A true hero - Shifty

[Doc Vernon]

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I’m sure you guys have seen this, but it’s worth another read.


So many who served with distinction in order to preserve our way of life then conveniently forgotten. Sad.

And, think of the media circus, flag at half staff, and all the things that were said of Whitney Houston when she died and Michael Jackson when he died.

This hero died with barely anyone's notice. No Comment required!

"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. 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 this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Chuck Yeager, Maj. General [ret.]

P.S. I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these days...

Elvis, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston & the like."SHIFTY" - an incredible American
hero. Please do me a favor and pass this on so that untold thousands can read
it.We owe no less to our REAL Heroes. “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will
deserve neither and lose both.” -Benjamin Franklin Psalm 97:6The heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all
the nations see His glory.