Sergeant “Shifty” Darrell Powers was part of the same unit of the famous HBO TV-series. He was the sharpshooter and not one of the main characters. I borrowed this book from the local library, and I warmly recommend this to all Band of Brothers and WW2 paratroopers enthusiasts. What’s special is that it’s written in the first person, so like an auto biography. Especially the part covering the Battle of the Bulge and his post-war biography are very gripping. Getting back to civilian life, the bond between veterans, and getting old, are aspects usually left out of other unit histories and are kept brief in most biographies.

One small, but interesting piece of information to remember from this book: according to Shifty Powers, neither he nor any of the sharpshooters in the 506th used a rifle with a telescopic sight, as did the paratrooper sniper in Saving Private Ryan.

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