I know I did.
The best shot in Easy Company, 1st of the 506th PIR passed into the clearing at the end of the path last month.
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 24×7 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.
Amen, brother.
We throw around the term “hero” too freely these days. Guys like this who fought the two most professional, dedicated enemies our country has ever faced, for the duration in WWII, really deserve it.
Duty, Honour, Country.
These men not only knew those words, they lived them. God bless you, Shifty, and all those who you served with.
FYI – NBC Nightly News ended tonight with a “Making a Difference” report on Mr. Powers and with a story about retired military folks making toys for troops to hand out in the war zones overseas.
RIP Mr. Powers
God bless and keep Shifty Powers. We are much, much poorer with his passing.
May the Lord bless him, and keep him; May His Countenance shine upon him, and give him peace.
Men like these pass on and we hear nothing. Yet the news is filled with worthless soundbites about worthless stories.
Godspeed, Shifty. You are a true hero.
God rest his soul, because he certainly deserves to be able to stand down now. Where did we find such men and are they there now to come to our rescue?
God help us if the answers are “who knows”!
Why was this not front-page news all across America? Was the MSM too wrapped up in Michael Jackson?
We’re losing our World War II heroes all too quickly now. We need to remember their honor, heroism, and efforts now more than ever.
Godspeed, Shifty. Thank you for your service.
Shifty most likely didn’t think of himself as anyone special and certainly not as a hero of any kind. Back in his day, men did what they had to do and did it without much complaint. I should know I had many of them as friends as I was growing up. I always wanted to know everything as a kid about what they did “in the war”. They would always laugh and say something like “I didn’t do nothing special” or “I just did what I was told to do”. All of those great friends of mine have passed. I went to each funeral and services and noticed each year how there were fewer and fewer there.
The great history and those that made it are fast disappearing and the most terrible thing about it is that our American Educational system either doesn’t teach much about it or it is taught in a negative light. I have tried to tell and teach my kids and grand kids about our Great Republic and the people over the eons that have made it great. But sadly I’m afraid most parents and grandparents don’t.
Shifty and those before and after him gave us great gifts even if at the time they didn’t know it or appriciate it themselves, or want anyone to make a big deal out of it.
But that is OK, God will care for them and they will meet and help their fellow warriors when they also pass on to the last assembly.
Papa Ray
West Texas
I am thankful that I live in a country that was and is protected by men of his caliber. Godspeed, Sir.
Godspeed indeed.
They were, are, a modest bunch of guys. Loved talking with them, especially when they would talk about what they went thru.
In my area, Golden Corral has a free dinner every year for Veterans -just tell them you are a vet and your dinner is free. No DD214 needed. Pretty darned nice of GC.
Every year I go and sit at a table with what appear to be WWII vets. Kind of random depending upon how busy (usually quite) they are. Wonderful company, great conversations.
http://www.tearsinthedarkness.com/video-book (H/T to BlackFive) Mr. Steele reminded me of my father, and most other WWII Combat Vets that I’ve met.
Sad that there are far fewer of them each year. Though physically they may be gone, always will be in our memories.
In paradisum deducant te Angeli:
in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.
(May angels lead you into paradise;
may the martyrs receive you at your coming
and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.
May a choir of angels receive you,
and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.)
“A man must know his destiny.
If he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder.
If he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.” (General George Patton)
Mr Powers and his band of Brothers had the imagination and plenty of guts!
R.I.P. Shifty
“The only immortal soul man has is the lasting impression he makes on other men’s minds”.
Perhaps we’ll meet out beyond the rim.
Thank you Shifty. Thank you for all you have done for our country. Good bye and rest in eternal peace.
We are here, in this space, sharing our thoughts about Shifty and others – because of men like Shifty. Their honor is a life lesson for the rest of us. That we may somehow live up to their sacrifices is what should drive all of us for the remainder of our days.
That is a heart warming, and yet wrenching story. Godspeed shifty. You and your brother’s service will never be forgotten.
Like Poppa Ray, above, I’m old enough to remember these men when they were in their mid-thirties. These men were no heroes–just average Americans trying to survive–”modest” as Ron Snyder says above–which makes what they did all the more heroic. Most were far more cynical/realistic about it all than is reflected in much of this era’s rememberances, but considered it something that had to be done nonetheless. My Father used to tell the story of when, often during some training session with a couple of hundred of them in the bleachers attending some demonstration on a piece of artillery, etc., a jeep would pull up and call out some individual to be jerked for a “by-name” assignment. As he got out of the bleachers and took the slow walk to the jeep in front of the others everyone would yell in unison: “You’ll Beeeee Sorrr-eeeeee!!!!!”
