Taps

George W. Sebring, Jr.	October 19, 1929 - January 5, 2008
George was a veteran of the Korean Conflict, having served in the Navy as a combat air crewman. He was a longtime resident of East Stroudsburg PA and a member of several community groups, his church, Member #1 of the Redball Military Transport and a Life Member of the MVPA. George was always seen at HMV events with a smile on his face and a laugh in his heart. We strongly appreciate all your contributions to the Redball Military Transport.


Barrett L. Boop	June 1, 1932 - August 16, 2008
Barrett entered military services during the Korean War. He served in the 101st Airborne, 8th Division, Company C, and the U.S. Infantry, 2nd Division, before being wounded, and was then transferred to the 58th Ordinance Ammo Company, where he served in the motor pool. He was discharged from active service on Nov. 26, 1954. He received the Korean Services Medal with one bronze star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and United Nations Defense Medal. Following his discharge from the military, Barrett pursued his interest in restoring World War II military vehicles, which became a life long hobby. He was well known for his vehicle restorations and his participation in parades and veterans activities. He was a member of the Red Ball Express Military Transport Club and the Military Vehicle Preservation Association.


Elder Santos	November 20, 1934 - June 2, 2009
Elder Santos, 74, of 80 Lakeside Drive, Honesdale, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Born Nov. 20, 1934, in Kearny, N.J., Elder served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict. He relocated to Honesdale in 1967. Employed as a Design Engineer and Distribution Technician for the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company for 30 years, he retired in 1994. Elder was a true "hobbyist," a man of many diverse interests. He was the founding member of the Pike-Wayne Antique Automobile Club of America and a founding member of the Red Ball Military Transport Club. [Elder is remembered by many Red Ball members for his strong, enthusiastic support and for being a willing supplier of parts.] In 1976, his restoration of his 1950 Dodge Wayfarer garnered him the first place National Antique Automobile Club of American Award. His passion extended to his love of the military, and he captured many awards of distinction for his restorations of World War II vehicles. In 1994, Elder traveled to Southampton, England, and Normandy, France, to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of D-Day. A man of the highest integrity, dignity and character, Elder leaves an indelible legacy for all those who knew him. His enduring friendships span the country, and his consistent warmth, humor and compassion will be sorely missed and never forgotten. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 42 years, Carol M. Oliver; his stepchildren, John Warren, Carolyn Warren, Diana Dutton, Kathy Bower and William Warren; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his brother, James Santos of Haleiwa, Hawaii. His beloved German shepherd, Sam, preceded him in death. [See Elder Santos' Marmon-Harrington tractor with his half-track on his trailer displayed at Tobyhanna 2000 Here]


Frank C. J. Fiala	March 5, 1912 - July 3, 2009
Frank C. J. Fiala, a former member of Redball, passed away July 3^rd 2009, 97 years young in Ocala, FL. He served in the Army during WWII as a Medical Supply Officer, spending time in Northern Africa, Italy and France from 1944 to 1945. For a number of years Frank spent the winters in Ocala Florida and the summers at Pocono Lake Preserve, PA. He became acquainted with the Redball club during a MV display from the club at Pocono Lake Preserve and attended the summer shows and meetings during the summer after that until 2001 when he went to Ocala and stopped coming up in the summer time. Frank bought his first Jeep, a 1942 Willy’s MB in May of 1960 in Stanford CT. He towed it to Pocono Lake Preserve where it still is and being used some in the summer time. He bought a 1943 GPW from a club member after the parade and display at Pocono Lake Preserve. His son, Harry has displayed it at the last three Gilbert shows. Provided by Frank Harry Fiala


William (Bill) Parks	April 16, 2013
It is with much sadness, that we record the passing of REDBALL Treasurer Bill Parks, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 while working at home. Bill was our most dedicated member and a friend to all. A willing volunteer always first to offer a helping hand, Bill was a man of great integrity who never failed to honor his commitments. Bill's devotion to making our Club a great organization will never be forgotten. Bill was cremated and his ashes will be interred in the Fort Indiantown Gap Military Cemetery . Bill is survived by his beloved wife Loretta. REDBALL Military Transport has made a donation to the U. S. Army Transportation Museum in Bill's honor.

