11 Jan 2011

US commander dead

1:19 pm on 11 January 2011

A soldier made famous by the book and television series Band of Brothers about Easy Company in World War II, has died in the United States at the age of 92.

Richard Winters led Easy Company, part of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, which took part in the Normandy landings and fought throughout Europe.

Mr Winters lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The series, produced by Stephen Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks, was first broadcast by HBO in 2001. It focused on Winters, played by Damien Lewis, and Easy Company.

The series was based on a book of the same name by the late historian Stephen Ambrose.