Jumping for Heroes event was born. On August 21, 2011 cast members of “Band of Brothers” jumped out of a plane at Dunkeswell airfield in Devon, England to raise money for the Richard Winters project which will erect a monument in honor of the work Major Winters did at Normandy. The original plan was to have the August 21 jump in England and a jump in Los Angeles, California on September 10, 2011 for the United States cast members. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of Owen’s control the Los Angeles jump was postponed, but Owen did say on his face book page that they were working on a different type of event in the United States that the American actors from “Band of Brothers” will participate in. There has been no further word as to what or when the US event will be. Major Winters was a decorated World War II and Korean War veteran who was best know for his leadership with Easy Company in the 101st airborne. Winters worked his way up in Easy Company, earning respect from his fellow soldiers with his knowledge and competence. Winters was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his leadership in an attack at Le Grand- Chemin which is also known as the Brecourt Manor Assault. Winters led 13 men against 50 German troops and destroyed the German platoon, after the firefight, Winters obtained a map detailing German gun emplacements in the Utah Beach area. But because of a quota system with awarding the Medal of Honor allowing only one per division, Winters was never honored. People are still trying to this day to get Winters the Medal of Honor he has long deserved. If the honor does happen, it will have to be awarded posthumously to Major Winters. Major Winters passed away on January 2, 2011 at the age of 92. The event gave the actors a chance to experience what their real life counter parts did when fighting with the 101st airborne. Nine actors from the show did the jump, each of the jumpers had sponsors for their parachutes, and you could be a parachute sponsor with a $300 donation. With this being a dangerous and exciting fundraiser I asked Owen if it took a lot or any convincing to get this group of actors to jump out of a plane. Owen said that the actors were very keen to the idea, some were very nervous about it, but they did not have any second thoughts about jumping for this cause. Owen also said that the money amount target was $50,000. “We are still collecting funds, but we are almost there.” He said. When all the money is raised a statue of Major Winters will be created by sculptor Stephen Spears and will be dedicated on June 6, 2012 in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy. Hopefully it will be a fitting tribute for the humble Major. This event blew up on social media sites; actors from the series promoted the event on their face book and Twitter pages. Owen created a jumping for heroes blog to keep people up to date on the event, which now features photos and videos from the jump. Right now there is an eBay auction up for people to bid on memorabilia from the show, a couple of the items on auction right now are a signed script of Part 10 from the “Band of Brothers” miniseries and a pair of insignias and name tag worn by actor Damian Lewis, who brought Major Winters to life ten years ago. There was also a raffle giving away numerous prizes that people around the world won, the Grand Prize was a signed Jumping for Heroes T-shirt signed by living World War II veterans and nearly every cast main cast member from the “Band of Brothers” series. Raffle winners were announced on the day of the jump, August 21. Major Winters, just like every member of the armed forces did not consider himself a hero; he just said he was doing his job. And they are just doing their jobs, but there are millions of us around the world who go to work everyday with no worries of firefights, roadside bombs, or suicide bombers who could end your life or a co-worker’s life. All service men and women are heroes in the eyes of many people and what Ross Owen and the cast of “Band of Brothers” along with several others and the thousands who donated their money to make this Major Winters memorial possible are making sure that people never for get the sacrifices that were made in Normandy during World War II. |
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