Thanks, Shifty!

Band Of Brothers Hero, Darrell ‘Shifty’ Powers Dies

By The Continuous News Desk

Published: June 20, 2009

BY ROGER BROWN
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

“The world depended on them. They depended on each other.”

That was the tagline for “Band of Brothers” – an award-winning 2001 HBO mini-series drama on the World War II experiences of Easy Company, a U.S. Army unit that fought bravely and fiercely across Europe.

But for Bristol’s Margo Johnson – daughter of Darrell “Shifty” Powers, one of the soldiers depicted in “Band of Brothers” – two more lines could be added to describe her heroic father: “The world truly admired Darrell Powers. I absolutely adored him.”

“I loved everything about my daddy,” Johnson said. “He never bragged about what he did in the war. And for a lot of years, he never even talked much about what he did – unless someone asked him about it.

“But he truly was a hero to me,” Johnson said. “Just like he’d been to the people who know him as a soldier in a [mini-series].”

Powers, a Dickenson County native, died earlier this week at age 86 following a battle with cancer. His funeral service will be held today in Clintwood.

“He was a brave man, even to the end of his life,” Johnson said of her father. “He’s helping me be brave now, too.”

Bravery – and dignity – was a constant, running thread in the life of “Shifty” Powers, both during and after his life as an Army sharpshooter in the actual “Band of Brothers.”

During the war, he fought brutal battles against the German army across France and Belgium.

After the war, Powers served as an eloquent representative for the men he fought with: At one point during the “Band of Brothers” mini-series, he appeared on camera to talk in moving, humane fashion about his grim but necessary task during the war – killing the enemy.

And, too, Powers served as a loyal, steadfast representative for the country he fought for: from graciously meeting with a former enemy German soldier to eagerly accepting any chance to speak with modern-day members of the U.S. military.

Ivan Schwarz, a producer on the “Band of Brothers” HBO series, remembers Powers as a “kind, generous soul with a great sense of humor.”

“Shifty was an incredibly humble human being,” said Schwarz, now executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission in Cleveland, Ohio.

“He was like most of the other [Easy Company] soldiers we met for the series. They were good guys who were kind of shocked that, 50 years later, people were making a big deal over them for just doing their duty.

“That’s exactly how [Powers] was, too,” Schwarz said.

Attempts were unsuccessful to reach Peter Youngblood Hills – the English actor who portrayed Powers in the “Band of Brothers” miniseries, through both HBO and his former publicity firm, Hamilton Hodell in London, England.

rbrown@bristolnews.com (276) 645-2512

Day of Days

The American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.

(photo from Yahoo News Canada)

Ever wonder what direction all those crosses and Stars of David point in? It's only one. It's not north...or south...or east...or west, even. No, this isn't a trick question. The white marble crosses and Stars of David that mark the final resting place of our boys all face the same direction...they face home; the land they came from and longed to return to and never did.


"...sitting in stunned silence, we remembered our dead. So many dead. So many maimed. So many bright futures consigned to the ashes of the past. So many dreams lost in the madness that had engulfed us."
E. B. SLEDGE, Co. K, 3rd Bat, 5th Marines, 1st Division, in With the Old Breed

64 Years Ago Today

They'd had it so rough for so long. And it wasn't just our fathers and grandfathers...

...it was our mothers and grandmothers as well.


But on May 8, 1945 everything changed.

The headline said it all. It was over. Then it was time to celebrate.

In New York...

...and London...

...and Toronto. And a thousand other places as well.

Then it was time to bring the boys home. Here's my Uncle Willy and My Uncle Russ, home from the ETO.

Then there's this fella. He looks like he's been celebrating a little bit already.

Hiya, John!

Sadly, not all came home and got on with life.

My mother's cousin, Sgt. Howard Lepley, U.S. Army Air Corps. 448th Bomb Group, 714th Bomb Squadron. KIA 6-10-1944 at Evreux, France. He was only 20.

