# We lost another veteran from the Band of Brothers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288 "2009-06-19T12:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/1 "2009-06-19T12:11:24Z")
[Darrell “Shifty” Powers](http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/208832) (from the celebrated “Band of Brothers”) fame has died recently. He was 86. From this non veteran, thank you and Godspeed. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/2 "2009-06-19T13:39:35Z")
Its inevitable, but…damn. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/3 "2009-06-19T15:01:33Z")
Tonight I will have a drink in toast to the the life of a man I never met but owe so much. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/4 "2009-06-19T16:07:14Z")
Wow. And I’ve just been rewatching the mini-series. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/5 "2009-06-19T16:22:50Z")
> [@Carl\_Corey](#): > > Wow. And I’ve just been rewatching the mini-series. Same here. I re-watched it for the D-Day anniversary (My ritual : one year it’s \* The Longest Day\*, the other year it’s _Saving Private Ryan_ and _Band of Brothers_). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/6 "2009-06-19T17:13:26Z")
In slightly related news, [Henry Allingham](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8108746.stm) became the world’s oldest man today. He’s one of two surviving British WWI vets. Well played Sir. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/7 "2009-06-19T17:28:17Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > In slightly related news, [Henry Allingham](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8108746.stm) became the world’s oldest man today. He’s one of two surviving British WWI vets. > > Well played Sir. > [@](#): > > and the last surviving founder member of the RAF, was born on 6 June 1896. Hehe, for some reason thinking about someone who can actually say “Don’t tell me about the Air Force buddy, I was there when we Invented the Air Force?” makes me smile 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/8 "2009-06-19T19:20:40Z")
Hmmm… also oldest Englishman ever. And only remaining survivor of the Battle of Jutland. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/9 "2009-06-19T21:42:24Z")
Resistance was strong, even so. German snipers, bypassed in the first rush, began to inflict casualties. No one could locate one guy especially, who had stopped movement at a corner with two hits. Then Shifty Powers, the man who had spent so much of his youth spotting for squirrels in the upper tree trunks of the Virginia mountains, called out “I see 'em,” and fired. “We weren’t pinned down anymore,” Lipton remembered, “so we continued the attack.” … Lipton and Popeye Wynn looked at the place where the sniper held them up, the one Powers shot at. They found the sniper with a bullet right in the middle of the forehead. “You know,” Wynn commented, “it just doesn’t pay to be shootin’ at Shifty when he’s got a rifle.” - Stephen Ambrose, _Band of Brothers_ ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/10 "2009-06-20T02:51:19Z")
I saw this yesterday and got sad. Thank you Shifty. Rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![ShermanAter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ShermanAter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShermanAter)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-lost-another-veteran-from-the-band-of-brothers/500288/11 "2009-06-20T07:26:12Z")
Thanks for sharing that. My Dad was a radio operator on a plane that dropped the 101st on D-Day. He will be 87 in October. Dad, my brother and I just got back from a fishing trip to Alaska. Dad caught the biggest King Salmon of the trip and I will never forget it. I guess what I’m getting at is we are losing these WW2 veterans every day now. If your Dad is one or you know one, be sure to wish them a Happy Fathers Day Sunday and thank them for their service. Rest in Peace “Shifty”