Pawling: Rup Winters World II Hero Receives Posthumous Honors

Some years ago, Pawling resident Philip Fennell undertook the task of finding out about his uncle, Rupert Winters, who died in World War II. That effort culminated this month with New York State honoring the uncle's service more than seventy years after the events.

Fennell has composed the following description of the life and military heroism of his uncle, Rupert "Rup" Winters:

FORMER LAKE PLACID RESIDENT
RECOGNIZED POSTHUMOUSLY BY NEW YORK STATE

On August 3rd, 2007, Governor Elliot Spitzer awarded the late Joseph Rupert Winters, formerly of Lake Placid, the state’s Conspicuous Service Cross with four clusters (representing additional awards).

Winters was born in Lake Placid in 1907, the son of Daniel and Margaret Morgan Winters. Rup, as he was popularly known, attended Lake Placid schools. Prophetically, while in high school, he successively argued, in a debating competition, that the Philippines were entitled to full independence and fully capable of self-government.

In 1924, he went on to Cornell University with several other Placidians, including his best friend, Nash Williams. Following college, he pursued the printing and newspaper business, both of which he was familiar with as his father was the founder and long time publisher of the Lake Placid News.

Rup also joined the state’s National Guard. In 1940, the Guard was
activated and Rup would serve for the next four years. His first combat duty was in the Aleutians. Rup wrote home, “When I requested my transfer, I asked to be sent to Australia and when I ended up in Alaska, I was somewhat puzzled until I realized Australia had MacArthur and it would be quite unfair for us to send them all the good men.”

A 1943 article in the Lake Placid News described his being shot in the thigh by an enemy sniper. Since he was his unit’s scout, Rup continued to advance despite the wound. A half hour later, he was shot again, this time in the head. Of these events, he later wrote home, “I was slightly wounded.”

After a lengthy hospitalization concluding with the medical findings that, “soldier cannot be recommended for overseas duty,” Rup nevertheless returned to active duty and trained for combat in the Pacific. Landing on Leyte, Philippines, in November 1944, Rup again served as a scout with the first wave of American soldiers. In one act of heroism, he went through a mortar barrage to pick up and carry to safety a “buddy.”

Several days later, on November 7th, he went to the aid of a wounded comrade, “with disregard for his own personal safety.” He was machine gunned by the enemy and died instantly.

In his last letter home, to his sister, he had written, “I am in good company with fine fellows and all those little things which make the old job of being an Infantry Scout a little pleasanter to take. Since you last heard from me I have been successively in Camp White, Oregon, Camp Luis Obispo, Calif, Camp Callan, Southern Calif, again at Obispo and from there to here at Camp Beale, near Sacramento, Calif. That’s more or less what you call living out of a barracks bag but if years of experience should make you used to it, I certainly should be by now. Give my best to Tom, my love to the little ones and all the love in the world to yourself. In haste, Your brother Rup.”

His death was so painful to surviving family members that his remarkable story was largely untold to the next generation. No doubt this was the reaction of many families that suffered the same terrible news.

Not even his burial place was known. Several descendants recently undertook to learn more about Rup and found that he was buried in the U.S. military cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

A memorial stone in the Winters family plot may be found at St. Agnes cemetery in Lake Placid. It was placed by Rup’s friend, the late Nash Williams.

Surviving comrades who had been with him up to the last day of his life were contacted. Even the man to whose aid Rup went and died for was located. With considerable effort, military records were obtained from the National Archives. While much of Rup’s records had been destroyed in a major fire some years ago, there was sufficient evidence for a number of posthumous awards including two Bronze Star Medals, and a Purple Heart with 1 bronze oak leaf cluster. Rup’s family had only known of the first Purple Heart, for the Aleutians campaign.

Of medals and ribbons, Rup would often say they, “are like what George Latimer said about the Adirondack scenery – it’s swell but the bank won’t take it.”

Application for the New York State Conspicuous Cross was by made by one of Rup’s nephews, and submitted to the state through Senator Vincent L. Leibell, 40th Senate District.