![]() He never talked about flying or the war and when I brought it up he would just change the subject. Jody never flew again, He was decorated by President Truman and resigned his commission and became a school teacher, retiring in the late 60's to become a commercial fisherman. He was rescued by a PT boat and then spent the remainder of the war in several Hospitals. He was able to somehow control what was left of his gear and landed in the Pacific ocean and waited for rescue with 3rd degree burns covering most of his body and face. The p-38 he was flying was on fire and when he left the cockpit it exploded setting him and his parachute on fire. In less then 6 months Jody was able to best 11 enemy pilots becoming a double Ace+1 then in a intercept mission he lost his aircraft and bailed out. His nephew was the one that told me about what Jody did and it still gives me goose bumps. He was in the original P38 dedicated fighter unit,the 475th Fighter Group. Jody flew with the 49th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force. He had a couple small black and white photos in the wheel house of WW2 air men and their birds and when I asked about them he shyly told me they were pictures of him and his friends. He treated me very well and I liked him from the moment we met. The skipper was a gentle quiet man named Jody Weisel. In the summer of 1976 I was hired to work the season on the 68 foot Troller Mary Beth. Please do me a favor and pass this on so that untold thousands can read it.Īs a teenager I was a commercial fisherman fishing salmon out of Moss Landing harbor. Please forward this email to everyone you know. ![]() Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. ![]() No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. 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. 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. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. 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 asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day. I told him "Yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was."Īt that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem. Do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. " at which point my heart skipped.Īt that point, again, very humbly, he said, "I made the 5 training Jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. Making conversation, I asked him if he d been in the 101st Airborne Or if his son was serving. ![]() 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. I just saw an elderly gentleman having Trouble reading his ticket. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. His character appears in all 10 Episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.
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