Another Hero Passes On

I'm not sure how many of you have seen Band of Brothers, but if you have, you'll probably remember Shifty Powers. He recently passed away and I received this email about it. I thought it was worth sharing:

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.


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."

 

Thank you from the bottom of my military heart.

I just started a thread with this email at militarypolice.com

 

Thanks BC for sharing this with us.

God Bless you and Rest in Peace, Shifty.
You were a true American Hero!