SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT, France â€"  A statue in the likeness of a Pennsylvania native whose quiet leadership was chronicled in the World War II book and television miniseries "Band of Brothers" is being unveiled near the beaches where the D-Day invasion of France began in 1944.

The 12-foot (3.6-meter) tall bronze statue in the Normandy village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont shows Maj. Dick Winters with his weapon at the ready, evoking the massive Allied operation that paved the way for the end of the war.

The unveiling is one of many ceremonies Wednesday commemorating the 68th anniversary of the invasion.

Winters - a native of Ephrata, Pennsylvania who died last year aged 92 - only accepted serving as the statue's likeness after monument planners agreed to dedicate it to the memory of all junior U.S. military officers who served that day.