Darrell “Shifty” Powers

No mass media coverage.
No sad eyed CNN reporter
told of his gentle sweetness
while ignoring daemons that raged.

Shifty Powers died today,
and a better American hero
you would be hard pressed to find,
but he wasn’t the hero kind.

No gold records on his wall,
no bright white smile,
just a man who stood
with those who gave all.

Shifty was one of a Band of Brothers,
an airborne infantryman
in the dark and bloody days
of the Second Great War.

Private Darrell “Shifty” Powers
was assigned to Easy Company
of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.

He jumped into fire and fought,
at a place called Normandy,
where many a man died,
answering his nation’s call.

Shifty Powers was discharged
from the U.S. Army in 1945,
wearing a rack full of ribbons,
all forged in the blood of combat.

Shifty died on a June day.
After the hell and fear
of a war 65 years ago
he lost a battle to cancer.

There was no parade
or big event in Staples Center,
attended and watched by millions
who cried at the loss.

Three letter news networks
didn’t stop all pre-programmed fodder
to show close up faces
with tears and sadness.

After Michael and Farrah
and Ed McMahon and Cronkite
it seems the world forgot Shifty,
and that is an American tragedy.

So from my heart,
that of an American Airman,
I salute and ask God
to let him rest in peace.

_____________________

Lou, a Christian grateful for Jesus’ gift to him, was born and raised in the western hills of Maine, then spent 20 plus years wandering the country and world in the United States Air Force. Maine Department of American Legion’s Historian, he is a photographer and stringer for The Maine Trust for Local News, published poet and short story writer who pens faith-based devotionals. He lives in Rumford, Maine. He is author of an anthology of poems based upon his military career entitled: Dimly Seen Through The Mists, and a book of faith-based poems entitled: My Lighthouse In Troubled Times, available through Pen It! Publications. He can be reached at mbsphotog@yahoo.com or his Facebook Page.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.