Darrell "Shifty" Powers has past

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

I just found out that the WWII hero, (and one of mine) made famous in HBO's "Band of Brothers" has past on. This man was a Virginian and fought with the 101st Airborne in every campaign they were in during the war. I recently read a book that had an excerpt about him in Bastogne spotting a moving tree that inched closer every day. No one else could notice it but this mountain man. They ended up destroying a well-camoflauged tank position.

 

Here's an email from Chuck Yeager:

 

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

 

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

 

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

 

 

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

 

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

 

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

 

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

 

 

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

 

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

 

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

 

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

 

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

 

There was no parade.

 

No big event in Staples Center.

 

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

 

No weeping fans on television.

 

And that's not right.

 

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

 

Rest in peace, Shifty.

 

"A nation without heroes is nothing." - Roberto Clemente

 

You can read more about him at this website.

[Halli~SPARTA~]

What a man eh... did all that and still was a kind and generous fellow.

 

Thanks for your Rendezvous with Destiny Sir.

 

 

 

[MedicSN6]

Thanks, I have forwarded this to my friends, some of which are vets.

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

I don't want to derail this thread, but I finally a taste of my great-uncle's WWII story the other night. I've been desperately wanting to talk to him about it, but haven't worked up the courage. We finally sat down at a family gathering and I just had to point-blank ask him what he did.

 

He just said he drove an anti-air half-track vehicle all throughout Europe. He landed on D-Day +6 and saw it through to the end of the war. He was in the Battle of the Bulge, where he told me "they called me up and it was like shooting ducks in a barrell. I had to have shot down 200 of them." To this, I'm thinking he must be senile because no-one shot down 200 aircraft in any war. He must have known what I was thinking and said "they were paratroopers. They wore white coats, thinking it was better camoflauge in the snow, but it didn't work for me."

 

At this point, I can't say much of anything and I'm trying to laugh to break the silence or something. He's always been my favorite great-uncle, long before I knew he was a hero, and he's nearing the end. If any of you have relatives from the Greatest Generation, I suggest you listen to their stories now so you can pass them along. There's no time like the present.

[MedicSN6]

Yeah it is nice when they open up like that, but due caution is needed. My grandfather likes to look at pictures of his old ship, The U.S.S. Intrepid. But recalling stories about being within spitting distance of where a Kamikaze hit the ship is a bit much for him. So when he brings it up, we listen, but no one asks him about it out right.

 

It is always iffy to ask a vet about his experiences. You never know how they will react.

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

Yeah it is nice when they open up like that, but due caution is needed. My grandfather likes to look at pictures of his old ship, The U.S.S. Intrepid. But recalling stories about being within spitting distance of where a Kamikaze hit the ship is a bit much for him. So when he brings it up, we listen, but no one asks him about it out right.

 

It is always iffy to ask a vet about his experiences. You never know how they will react.

 

 

Yeah, of course the current generation likes to acost soldiers and ask things like "was it hot?" der...

 

I don't mind talking about my time, mostly because only one person I knew actually died, but I still have problems with fireworks and that sort of stuff. I'm never in a good mood around Independence day. Either way, talking about stuff helped with a lot of that, but I'm of a different era than my betters.

[MedicSN6]

Yeah I know what you mean. I still give piles of trash and random boxes that are sitting on the side of the road a good hard look and some clearance when I drive by. I also drive too fast still. But it is all getting better. I talked to a buddy of mine the other day. He still sleeps on the floor every now and then, just when he is having a bad day and thinking about stuff.

 

I don't think that the general public has any idea of how tough it is for some of our Vets. But I will say that it is far better than our father's generation and the VN vets after their return home. It still makes me sick to my stomach when I see a homeless person in a field jacket with name and branch tapes on it.

 

 

[Zebb]

I'm the same Durka, it's not as if I dive for cover when I hear fireworks going off but I can do without the loud bangs or even those long continuous series of bangs when they are going on, mind you if I am sitting in my computer chair and one of the kids or the dog drops something heavy on the floor behind me I tend to swing around shouting at whoever was to blame before I have had time to realise what it was, this usually gets me the dirty look from the wife but it's not as if I do it on purpose lol

 

I tend to wake up in different parts of the house sometimes at night even under furniture much to the amusement of my kids but I never remember how I got there and my mood can swing up or down several times in a day with no warning and for no apparent reason, it may just mean I'm getting older and crotchety since it's not getting better that's for sure..