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. ' I was standing with a genuine war hero. At that point he said 'I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem. 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. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell 'Shifty' Powers. We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. The balance of the information is from the forward. Powers, have him autograph my copy of 'Band of Brothers,' obtain an autographed photograph of him and had the oppportunity to shake his hand and thank him for his individual service and sacrifice. After that, it was a non stop brawl between the units.' I treasure the opportunity to meet Mr. Powers was relating that after Normandy, the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were sent back to England at the time and then sent on leave to London at the same time.His words were'It worked OK for the first day. Listening to him talk to another gentleman, I learned a bit of oral history I never knew. He was a soft spoken gentleman who seemed almost overwhelmed by the fame that had come to him and his mates from Easy Company. I had the great honor to meet Shifty at the 2008 SOS.

Shifty's War is a tale of heroism and adventure, of a soldier's blood-filled days fighting his way fromthe shores of France to the heartland of Germany, and the epic story of how one man's skills as a sharpshooter and engagingly unassuming personality propelled him to a life greater than he could have ever imagined.I received this forward this evening from Stonemint. 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. 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.

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