51 years after separating from the Army I am still compulsively punctual. I get physically ill if I'm running late. My wife, by contrast, feels no compunction about being on time. In half a century of harmonious matrimony this is our one point of difference. I guess it could be worse.

"I had rather be an hour early than a minute late." I recall vividly hearing my dad (WWII) say that. I never forgot it. I lived by it.

"being early is on time, being on time is late, being late is unacceptable." What my marine dad taught me.

During the time I served in the Canadian Armed Forces … _just shy of 31 years service_ … I was always taught; _”early is on time, on time is late”_ … now that I’m retired, I still follow this mantra.

What an honor it would have been to have personally known him.

RIP Major Winters!

I retired from the fire service after 30 years. We were told on our first day of training that we would be fired if we were late. Our training officer always said that "if you can't get here on time, then get here early". That always stuck with me and I was never late in 30 years. I haven't worn a watch since I retired. Lol

“Early is on time…on time is late!” It never fails you.

I could listen to Winters all day. In fact, I will.

Major Winters, the type of person everyone under command wished they could serve under. Semper Fi sir.

I would give anything to sit with him and have a beer or coffee and just “listen” to him and pick his brain about the things he went thru and to gain the respect of the men he led , the men (boys) he lost , the sacrifices, then bonds, the guts, glory . What a man

This TRUE leader should be awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR. I realize it would be posthumously; however, Major Winters definitely deserves to be recognized. The Statue of him, ordered by the French, is remarkable.

How can you not love and admire this guy?

In mylife I met a lot of guys who don´t tolerate excuses... But allways have excuses for their own fails!!!

This old warrior is teaching lessons to the rest of us from the grave. We'd do well to listen.

I'm retired military and I've been out of the military 27 years. I HATE being late! Better to be an hour early than one minute late! If I know that I'm going to be late my stomach will begin physically hurting. A good NCO is never late!

My husband is an Army veteran serving over 24 years including DESERT STORM. He rarely, and I mean rarely, wears a watch. Yet still has a penchant for "move it on time".

I heard another WW2 vet talking about habits that they never lost, "...being 'on time' is important to us."

A truly special human being. I would’ve really loved to meet him and shake his hand.

Huh....I did the same thing after I got out of the Navy, going to university about a year or so after, sitting outside the bookstore, August 90, hot as usual, Gainesville, looked down at my Casio G-shock that I had on me - looked at it, took it off and put into my back pack with my books. It just hit me, that I did not need to do that anymore, not like that....Man, all I ever did when at sea was look at that watch, or in port, look at that watch, was just drilled into you about time. Won't wear one now, have not worn a watch since..that was over 30 years ago now...

“Don’t tell me it’s someone else’s fault.” The most telling part of responsibility.

I think Major Winters would have made a great President.

i find it amazing with the popularity of BoB that this interview series seems to still be the best kept secret of the genre. only 1k likes?

Prayers for war hero Major Winters and all who fought for freedom and peace in the last world war .. hats off

Such a incredible man! RIP sir! And thank you for your service!

My father was ex military, been on time was his promptness. He said to myself and older siblings when we were young, still living at home "Never be late to work, they (Bosses), will always remember that, but, forget the times you are early"

Mr. Dick Winters, you amaze me and remind me of my father. One tough guy who learned during WWII to meet to work at hand and accomplish it without whining or excuses. My dad in the air over the pacific and you on the ground in Europe.

i was told many times when i was younger " If you're on time then you're already late", stuck with me my entire life.

That "Never depend on someone else to get you to muster/duty/meeting...." Was drilled into us. Also, "15 minutes early is on time, on time is late"....

One of my friends was a First Sergeant in the Army. He always said, "It's better to be an hour early than a minute late!" Sound advice.

What a privilege it must have been to sit and talk to this man.

My roommate broke my alarm clock and didn't tell me. This caused my to be late to formation for the second time in a week (first time was a stomach issue). My punishment was "corrective training": I had to be 15 mins early to every formation for 2 weeks (4 or 5 formations per day). To this day, I am early to every appointment.

