"Shifty of the 101st" - An E-mail Shared by Lynn Beckman

From "The Love Shack" at Tybee Island, Ga. --- 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 was, 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 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 June 17 after fighting cancer. There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center. No wall-to-wall, back-to-back 24/7 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 e-mail to everyone you know, especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

"A nation without heroes is nothing."
Roberto Clemente

ACLU Wants To Tear Down WWI Veterans' Memorial

From Tybee Island, Ga. --- Can we say "absurd"?

For those of you who have not heard this story please take the time to watch the You Tube below about the efforts being undertaken by the ACLU for one poor, pathetic "could be offended" Oregon man who wants a memorial cross erected to WWI veterans removed from public land in the Mojave Desert. Since 1934 this memorial has stood proudly to remind veterans who visit it of the pain and agony of the first world war and to provide a place where they could come and help heal themselves.

I don't fault the ACLU, after all their mission in life is to file stupid and meaningless law suits time and again - it pays their salaries and bills along with the donations they get as a 501-C-3 foundation. However, I must question where they spend time and money when it comes to such frivolous nonsense as this.

Read and then watch and then make up your own mind:

After WWI many U.S. soldiers moved to the Californian desert to find physical and emotional healing. In 1934, they erected a memorial to honor their fallen comrades, a single white cross, - a symbol used around the world to memorialize those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

The site for the memorial was chosen because at a certain time of day, the sun casts a shadow on the rock which resembles a WWI doughboy. For more than 75 years, the memorial has stood as a reminder that there were those who fought and died for our freedoms.

But sadly today, the ACLU and a federal judge in California, want to tear it down. In fact, the judge has ordered the memorial covered from view while the case is on appeal.

You can join in saying "Don't Tear Me Down."

Americans should honor their war heroes and the freedoms they so valiantly protect; and we're taking our case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court this fall.

You can join in this battle, by going to www.donttearmedown.com