"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 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,
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 by email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.
Rest in
peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager
"SHIFTY" - an
incredible American hero!
SHIFTY DIED JAN 17,
2011..........May God rest his soul.
Please do me a favor and
pass this on so that untold thousands can read it.
We owe no
less to our REAL heroes....
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Copied from e-mail I received, I don't think Chuck will mind