Someone start a petition to get a medal named after this man.

As a former member of the military, it’s a cardinal sin to be late, it annoys me even today if I’m ever late, even if I’ve given myself at least an hour to get to where I’ve to be, it’s a learning for life, never be late, always be on time

Great interview. I thought the last bit was interesting as well that Mj. Winters was able to put aside his wartime routines for peacetime. Probably a very healthy thing to do. Incredible respect for these men.

Winters is beyond relatable even when you have near to nothing in common with him and have experienced a completely different life than his. He is a great voice of history because his take on things transcends generations

Today is August 30, 2021. This man, and those he led in battle, are spinning in their graves.

I lived the adage that Senior Chief gave me when I was just a young no nothing Airman "early is on time, on time is late." Served me well in my twenty years in the Navy.

In a late stage of my life I finally went to Europe for the first time. Got a trip paid for to Lisbon and I knew I had to make time to hit Normandy. What an experience. Had a very interesting time in St Marie du Mont and especially Brecourt Manor. Visited briefly with the daughter of Michel de Villevielle (hope I spelled it right). Snuck into the field. The spot where her dad was shot (rumor has it that it was Spiers) was 25 yards from her frickin’ front door!

As his men ("friends" as he called them) said about Gen. Lee: "I'd charge hell with a bucket of water for that man." That's the way I feel about Major Winters and those men like him.

My dad RCAF ,told me never be late for anything it will follow you your whole life , im always early for appointments, thanks pop .

I had a very similar experience during my first year in the army. I was a brand new private, and my company was at a training area about 8 miles from where the company HQ was. I was told a 5 ton would pick me up from the HQ, where I was doing my paperwork, and take me to the field area where my platoon was training. The 5 ton was late and the supply sgt told me to go home since they already ran chow out to the field and we're not going back for the day. I went back to my barracks room like I was told and fell asleep. The next day I was at HQ first thing in the morning ready to go. I got into the 5 ton the supply sgt was using to run chow, and was off to my platoon. When I arrived my platoon sgt immediately came at me yelling at the top of his lungs. " Where the hell were you pvt?" I responded that I stayed in the rear because the supply NCO, told me he wasn't going back out yesterday when I finished all my paperwork. He responded with " how far is HQ from here?" I said "about 8 miles sgt." He looked me straight in the eyes and said " next time I tell you to be somewhere you do it." "If you have to walk here then do it, but I don't want to hear any damn excuses soldier." I will always remember that lesson, and I responded with " Roger that sgt" and was never late again.

Glad he see he didn’t let that mentality of living by a clock time is the only way to live, and he refused to let that govern his life! Shows he is even wiser. There is a time and place for being punctual.

Army 87-94, and we were taught "if you're early, you're on time, if you're on time, you're late and if you're late you're screwed".

They were badasses cause my dad was in WWII patton's third army 87th infantry division, the greatest generation, I try to live up to his morals and values, they are the greatest,

maybe thats how - when he and his fellow troops landed in Normandy - they walked all the distances just in time for navy landing. Incredible.

Two sayings that I kept with me after separation from the Army. "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you're dead." and "10 minutes prior to 10 minutes prior."

Thank you Sir, you are a man among men.

I live near Aldbourne and know the road to Littlecote House well. It’s amazing to think what guys went down that road I’ve been along so many times and who never came back .

One more reason this truly was America's Greatest Generation.

The scene that sticks with me of Col. Sink is at the Battle of the Bulge. Winters and all of his Company are out there freezing their asses off. No proper winter clothing. Couldn't light a fire because the Germans would see the smoke and zone in on them. Col. Sink shows up to give orders wearing all his winter gear including a jacket with a fur lined collar. Big shots always have and the little guy does without. I'm sure that scene was filmed that way to make a point.

Be the first to show up and the last to leave. I've lived my entire working life to those words.

I've heard it said by a person, whose partner was in the service, summarise military punctuality like this: "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is dead."

I hate being late and hate it when others are late.

