[DeTomaso] NPC "Shifty" By Chuck Yeager

[Sean Korb]

Just a couple of edits, the author of the letter was Mark Pfiefer who
encountered Shifty and Shifty died in 2009 which is not mentioned in
this version.  Otherwise this is a great way to thank those who served
and raise awareness for our veterans.

sean

On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Kirk Evans <kre at adelphia.net> wrote:
>      "Shifty" By Chuck Yeager
>
>
>      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 is, 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 who 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 Jan. l7 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.
>
>      And that's not right!
>
>
>      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.
>
>      Chuck Yeager, Maj. General [ret.]
>
>
>      P.S.  I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these days...
>
>      Michael Jackson & the like!
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-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso