![]() ![]() Nowadays they have a different type of chute and they can land fairly soft, but back then, with the chutes we had, you hit the ground pretty hard. If you jump out of an airplane you’re going to hit the ground, one way or another.” Powers laughed. Powers said, “And parachuting to the ground isn’t hard either. We volunteered for paratrooper school.” Powers and his fellow paratroopers were originally sent to Camp Pickett in Virginia where they got their basic physicals and their numerous shots and immunizations, but soon shipped out to Camp Toccoa, Georgia. I worked there as a machinist for a while, My buddy “Popeye” (Robert Wynn, a fellow Virginian from South Hill) and me wanted to join the military so we went and signed up for the Army before we got stuck at the shipyard. “After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they (the government) moved all of us from the school over to the Navy Shipyard at Portsmouth, to do work on the ships there. After graduating from the local high school, Powers decided to go to technical school. In fact, he got his nickname, “Shifty,” from his outstanding basketball play. Powers liked school because got to play basketball. He also participated in all of Easy Company's battles including Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler's Eagles Nest. Shifty dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy on D-Day. He was a member of the famed Easy Company whose exploits received worldwide recognition in "Band of Brothers," a book by historian Stephen Ambrose, and miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg. Shifty was a veteran of World War II, having served in the 101st Airborne, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was a charter member of Clinchco Missionary Baptist Church. The program concludes with a rolling list of the Easy Company soldiers who were killed in action.DARRELL "SHIFTY" POWERS Obituary Fond Memories of Noteworthy Native American Hero War Veteransĭarrell "Shifty" Powers, 86, of Shifty Lane, Clinchco, Va., passed away Wednesday Jat Wellmont Regional Hospital, Bristol, Tenn., after a courageous battle with cancer. Several of the veterans' family members reflect on this bond and on the pride among the men of Easy Company. The Easy Company veterans are seen at their annual reunion, and some men describe the unique intimacy they feel with each other. Next, the veterans describe their taking of Hitler's retreat, "Berchtesgaden." They share their thoughts and feelings regarding the German surrender, including the realization that the enemy troops were men not so unlike themselves. he had a ticket to get out of there, and maybe a ticket to go home." On March 15, 1945, after these campaigns, Easy Company was cited for "gallantry in action" by General Dwight D. One veteran explains, "When a man was wounded, we felt glad for them. The men describe their recollections of the misery in Bastogne, including the freezing cold weather, the constant artillery fire, and the injuries and losses that were sustained. Guarnere and Heffron visit the Woods of Foy in Bastogne and share their memories. Next, Operation Market-Garden and the liberation of the Dutch are described, as is the Battle of the Bulge. Easy Company's losses after thirty-three days in Normandy are recounted Hashey and McClung talk about the "replacements" that were brought in to replenish the Company's lost personnel. Their recollections feature stories of lost supplies, imperfect landings, and their destruction of a covert German unit at Brecourt Manor. ![]() The veterans describe the Company's military action chronologically, beginning with D-Day, June 6, 1944, when 13,400 paratroopers lead the Allied Invasion. In September 1943, after training for fifteen months, the Company boarded a ship for England. The veterans recall memories of their first jump and what it was like. Other veterans discuss the pride they felt being part of the regiment and explain the difficult training that prevented many men from joining the regiment. First, Lipton and others describe how they became interested in being paratroopers. Zimmerman Don Malarkey Norman Neitzke Patrick O'Keefe and Ed Tipper. Martin Denver "Bull" Randelman Don King Henry C. Pickel Earl "One Lung" McClung Joseph Lesniewski James "Moe" Alley Edward "Babe" Heffron John W. Stokes Shifty Powers Bill Wingett Rod Strohl Robert "Popeye" Wynn Paul "Buck" Rogers William "Wild Bill" Guarnere Rod Bain Robert L. The following veterans provide commentary in the program: Herbert J. Photographs and film footage illustrate the stories that are told the narrative is guided by intertitles. The program consists primarily of monologues from Easy Company veterans. Continue searching the Collection WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER: THE MEN OF EASY COMPANY (TV) SummaryĪ documentary about the soldiers of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division - the World War II volunteer parachute regiment. ![]()
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