Bing Crosby once sang,

Bless 'em all, bless 'em all,
The long, and the short, and the tall,
Bless all the sergeants, and the top kickers too
Bless all the corporals...bless you,
For we're saying goodbye to them all,
As up the gangway we crawl,
No ice cream or cookies for stout-hearted rookies,
So cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.

Today is VE-DAY. Don't forget, thank a Vet!

Wordless Wednesday - UPDATE

I was rather pleased with the photo I chose for my latest installment of Wordless Wednesday. I took the picture in a hurry and didn't have time to zoom in. The result is a rather distant view of the aircraft as it made it's approach to the Cumberland airport.

Here is a close up of the 'Nine O Nine', a B-17-G heavy bomber.

Wordless Wednesday

For more WW participants, click here.

A Salute To A Great Lady

The USS Maryland, named for my home state, was commissioned in 1921. The Mighty Mary was 624 feet long and weighed in at 32,800 tons, and carried eight 16 inch guns. At one time, the Maryland and her sisters, the Colorado and West Virginia, were among the most powerful warships in the world.

She is shown here, in a more peaceful time.

The Maryland passing through the Panama Canal.


December 7, 1941...the day of infamy. The Maryland is at the left center of the photo, just to the right of the overturned Oklahoma.


Seaman Leslie Short was addressing Christmas cards near his machine-gun on the USS Maryland when the attack on Pearl Harbor began; Short brought the first of the Maryland’s guns into play, shooting down one of two torpedo planes that had just released a torpedo against USS Oklahoma.

Berthed inboard of Oklahoma, and thereby protected from the initial torpedo attack, the Maryland managed to bring all her antiaircraft batteries into action. During the fighting the Maryland was struck by two armor-piercing bombs. The first struck the forecastle awning and made a hole about 12 feet by 20 feet. The second exploded after entering the hull at the 22-foot water level at frame 10. The latter hit caused flooding and increased the draft forward by five feet. The Maryland continued to fire and, after the attack, sent firefighting parties to assist her sister ships.

The Pacific Fleet was calmly resting at anchor on that Sunday morning when they were attacked. More than 360 Japanese aircraft from 6 aircraft carriers struck the fleet without warning. When the smoke settled that day, the USS Arizona had been blown in two, the USS Oklahoma had capsized, the USS Maryland, USS Tennessee, USS California, and USS West Virginia had been sunk. The USS Nevada had taken a severe beating while making a run for the open sea, and was finally beached at Hospital Point, and lastly, the USS Pennsylvania took damage while sitting in drydock. The Pacific Fleet was in shambles.


Within days of the attack, the Maryland had been moved to a dry-dock where temporary repairs were made. With temporary repairs completed the Maryland sailed for the United States, arriving at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on December 30. Just eight weeks later, on February 26, 1942 the Maryland had not only been fully repaired but modernized and was ready for service. The first of the Pearl Harbor battleships was now ready to fight...and itching for some payback.

For two years the Maryland served with distinction, serving as part of the back up force for the battle of Midway, she bombarded Japanese held islands, most notably Saipan. Yet ship and crew were still itching for retribution for the cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor. They would get their chance on October 25, 1944.


A Japanese force built around two battleships, the Yamashiro and Fuso, and a number of escorting vessels sailed up a narrow stretch of water called Surigao Strait. At the far end of the straight they ran into a trap, set by Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf. Attacked initially by American cruisers and destroyers, the Japanese force came on. As they did they ran headlong into six American battleships, five of which had been hauled out of the mud at Pearl Harbor: the West Virginia, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, and the Maryland. It was a one-sided fight, and the Japanese took a severe mauling, but Pearl Harbor had been avenged...by ships the Japanese thought they had sunk three years earlier.

After the war, the Maryland and her sisters went their seperate ways, some stayed in service, some acted as training ships, while others were retired, or added to the mothballed fleet. The Maryland, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, and recipient of 7 battle stars was mothballed, and eventually sent to Alameda, Californina. She was decommissioned in 1959 and cut up for scrap.


