Shifty's War is a tale of heroism and adventure, of a soldier's blood-filled days fighting his way from the shores of France to the heartland of Germany, and the epic story of how one man's skills as a sharpshooter propelled him to a life greater than he could have ever imagined. He parachuted into France on D-day and fought for a month in Normandy eighty days in Holland thirty-nine in the harshly cold winter of Bastogne and for nearly thirty more near Haguenau, France, and the Ruhr pocket in Germany. Little did Shifty know his finely-tuned skills would one day save his life-and the lives of his fellow paratroopers.Īs one of the original men who trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, Shifty was one out of only two soldiers in Easy Company to initially earn the coveted expert marksman designation. His father trained him to listen to the woods, to 'see' without his eyes. However, I particularly like this quote from his daughter.From D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge and more, here is the authorized biography of one of the most celebrated paratroopers of Easy Company, Sergeant Shifty Powers, the legendary sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers.Īs a boy, Darrell 'Shifty' Powers's goal was to become the best rifle shot he could be. Here is a clip of the men of Easy Company (Shifty too) talking about heroes. "A nation without heroes is nothing." - Roberto Clemente Please forward this email to everyone you know. 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. 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. Shiftys hometown is Clinchco, Virginia, in Dickenson County. Shifty was an original member of Easy Company, training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. From Wikipedia: 'Darrell 'Shifty' Powers (1923-2009) is a former NCO during World War II who served with the famed E Co./2/506 of the 101st Airborne Division (the Band of Brothers). I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers. We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. He was severely injured on his way home in a truck accident (the irony is that the men of Easy rigged the lottery to go home so Shifty would be first, but he ended up being one of the last to get home after an extensive hospitalization). Shifty Powers received two Bronze Stars and a CIB and fought in every campaign that Easy Company was in. Quite frankly, this is an affront to a genuinely good man. Reader Mark send the link to a NBC piece on Shifty. There are less than four articles about his passing on from "old media" news agencies. If you use GoogleNews (any combo of Darrell and/or Shifty Powers), there are less then ten notices of his death. I have written here a lot about Easy Company and even have an autographed photo (Bill Guarnere) on my desk of the jump into Holland (Market Garden). Many, many of you have sent me notice that Shifty Powers of the heroic Easy Company, 2-506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, died on June 17th. As I jumped out the door, I could see that the left motor was on fire." - Darrell Shifty Powers talking about jumping over Normandy, France, on D-Day. " I could hear bullets and shrapnel hitting the plane.
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