The Court-Martial That Changed Easy Company
He followed orders. He did the inspection. And still, he was written up.
On October 30, 1943, in the village of Aldbourne, England, 1st Lt. Dick Winters faced a choice: accept a 48-hour pass denial for supposedly missing an inspection, or demand a trial by court-martial. The charge came from Easy Company’s commanding officer, Captain Herbert Sobel, who claimed Winters had failed to inspect a latrine at 0945 hours. Winters had been told 1000.
It wasn’t the mistake that mattered. It was the principle.
This moment, seemingly trivial, marked the breaking point in one of World War II's most storied units.
Aldbourne: A Quiet Place Before the Storm
Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was training for the greatest airborne assault in history. But before the men would jump into Normandy, internal tensions threatened to tear the unit apart.
Captain Sobel had trained Easy Company hard. But his erratic leadership, vindictive behavior, and lack of field competence eroded trust. Beneath the surface, frustration simmered. NCOs whispered concerns about whether he could lead men in combat. Then came the latrine order.
At 0930 hours on October 30th, Winters received a battalion order to deliver enlisted men's mail. He did. At 1000 hours, per earlier orders, he returned to inspect the latrine — and found Sobel already there. No words were exchanged. Later, Winters was handed a typed document accusing him of missing the inspection, now retroactively moved to 0945.
Winters confronted Sobel. The captain insisted he had telephoned and sent a runner with the change. Winters knew no such message had reached him. The charge stood.
Winters, calm and measured, made his choice. He wrote by hand on the charge sheet: "I request trial by court-martial."
Mutiny in the Making
The reaction was immediate. Within Easy Company, the news spread like wildfire. For the enlisted men and NCOs, this was the final straw. Men like Sgt. Mike Ranney and Sgt. Terrence "Salty" Harris rallied the noncommissioned officers. One by one, they handed in written resignations of rank, refusing to serve under Sobel.
It was a dangerous move. Mutiny is among the gravest offenses in the military, and these men faced potential court-martial themselves.
Colonel Robert Sink was furious. He reprimanded the men, busted a few ranks, and reassigned others. But beneath the anger, he heard their message. Sobel, he realized, had lost the confidence of his company.
In a quiet reshuffle, Sobel was reassigned as a jump school instructor. Lt. Winters was quietly reinstated. Leadership of Easy Company passed to Lt. Thomas Meehan.
Disaster had been averted — just in time.
Legacy in the Latrine
What happened in Aldbourne wasn’t just about one officer and a mop. It was a test of integrity, and a moment when the bonds of brotherhood truly formed. Winters' calm refusal to compromise his principles set a tone that would carry Easy Company through D-Day, Bastogne, and beyond.
They were not yet the Band of Brothers. But this was one of the key moments where they became a company.
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Read more in:
- Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
- Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters
- Easy Company Soldier by Don Malarkey
- Shifty’s War by Darrell “Shifty” Powers
- Rendezvous with Destiny
Photos courtesy of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, James Skeffington, and Unsplash.
Ready to walk the story? Plan your trip to Aldbourne and beyond with the Band of Brothers Travel Guide — available now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW5C6GRY
