Powers, Darrell, S/Sgt

Deceased

Photo In Uniform

Service Details

Last Rank
Staff Sergeant

Last Service Branch
Infantry

Last Primary MOS
745-Rifleman

Last MOS Group
Infantry (Enlisted)

Primary Unit
1942-1945, 745, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR)

Service Years
1942 - 1945

Last Photo

Personal Details

Home State

West Virginia

Year of Birth
1923

This Military Service Page was created/owned by LTC Roger Gaines (Army Chief Admin) to remember Powers, Darrell ("Shifty"), S/Sgt.

If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.

Contact Info

Home Town Not Specified	Last Address Clinchco

Date of Passing Jun 17, 2009
Location of Interment Temple Hill Cemetery - Castlewood, Virginia	Wall/Plot Coordinates Not Specified

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Additional Information

Last Known Activity

E Company (3rd Platoon), 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
"currahee!"

Darrell Cecil "Shifty"Powers was born in Clinchco, Dickenson County, Virginia and volunteered for the paratroopers with his good friend, "Popeye" Wynn. Shifty spent a great deal of time in the outdoors hunting game prior to joining the service. This would later prove useful as many of the skills he obtained helped him as a soldier.

Powers jumped into Normandy on D-Day, missing his drop zone. He eventually came in contact with Floyd Talbert and the two made their way to Easy Company. He participated in the assault of Carentan and every major battle Easy Co. was involved with until the end of the war. He was considered by many to be the best shot in the company.

Powers, a United States Army paratrooper and sharpshooter, belonged to Easy Company, part of the legendary 101st Airborne Division. He recalled a bitterly cold day in the Ardennes when he was able to draw down on a German sniper, sighting his target by the misty cloud of the man's breath. He killed him with one shot.

"Right there," he said, touching his forehead. "Between the eyes."

Because many men serving in the 101st lacked the minimum points required to return home, a lottery was put in place. Shifty Powers won this lottery and was set to return stateside. During the trip to the airfield, the vehicle Shifty was in was involved in an accident and Shifty was badly injured. He spent many months recuperating in hospitals overseas while his comrades in arms arrived home long before he did.

Darrell "Shifty" Powers was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Peter Youngblood Hills and appears in all 10 episodes.

He 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 Penguin/Berkley-Caliber.

"Shifty" Powers died June 17, 2009, of natural causes in Dickenson County, Virginia

Other Comments:

AWARDS:
-Combat Infantry Badge 1st Award
-Combat Jump Wings 3 Combat Jumps
-Bronze Star (2
-American Campaign Medal
-European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/Arrow Head and 4 Campaign Stars
-World War II Victory Medal
-Presidential Unit Citation w/2 Palms

MOS: 745
ASN: 13066266
4 years of high school
Semiskilled machine shop and related occupations, n.e.c.
Single, without dependents
Enlisted in RICHMOND VIRGINIA , Infantry
Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Army of the United States - includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service; Officers appointed in the Army of the United States under Army Regulations 605-10

His nick name is Shifty, and was a most amazing man. Even as a child Shifty would shine shoes so we would have money for 22 shells. He said he became such a good shot he could throw a coin and hit it, and thats probably true! He lived and worked in Norfolk, VA with "popeye" Wynn and they both signed up to the Paratroopers together. He went to Airborne school at Toccoa, GA and was placed in Easy Company, the best company in all the 101st. At Toccoa he was push, along with all the other men, doing the "three miles up, three miles down" run on currahee and doing countless marches and upon completion they would have to empty their canteens. The bond that Shifty and the other men had was one that most people will never have or understand, the men of Easy were beyond brothers! Shifty Powers made it thought the war Shifty has been and will always be an amazing Hero!

Photo Album (More...)

Powers D

Service Photo

WWII - European Theater of Operations/Normandy Campaign (1944)/Operation Overlord/D-Day Beach Landings - Operation Neptune
From Month/Year June / 1944	To Month/Year June / 1944
Description The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Neptune) were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the invasion of German-occupied western Europe, led to the restoration of the French Republic, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, but postponing would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days in each month were deemed suitable. Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion. The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 British, US, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France starting at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beach. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to achieve all of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five bridgeheads were not connected until 12 June. However, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day were around 1,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area host many visitors each year.