IF you don't know who Chuck Yeager is. He was an ACE Pilot and the test pilot who first broke the sound barrier. This was supposedly written by him.
'Shifty'
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
"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... Michael Jackson & the like!
"SHIFTY" - an incredible American hero
SHIFTY DIED JAN 17,
2011.........May God rest his soul.
Please do me a favor and pass this
on so that untold thousands can read it. We owe no less to our
REAL heroes..
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