Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

Darrell Cecil "Shifty" Powers (13 March 1923 – 17 June 2009) was a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

with

Easy Company E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the ph ...

, 2nd

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regiment ...

, in the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Powers was portrayed in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' by

Peter Youngblood Hills Peter Youngblood Hills (born 28 January 1978) is an Anglo-American actor. He is perhaps best known for his supporting role of Sgt. Darrell "Shifty" Powers in HBO’s World War II mini-series, '' Band of Brothers''. Early life He was born in ...

. The 2011 book ''Shifty's War'' by journalist Marcus Brotherton, published by

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

/ Berkley-Caliber, captures Sgt. Powers' full life story. Powers was one of the twenty contributors to the 2009 book '' We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers''.

Early life

Powers was born in

Clinchco, Virginia Clinchco is a town in Dickenson County, Virginia, Dickenson County, Virginia, United States. The town, formerly known as Moss, was named for both the Clinchfield Railroad and the Clinchfield Coal Corporation. The population was 337 at the 2010 Unit ...

. His father was an excellent rifle and pistol shot, and taught him how to shoot when he was young.Location 269, Brotherton Shifty spent a great deal of time in the outdoors, hunting game.Brotherton, p.5. He got to the point where he could throw a coin in the air and hit it with a rifle. Many of the skills he obtained helped him as a soldier. Powers graduated from high school and took a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

course in a

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

in Norfolk. There he befriended Robert 'Popeye' Wynn, and the two went to work in the

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

after finishing the course. When they found out that they were about to be frozen to the jobs, they went to sign up for the Army. Powers enlisted on 14 August 1942, at

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

.WWII Army Enlistment Records: on-line NARA Archival Database
/ref> Powers' nickname "Shifty" originated from his basketball days and his ability to be 'shifty' on his feet.

Military service

Powers followed Easy Company to station in Aldbourne, England. He was shocked to see that the residents there were prepared to defend themselves against the Germans with only garden implements. He thought it would have been a massacre if the Germans had indeed invaded Aldbourne. Powers jumped into Normandy on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. Missing his

drop zone A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In ...

, he joined two others from the company and the three linked up with Easy Company several days later to fight in Carentan. Powers participated in the Allied military operation

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Powers also fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. On 29 December 1944, when Easy Company was staying in the woods, Powers noticed a tree that was not there just the day before and reported it to First Sergeant

Carwood Lipton First Lieutenant Clifford Carwood Lipton (30 January 1920 – 16 December 2001) was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II. On the battlefields of Europe, ...

. The "tree" was ultimately discovered to be part of the camouflage the Germans put up for their anti-aircraft battery. Lipton got approval for full battery fire to attack the area despite the short supply of artillery ammunition and the area was deserted within an hour. Lipton commented, "It all happened, because Shifty saw a tree almost a mile away that hadn't been there the day before." It was one of Powers' most remarkable achievements and a testament to the extraordinary gifts his backwoods upbringing brought to Easy Company. On 13 January 1945, when Easy Company was attacking Foy, several of the men were pinned down by a sniper that nobody could locate. Suddenly, Powers yelled, "I see him!" and fired his rifle, killing the sniper. Later, when

and Wynn found the sniper's corpse, they were shocked to see the bullet hole centered in the middle of his forehead. Wynn commented, "You know, it just doesn't pay to be shootin' at Shifty when he's got a rifle."Ambrose, pp.211–212. Powers was one of the very few who was never wounded in combat. It was for this reason that Powers lacked the sufficient points to return home under the military point system, although he was there every day when Easy Company fought on the line. Powers joined and won the lottery that was organized to allow one man from each company to return home early on a furlough.Ambrose, p.282. During the trip to the airfield, the vehicle that Shifty was in was involved in an accident and he was badly injured. He spent many months recuperating in hospitals overseas while his comrades in arms arrived home long before he did.

Later years

Honorably discharged from the Army in the postwar demobilization, Powers became a

. He was married to his wife Dorothy for 60 years at the time of his death. He moved to California, got a machinist job there and stayed there for three years with his family. He was laid off when the company he worked for lost a government contract, so he returned home. He worked as a machinist for the Clinchfield Coal Corporation for more than twenty years. Powers, in his later years, was in declining health and depressed. The Powers family noted the release of the ''Band of Brothers'' TV miniseries and the subsequent speaking engagements brought Powers out of the depression and speculated that the series bought Powers extra years of life. Powers is listed as one of 20 men from Easy Company who contributed to the 2009 book '' We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers'', published by

/ Berkley-Caliber. Powers died of lung cancer on 17 June 2009, in

Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,124. Its county seat is Clintwood. History Dickenson County, formed in 1880 from parts of Buchanan County, Russell County ...

. He is buried at Temple Hill Memorial Park, Castlewood, Russell County, Virginia.

''Band of Brothers''

In the first edition of the book ''Band of Brothers'', author Ambrose wrote that on 23 December 1944, Powers disobeyed a direct order from

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Edward Shames Colonel Edward David Shames (June 13, 1922 – December 3, 2021) was a United States Army enlisted man and officer who later served in the U.S. Army Reserve. During World War II, he was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Ai ...

to go out on patrol because he was discouraged. Both Shames and Powers denied that had happened, with Powers calling the insinuation "a slap in the face." Upon request and verification, Ambrose deleted that story from the later edition of the book. Powers was a character, played by

, in the HBO '' Band of Brothers'' TV miniseries. In the episode "The Last Patrol", Powers was shown to be one of the soldiers participating in the patrol mission; However, in reality, Powers was not on that patrol.Location 3656, Brotherton (2011)

Medals and decorations

Darrell C. "Shifty" Powers' medals and decorations included:

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Photos of Shifty Powers as he returns to Bastogne & Germany for the first time since World War II

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Darrell 1923 births 2009 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Band of Brothers characters Deaths from lung cancer People from Dickenson County, Virginia United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Virginia Deaths from cancer in Virginia