No, although many of these men were volunteers to be sure, they were under no illusions about what sort of potential fate awaited them, yet they nonetheless forged ahead with grim determination to see the thing through and survive if they could.
And when they returned? Everybody today talks about the great reluctance of that generation to talk about their experiences. I have a slightly different take on that than most. I did not find them reluctant so much as they were simply too busy getting on with life in the new, post war world. In a way they reind me of nothing so much as the wives of the settlers as they traveled West in their wagon-trains. Many kept detailed dairies of their travails, almost all of which ended abruptly–many in mid-sentence–once their final destination had been reached, never to be returned to again. They were too busy with getting on with their new lives in their new world. And so it was with the G.I.s who returned home to begin building lives, families and careers in the new, post-war world which was as different from pre-war America as the West coast was from the older, more European-flavored East coast from whence they had traveled. Barbara Tuchman, in her Biography of Gen. “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell, mentions how, when reviewing Stillwell’s own dairy, how absorbed he was with the minutiae of daily life–the wife, kids, food, birthday’s etc.–despite also being consciously involved as a key figure in some of the most momentous historical events the world has ever known.
Momentous times. Average men. Doing heroic things. How lucky we were to have them. They were my generation’s parents. And when I was a kid they were everywhere, And lets not forget the home-front either. They were emotionally in on the experience as well, and as a result, the whole tone of immediate post-war society was one of comity, social stability and a great sense of security–all thanks not only to their efforts–as great as they were–but to, well, just who they were–the strength of their character. It was a great world to grow up in. Too bad that world is now gone forever, and along with it most of those that made it. The least we can do is show our appreciation by remembering.
Well said, Virgil. I miss them too. At least the longer-lived ones got to see a WWII memorial erected in D.C. before they answered the last call. The true giants are the average men and women who struggle and persevere against overwhelming odds. Upon their shoulders is the advancement of civilization borne.
VX,
I hear you, brother! When i was in school, back in Utah, there was a fellow lived up the street from us who used to come into class each year and talk about civics. I knew he was a retiree Colonel, but not much else. He was a very humble, yet gifted speaker who was always willing to answer any question, and to stay and talk as long as we wanted him to.
Only years later, when doing some research, did i find out just WHO he was. His name was Chase J. Nielsen, and he was the navigator on Plane #6 of Doolittle’s mission. I was floored. This fellow had spent some 40 months as a POW in Japan, survived all the horrors of Japanese treatment, and come home, dusted himself off, and picked up where he left off when the war started.
Mr. Nielson was always willing to talk about his famous mission, and those he trained and flew with, when asked, but he never really considered himself anything special. He was proud of being a veteran, of being a citizen, and of being able to help pass his love of country on to younger generations.
Chase J. Nielsen, LtCol, USAAC, passed away last year at 90 years of age. A good man, with a life well spent.
God Bless ‘em all.
God Bless you Shifty! God Bless his family who allowed him to march off peaceful with God Almighty. May we met someday Shifty. God Bless The United States of America. Another Brother of the Band depart this earth.
I had the honor of meeting Shifty Powers several years ago at the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles. He was a quiet, unassuming, gracious gentleman. For those interested in reading more about him and his comrades in Easy Company, I would suggest “We Who Are Alive and Remain”, by Marcus Brotherton.
Rest in Peace, Trooper. CURRAHEE!
Rest in peace, Shifty. Thank you for your selfless service. You and your comrades-in-arms help free my great-uncle from a German POW camp so he, too, could come home to a life in peace.
“Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
Rest in Peace Shifty.
May you rest in a well deserved sleep! Your brothers and sisters will take over the watch!!
If he had received a memorial service, this is the song they would have sung. The theme from Band of Brothers sung by Welsh beauty Katherine Jenkins. There would have been nary a dry eye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfVELFsb96Q
S! Shifty.
Thank you Shifty, for everything you did. You and all your band of brothers. So many of us will never live up to what all of you did back then, back there. God bless.
Shifty would tell you, he’s no hero. The real heroes are the ones left in France and the thousands buried across europe. It is these men we need to remember.
Not many people can honestly say they helped save the world. Shifty could. I thank him and his Band of Brothers.
God Bless and keep Shifty Powers. It is because of the men and women like him that make it possible for each and everyone of us to enjoy the freedoms we have in this country today yet most take for granted.