I work with a lot of ex-law enforcement. They are to a person 20-30 minutes early when we have in person meetings and consider you late if you show up just prior to the meeting. Took me a few to get used to that and then I adapted it as well.

We will never see a generation of these men again..they lived and fought for a cause..as the saying goes, "tough times create great men"......

As an Army retiree, This story rings true. You are personally responsible, no excuses.

My dad was Korean War vet and taught us growing up, "if you're on time, you're already late."

This is what a true American Hero looks like.

This interview with Winters is great.

My grandmother raised me to be 20+min early to be at work to start at least 10 Min early so I'm not walking in at the start of a shift when my shift starts! Later in a civilian job I actually had a co-worker complain about this to my supervisor saying she didn't trust me because I started my shift too early... That's when I realized her and her co-workers were starting 5-10 min late every day. I realized then that a strong work ethic can make a big difference in the way you can be treated by management and I've tried to teach my teenage boys this while my oldest would always complain why I was wasting his time arriving 15 Min early to an appointment...

Can’t blame him for ditching the watch when he came home. Just watched the full series, incredible what those guys gave for us.

Here’s a fact about Robert Sink, He never commanded the 101st Airborne Division in his career, But he did commanded the 18th Airborne Corps, Which included the 101st Division, Retired as a Lieutenant General in 1961, I guess that piece of advice really helped him out.

My Father was in the Marines for 20 years and it was the same way. If you were supposed to be somewhere at a certain time - it was up to YOU to _make certain_ that you were there. The way my Father did that - was he left an hour early for any and every appointment he ever had - that way - if something went wrong he would have some spare time to make it up. This of course resulted in our sitting around in waiting rooms for 30-45 minutes on occasion and developed in me a deep hatred of that - but - it was right to be that way in the military. I hate that so much - that I am usually late because I just cannot make myself leave early enough to make _sure_ I'm on time. If you are supposed to be somewhere in the military at a certain time - and you aren't there - people might die and the mission might fail. The other thing about everyone showing up early - was it gave the people running things the knowledge that - everyone WAS there and they didn't need to go looking for anyone. Something that happened time and time again was that there was an artillery and/or air strike that was supposed to take place just before the infantry attacked - and when the time came - it wasn't there. The infantry were then in a quandary as to what they should do. Should they wait for the guys who were late - or should they go ahead on time? One of the problems with going ahead on time - was that sometimes when the artillery or air finally showed up - friendly troops were in the zone where the shells were landing. Some times the Infantry would wait like an hour - before they gave up then launched their attack - and sure enough - just as they got to the point where the explosives were supposed to land - here they came right on top of our guys. The thing was - sometimes they NEVER showed up. Air was notoriously unreliable. One reason being the weather. So - in the military - being on time is of deadly importance. Today - communications are a lot better and if there is a disruption to the time schedule people might be able to adjust but it's no guarantee. .

Much respect for these Great Men!!!

I just came up with this but it’s rather pertinent… “ don’t let your country be waiting on you.” I think that rather sums up what he’s trying to say.

Nearly 8 years of Naval service taught me; "If you're five minutes early, you're 10 minutes late."

I will never hurry up just to wait ever again

If you're early you're on time. If you're on time you're late.

To this day, if I'm on time I'm late. Folks who've not been in the military don't understand.

I retired in 2015 after serving in the Army for over 30 years. As been said many times, I was taught that early is on time and on time is late. I still follow that today and it irritates me if I am late to anything.

When I was in high school, I had a retired Air Force Colonel (WWII, Korea, Viet Nam) as a math teacher. Col. Ritchie. He'd say the exact same thing, "No excuse for being late." "What if I had a flat tire?" "Leave early enough to change a flat."

The wristwatch shocked me because I did the same exact thing when I got out of the military. I took it off and 30 years later I still don't have a watch. I was so sick of watching time.

Vince Lombardi used to tell his players that the bus left at 8:00. If you weren’t there by 7:45, the bus left without you. To this day, the big clock on Lambeau Field is still set to “Lombardi time” and is about 15 minutes early.

