On June 6, 2012—the 68th anniversary of D-Day—a statue of Maj. Dick Winters was unveiled in the Normandy village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Winters was the commander of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division after they parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944. His heroism and leadership was documented in the Stephen Ambrose book and mini-series "Band of Brothers". A young student named Jordan Brown—who lives just a few miles from Winters' Pennsylvania home—raised $99,000 selling armbands stamped with a phrase Winters used: "Hang Tough." The money was used to help pay for the statue of the late Mr. Winters that now looks over the Normandy countryside.
From CBS News.
Clarification: The "Grandpa, were you a hero" story was not Winters' own story. He was recalling a letter he received from a fellow Easy Company veteran, Sgt. Mike Ranney. But I still cry every time I hear it.
