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Maj Richard Winters, whose WWII heroism was captured in the TV mini-series Band of Brothers, has died at the age of 92.
Maj Winters' death was confirmed by a family friend, and followed a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
The 2001 HBO/BBC series charted the exploits of a company of US paratroopers from the Normandy invasion to the end of World War II.
Maj Winters, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral.
An HBO spokesman said Maj Winters died on 2 January.
Born in 1918, Maj Winters studied economics before enlisting in the US army.
He rose to become the commanding officer of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day.
He was decorated for leading a 13-man attack on a fortified German gun placement, which had been shelling US soldiers landing on Utah Beach.
Maj Winters also led his men in the ill-fated British-led Operation Market Garden, to try to capture bridges over the Rhine river in the eastern Netherlands.
He was CO of Easy Company during the Battle of the Bulge, when a breakout by German forces saw the Allies besieged in the Belgian town of Bastogne.
Among those paying tribute were some of the men of Easy Company portrayed in Band of Brothers.
Bill Guarnere, 88, said Maj Winters was a great leader, who was "right in the front".
Eighty-seven-year-old Edward Heffron, known as Babe, said: "He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under."
Maj Winters' death was confirmed by a family friend, and followed a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
The 2001 HBO/BBC series charted the exploits of a company of US paratroopers from the Normandy invasion to the end of World War II.
Maj Winters, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral.
An HBO spokesman said Maj Winters died on 2 January.
Born in 1918, Maj Winters studied economics before enlisting in the US army.
He rose to become the commanding officer of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on D-Day.
He was decorated for leading a 13-man attack on a fortified German gun placement, which had been shelling US soldiers landing on Utah Beach.
Maj Winters also led his men in the ill-fated British-led Operation Market Garden, to try to capture bridges over the Rhine river in the eastern Netherlands.
He was CO of Easy Company during the Battle of the Bulge, when a breakout by German forces saw the Allies besieged in the Belgian town of Bastogne.
Among those paying tribute were some of the men of Easy Company portrayed in Band of Brothers.
Bill Guarnere, 88, said Maj Winters was a great leader, who was "right in the front".
Eighty-seven-year-old Edward Heffron, known as Babe, said: "He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under."
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