D-Day veteran Darrell "Shifty" Powers to speak at
UVa-Wise Nov. 1

Darrell “Shifty” Powers, whose World War II Army unit was immortalized in the book Band of Brothers, will reflect on his experiences during and after the Normandy invasion in a presentation on Monday, Nov. 1, at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths.

Powers was just 19 when he parachuted into German-occupied France with the 101st Airborne on D-Day, June 6 1944. Six months later, Powers and his brothers in Easy Company were embroiled in the Battle of the Bulge.

The Clinchco native served Easy Company as a sharpshooter earning two Bronze Stars, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Rifleman Badge.
Band of Brothers author Steven Ambrose once called Powers “as good a soldier as there was in the 101st.”

Powers completed his military service in 1945 and moved to California, where he worked as a machinist for a few years. He later returned to his hometown and took a job with Clinchfield Coal Company, where he was employed for 33 years.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.