Obituary: Richard 'Dick' Winters, courageous WWII officer portrayed in 'Band of Brothers'

By T. Rees Shapiro

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 11, 2011; p. B7

Richard "Dick" Winters, 92, a decorated Army officer whose courageous leadership through some of the fiercest combat of World War II was featured in the best-selling book and HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," died Jan. 2. He had Parkinson's disease.

The Patriot-News in central Pennsylvania reported that Maj. Winters, a longtime Hershey resident, died at an assisted-living facility in nearby Campbelltown.

Stephen Ambrose's 1992 book "Band of Brothers" followed the men of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The group came to be known as Easy Company.

One of Easy Company's officers was Maj. Winters, a charismatic and compassionate leader who entered Army service as a private and returned home after World War II as a major.

He and his men jumped into combat on June 6, 1944, above Normandy and later fought together through Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge.

The unit experienced heavy turnover because of battlefield casualties. One Easy Company soldier later wrote that among his colleagues, the Purple Heart "was not a decoration but a badge of office."

Maj. Winters graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1941 before enlisting in the Army. He was selected to attend officer candidates' school, earned a commission in the summer of 1942 and then - drawn by the promise of extra pay for hazardous duty - volunteered to join a newly formed paratrooper unit.

Of about 500 officers who volunteered to join the elite unit, only 148 made the cut.

Maj. Winters excelled as a infantry leader and a paratrooper and became a hallowed figure among his men for his "follow me" attitude.

He received the military's second-highest decoration for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for his actions on D-Day.

That morning, after landing and untangling from his parachute, Maj. Winters gathered a small group of men for a raid on German cannon emplacements near Brecourt Manor.

Guarded by a platoon of 50 German sentries, the heavily fortified battery had been firing on Utah Beach, causing significant casualties and slowing the Allied advance.

In their assault of the position, Maj. Winters and his men killed 15 German soldiers and took 12 as prisoners. At one point, Maj. Winters noticed a wounded German soldier crawling toward a machine gun.

"I drilled him clear through the head," Maj. Winters told Ambrose.

Maj. Winters and his men destroyed three German cannons and completed the action with near-textbook efficiency.

Throughout the war, Maj. Winters's leadership skills earned him commendations and promotions. He served as Easy Company's commander and was promoted to lead the 506th Regiment's 2nd Battalion, which included Easy Company.

Maj. Winters and his men eventually saw the end of the European campaign while occupying Adolf Hitler's mountainside retreat, the Eagle's Nest, nestled in the Alps above Berchtesgaden. They celebrated by drinking champagne from the Fuhrer's 10,000-bottle cellar.

Late in the war, one of Maj. Winters's soldiers, Floyd Talbert, wrote him a letter from an Indiana hospital, thanking him for his loyalty and leadership.

"You are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier that ever served under you," Talbert wrote. "I would follow you into hell."

Richard Davis Winters was born Jan. 21, 1918, in Lancaster, Pa.

His family's roots in American history reached back to Timothy Winters, a British immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War and saw action in the Battle of Yorktown.

Maj. Winters's own war story went untold for nearly a half-century until the publication of Ambrose's book, which became a national bestseller.

In 2001, a television miniseries adapted from Ambrose's work was released on HBO. The series, co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, won six Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Toward the end of the war, Maj. Winters turned down the opportunity to make the Army a career.

He returned to the United States and joined an Army colleague's company, Nixon Nitration Works, in New Jersey. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War as a training officer.

For the rest of his career, Maj. Winters owned a farm in rural Pennsylvania and sold animal nutrition products to animal-feed companies. He married Ethel Estoppey in 1948 and had two children. He lived the quiet and peaceful life he'd promised to himself after surviving the war.

One of the most harrowing experiences of his military service came in late April 1945. The men of Easy Company discovered a German working camp near Landsberg that was part of the Dachau concentration camp. Maj. Winters found wheels of cheese piled in a nearby cellar and ordered that the nourishment be distributed among the inmates.

"The memory of starved, dazed men who dropped their eyes and heads when we looked at them through the chain-link fence, in the same manner that a beaten, mistreated dog would cringe, leaves feelings that cannot be described and will not be forgotten," Maj. Winters wrote of the experience. "The impact of seeing those people behind that fence left me saying, only to myself, 'Now I know why I am here.'"