The bell of the USS Maryland at the Statehouse in Annapolis. 67 years ago today, this bell frantically rang out the call of 'General Quarters' to announce to the crew that they were at war.

Football and Trains...OH YEAH!

It was Homecoming weekend again and I headed up to the stadium to watch Allegany play Fort Hill...HOOOO-RAAAAAH! I didn't go to either school so the hype of the intra-city battle is lost on me. However, I do appreciate a good football game. And this year's game was a good one.










The winning touchdown. It came with 18 seconds left in the game giving Fort Hill a 26-22 win.

Oh yeah, the scenic train ran this weekend and Cumberland is having a ten-day festival to celebrate it's World War Two veterans. Here's a few snaps from the festivities.




Even President Roosevelt can't resist a ride on the Scenic Railroad.

6-6-44

Freedom isn't free.

Hometown Boy

Years ago, during my first attempt at college, I was sitting in the library one snowy Friday, killing time before my next class. (For those of you interested in dates, it was 1977.) Being a history nerd I made a bee-line for the U.S. history shelf, where I quickly found a book to my liking. Flopping down in one of the library's comfy chairs I settled in to pass the next hour.
(No, I didn't steal the library's book...I ran out and bought my own copy.)

I had read other accounts of the Battle of the Bulge before, I had even spoken with several men who fought in the Bulge, but there was something about Toland's account that held my attention firmly. Half an hour into my reading I had an apostrophy, or is that an epihany? All humor aside, I had come to one of the photo sections. Scanning pictures I locked on the image of a bearded dogface, staring blankly at God knows what. Just then I looked down and read the caption and almost screamed. It read: "A 35th Division infantryman, Sergeant Joseph Holmes (Cumberland, MD.), battle-worn from the savage struggle near Bastogne in the early days of 1945."

I gasped when I read the name of my hometown. It can't be, I told myself as I read it again. Sure enough, there it was, good ol' Cumber-bumber-land. At that point I hurried to the desk to check out the book, then hustled over to the Humanities building for my next class. But something strange happened as I was walking through the lobby...I passed the payphone. It was one of those things that makes you go, hmmmm....

Grabbing the phone book I flipped to 'H' and started scanning. As I looked I kept telling myself that it couldn't be. After all it had been more than thirty years. But lady luck was riding with me, I guess, because there he was, Holmes, J. Dropping a dime in the phone I dialed the number, all the time wondering what I would say.

To make a long story short his widow answered the phone. She was pleasant and very polite, and she perked up when I told her why I was calling. Half an hour later I was sitting at her kitchen table while she showed me post cards, photos and other memorabilia that he'd sent home. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation I inquired about her husband and she told me that he died from cancer several years earlier. Going back to the postcards, she told me a few stories, most of which are lost to time, but I remember something about him spending a night in the cellar of a bombed out building wither several of his buddies drinking cognac.

Next, she moved on to the Battle of the Bulge and the photo that had led me to her in the first place. She related a story he'd told her regarding the picture. He said that, at the time...early January, 1945...he was suffering from trenchfoot and exposure. He also told her that it wasn't until sometime, much later, that he realized that someone had even taken his picture. After that, I thanked her for her time and went on my way.

Walking out of her home, my mind swirled. There were other questions I should have asked, and I kick myself today for not turning around and going back. But I had a feeling that it was time to go, a feeling that she'd revealed as much as she cared to. She was probably lying on her bed looking at his picture and having a good cry as I drove off, for all I knew. I hope that wasn't the case.


Needless to say I skipped class that day (it wasn't the only time) I also blew off a lunch date with a very young, and very gullable Goody Two Shoes.

It took me years to locate and secure a copy of that photo, but I finally did. Anyway, here he is, Sergeant Joseph Holmes from my hometown...at a time when everything we held dear was on the line and courage wasn't in short supply.

And when he gets to Heaven, to St. Peter he will tell. "Another Dogface reporting, Sir. I've served my time in hell."