Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. 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.
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. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. 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 asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero. I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. " at which point my heart skipped.Īt that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. 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. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.
#SHIFTY POWERS TV#
A lot of people were angry that news coverage of Jackson's death and memorial service pushed so many other deserving stories off the newspaper pages and TV screens. And "Shifty" died just before Michael Jackson. The original e-mail you'll see below is very moving and reminds us that we have not always given the heroes of World War II their proper sendoffs. Some versions of the e-mail give the impression it was written by another hero, famed test pilot Chuck Yeager, while others say it comes from military columnist Joe Galloway.īut neither man actually wrote it. I was very skeptical and believed it was one of those made up e-mails based on partial truths whose writer's goal is more about seeing how far it can travel in cyberspace. For some people it sounded too poignant to be true. The e-mail's writer described meeting "Shifty" at an airport in Philadelphia and, upon learning of his accomplishments in the war, offered to switch his first-class seat for "Shifty's" seat in coach.
#SHIFTY POWERS SERIES#
Powers, a member of the 101st Airborne who parachuted into Normandy and who was profiled in the HBO war series "Band of Brothers." It served its purpose of getting national attention for former SSgt. July 16, 2009— WASHINGTON - You've probably received or heard about the e-mail traveling around the world that calls for an online memorial service for World War II hero Darrell "Shifty" Powers who died quietly last month at age 86.
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