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Shifty

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Forum Name: Military, Veterans, LEO, Fire and Rescue
Forum Description: These men and women put their lives on the line every day for us and we say THANKS! Forum dedicated to Lance Corporal Jeremy Scott Sandvick Monroe, USMC - KIA Iraq 8 OCT 2006
URL: http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=21435
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 17:55
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Topic: Shifty
Posted By: Kingpin
Subject: Shifty
Date Posted: 13 May 2011 at 09:25
A real hero  God bless him.

SHIFTY DIED JAN 17, 2011..........rest in peace.

"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. 17 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 Gen. [ret.]



P.S.  I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these
days... Michael Jackson & the like!




Please do me a favor and pass this on so that untold thousands can read it.....

We owe no less to our REAL HEROES......


-------------
There are times when a normal man must, spit in his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.


Replies:
Posted By: Muleskinner
Date Posted: 07 June 2011 at 11:15
Don't wanna pop your bubble, but that story is mostly false.  Shifty died in June 2009.  Chuck Yeager never met him.  Check out Snopes.

-------------
Mule

Posted By: Irish Bird Dog
Date Posted: 07 June 2011 at 11:35
can't vouch for the authenticity of this but here is more

Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 07 June 2011 at 12:51

Never met shifty. so I don't know.

Met Yeager once, interesting guy.....some BS; but KP, Mule and I don't have the concession of BS!

Posted By: Kingpin
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 17:40
OK, OK, OK, I should have snoped it. None the less, he passed without an acknowledgment. One thing is for sure, he's looking down on us from the halls of Valhala.........................Kingpin

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There are times when a normal man must, spit in his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.

Posted By: Irish Bird Dog
Date Posted: 08 July 2011 at 18:09
I don't think snopes is all that reliable anyway......but the man passed with little fanfare for sure.....

-------------
Irish Bird Dog

NRA Life/Endowment

2nd Amendment Supporter


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