A Real American Hero!

[[JiF]Brick]

If you haven’t read or watched “Band of Brothers”, you need to. It’s an HBO miniseries available on DVD.
It’s a gripping drama as well as an excellent history lesson.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?ur ... f+brothers


Brick

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I do not know the author of this, but it is worth our time to read, especially after all the fuss over Michael Jackson these past few weeks.


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."
Roberto Clemente

Shifty1.png (57.29 KiB) Viewed 974 times

[Sir Die-a-lot]

Very fitting Brick.

I took the liberty to post this in some other forums.

[[JiF]Melon Farmer]

I own the Band Of Brother box set and have seen it more than once, and it brought tears to my eyes just reading your post. Here's to true American heroes, the ones who looked death in the face with courage and duty. Let's raise a pint to Shifty, and thank God there were men like him.

[[JiF]Navy_Seals]

It is a good series it has been on history channel a few times but i saw it when it was on HBO

[[JiF]Pvt. Harrick]

Yea, I watch Band Of Brothers whenever its on. History lesson? Of Course. Its very accurate about historic avents and units as well as important leaders. I believe its about the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles or something like that. Good Reference. I think that the origonal movie or all of the episodes are coming on Spike some time this august.

[[JiF]Kyle]

Wow, this was really impressive and of course worth reading. I think it's definitely important to ask the question what true heroes are and what they mean to us today.

And there is another important point I see in that text: It's just not about parades, fandom and stuff. As simple as it may sound: It's about being aware of what people like Shifty Powers did. Even I as a German feel a deep respect for the allied veterans of WWII. Who knows what would have happened if the invasions had failed. But this is another issue: Your status as a hero depends on which side you're on...
Besides that, many people in Germany are still in way inhibited when the topic "heroes" comes up. Therefore we did not have something like the US medal of honour for decades. This is, of course, a result of our past when our so-called heroes fought for the interests of the Nazi regime. Nevertheless that's no reason for not giving an official decoration to soldiers who deserve it today, in my opinion. The public and political discussions were heated though when a new award for this purpose was created last year.


Thx a lot for sharing, Brick!


Kyle

[[JiF]zougathefist]

This is the kind of humbling story that makes you wonder how you would cope under the same circumstances.
It reminded me of this:

When I worked in a bar in N. Ireland I knew an old guy called Bertie the Konk (he had the biggest nose I have ever seen), he would come in on Sundays and have 3 brandies and a bowl of soup, always waited outside the door at 10.30am for the pub to open.
He was a bit of a figure of fun as he used to be out on the street from about 4 am to watch the newspapers left outside the shops to make sure the drunken idots from the pubs and clubs didn't steal them or worse.
Anyway I got quite friendly with old Bert, he had really badly done tattoos on his arms and I asked him about them, so he told me a story

At age 14 Bert stowed away on a transport plane from St Angelo Airport in Enniskillen (where I lived) he got to England and joined the Army (14!!) he passed his basic training and at age 15 he was sent to North Africa to fight in the 8th Army Desert Rats against Rommel's Panzer Korps as a Driver in a Crusader tank. A piece of junk by all accounts that was no match for the German armour.
Anyway after their first encounter with the enemy Bert and his crew mates all got a Tattoo (they did each others). It soon became a tradition and by the end of the North Africa campaign in May 1943 Bert had 16 tattoos, coincidentally one for each year of his life.
Bert was injured twice, once by a bullet and once by shrapnel. After Africa, Bert took part in the invasion of Italy and was landed in Normandy on DDay+3, by the end of the war Bert was 18, just old enough to join the Army legally. He spent a year in Germany and another two in the Army in the middle-east before returning to Ireland.
Once back in Ireland he took over his parent's farm and lived on it until his wife died then sold it and he moved into the town and lived alone till he passed away.
Once I heard his story I could never forget it and even now I find it hard to reconcile the history with the tall old guy who used to come into the bar and crack jokes about how his nose was too big for a brandy glass so he needed a hiball.

Here's to Shifty, Bert and all the other unsung heroes on all sides who fought and died so we could live today.