Richard Winters, leader of a US Army infantry company made famous by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, has died at the age of 92, colleagues and media executives said on Monday.

Winters, who lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania, died on January 2 after a battle with Parkinson's Disease, said Quentin Schaffer, a spokesman for HBO.

Winters led Easy Company, part of the Army's 101st Airborne Division which landed at Omaha Beach in northern France during the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.

AP COMPANY OF HEROES: Major Richard 'Dick' Winters died January 2nd, 2011. Winters, was the man whose quiet leadership was chronicled in the book and television miniseries Band of Brothers.

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

Richard Plepler, co-president of HBO, said that during the making of the series, Winters showed both dignity and humility, qualities that had allowed him to shine as a leader during the massive amphibious assault that helped to end the Second World War.

"He said he was not the hero, but he served in a company of heroes" Plepler said.

Winters was initially concerned about a plan to show the world premiere of the series to 46 surviving members of Easy Company at Utah Beach on June 6, 2001, but finally agreed to it, Plepler said.

"He was a little bit chairy about the possible emotional impact of bringing everybody back to the scene," Plepler said. "I don't think anyone stopped crying for a couple of days."

The HBO series was based on a book of the same name by historian Stephen Ambrose, now deceased, whose company now runs tours of historic sites including the Normandy beaches.

Ronald Drez, president of Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours, said Winters's death would be a "huge shock" to followers of the Band of Brothers all over the world.

"It had a cult following," he said. "It took the nation and the world by storm."

Drez recalled Winters as a man of integrity who led his men by example rather than delegation.

"He didn't seek the limelight," Drez said. "He was universally loved by the people who came to know him."