I can’t say I often fall in love with characters from movies or television. But, in the case of Dick Winters, the inspirational leader of Easy Company made famous by the television miniseries “Band of Brothers,” I fell hopelessly infatuated.

So, it was with sadness that I read where Winters, 92, died last week at his home in central Pennsylvania. Of course, one of the reasons for my infatuation was the actor, Damian Lewis, who portrayed Winters in the miniseries. But, after I got hooked on “Band of Brothers,” I did some Internet research into Winters’ life, and I can tell you if I had been a young woman in 1944, I would have been hot for that guy.

I have often said the original “Band of Brothers” HBO miniseries should be required viewing by all high school students and members of Congress. I think that movie portrays very accurately the kind of sacrifice, integrity and courage those people had during some very disturbing times.

We all worry about the end of the world and the insanity and harshness of our society. I can tell you folks living during the Depression followed by World War II probably thought they were witnessing the end-times themselves.

There was just so much to admire about Winters as he was portrayed in “Band of Brothers.” He was a quiet, unassuming leader who stood up for and by his men. He believed in leading by example. He was unafraid of getting in the fight, and he turned out to be a nearly fearless soldier. He was smart, tenacious and diplomatic.

In the series, you could see how his men came to admire him and love him. At his death, only a few of his men from Easy Company still survive, but they know a giant among leaders has been lost.

William Guarnere, 88, said what he remembers about Winters was “great leadership.”

“When he said ’Let’s go,’ he was right in the front,” Guarnere said. “He was never in the back. A leader personified.”

Guarnere was portrayed in “Band of Brothers” as kind of a malcontent who was suspicious that Winters wasn’t aggressive enough or tough enough. In the series, he first thought Winters was a “Quaker.”

As portrayed in the series, Guarnere learned quite differently following the D-Day battles at Normandy.

All of us today can be thankful for men like Winters and his comrades. We all know that the political correctness of the day nearly makes it impossible to fight a war the way wars are supposed to be fought.

In all of these horrors, Winters was courageous and modest at the same time. All of us today can take lessons from Winters and what Easy Company did to help secure our freedoms and secure the world from tyranny.

All in all, a job well done, soldier. We will miss your quiet inspiration.

Cindy Allen is managing editor of Enid News & Eagle. She can be reached at 548-8163 or by e-mail at editor@enidnews.com.