This isnt so much an issue about punctuality as it is of personal responsibility. Take responsibility for your actions- especially on the Officer side of the house. I learned to say "No excuses sir" and that was all that needed to be said.

I’m an Army brat and our house always ran on the 15 minute rule. It has served me well in business, but I’ve never been able to grow my business because so many people think a few minutes (a few can mean half an hour) late is OK. It’s not. I gave up trying to get wannabes to understand. Many, many times they were late for the f’n interview. “You’re late.” Then I hear about getting caught in traffic, etc. “In plain English, you didn’t leave early enough to be on time. I can’t have that. You represent me and my clients don’t tolerate being late. They’ll call somebody who gets there on time after you screw up my reputation and leave me to clean up the mess. We’re done here.” I’ve been cussed out many times about being a prick, but I tell them my clients appreciate me being on punctual enough that they call me again and again. My clients are lawyers, and they get it. They know better than to be late for court. Same idea. Other people’s time is valuable, and showing up late tells them you don’t care.

I can't imagine life without this series. Currahee ♠

Absolutely love these, thank you.

I love that he took the rest of his life off from being on the clock after that.

What a great man.

I’m in my 40s now… it took me a long time in my life to realize there is a difference between responsibility and fault. Men take responsibility for things that are someone else’s fault. Leaders don’t care who’s fault it is, they fire the person responsible.

Being late is just like saying your time is more important than anyone else's! And you don't care! It's your responsibility and no one else's!

Hurry up and Wait! My experience in the service. Always getting in line when I got somewhere.

If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late, you’re unacceptable. Semper Fi!

You are never too early!!!! But you are one second late !!! Remember that my KZfaq comrades…!

It was explained to me "You can always explain why you are early, but you can never explain why you are late."

I got so fed up with being told to get my sideburns up that the day I left the Army I started growing a beard, I've had it ever since, over 40 years.

👍👍👍 for properly crediting the original source of this interview. most people don't. hang tough!

I remember a NCO School with 4th Infantry. The first briefing told us to turn in our alarm clocks to the main office. As we all looked at each other, someone asked the dumb question. The School Comandant said all you need is your stripes. Those same stripes will wake you up everyday. If they fail, so do you.

I'm like him. When I got out I was so fed up with planning my day down to the minute that I sought out a career that doesn't require punctuality.

That level of responsibility is absolutely imperative when running a team. Nobody gets special treatment, regardless of your excuse. War doesn’t care about excuses. You also hear of all the bad companies that had a leader that wasn’t fair, it creates resentment in the group.

I served in The Army 15 years ,I ha e watched Band of Brothers MANY TIMES ,everytime, I still Cry and I mean cry tears like a baby ,Kids today so t get it ,The sacrifice made by those men.

Maj. Winters' and his regiment's fixed mindset in war had to be stricter than peacetime. It was about self-reliance, in his regiment. Each man in that elite fighting unit was supposed to be personally responsible and left with their own devices. Their disciplinary regime brooked no excuses because otherwise their ethos and discipline would fall apart. Ethos means character, credibility and reliability, when nobody's looking.

So glad I joined the Navy for my service (90-93). Can't imagine being front line against that kind of entrentchment.

True American hero. God bless him!

I used to live in The Netherlands and have kids and grandchildren there. People, friends show up unannounced at your door all the time and no one makes appointments. But in business, if you do, never ever be late, and never SHOW UP early, but BE ON TIME! Maybe you arrive early and wait somewhere until the appointed time, but then AND ONLY THEN do you officially arrive. And not one minute late either! Ooiy vay! This ol Southern California boy had to get used to it. And like Winters, after returning home, I never bothered again with watches!!!

I could listen to him for hours.

I remember getting extra duty for being on time, as it was expected of us to be on scene twenty minutes earlier. BTW, whenever we had a parade, the junior officers would show up at the posted time, the senior officers a few minutes later and the CO about ten minutes after the parade was supposed to start.

"I never wear a wrist watch, even today!" Wow, that means the watch really triggered him and stressful memories... Thank you for your service Sir!

If you aren't here 15 minutes early, you're late. I still think like that 30 years later.