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He parachuted into France on D day and fought for a month in Normandy eighty days in Holland thirty-nine in the harshly cold winter of Bastogne and for nearly thirty more near Haguenau, France, and the Ruhr pocket in Germany. As one of the original men who trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, Shifty was one out of only two soldiers in Easy Company to initially earn the coveted expert marksman designation. Little did Shifty know his finely-tuned skills would one day save his life - and the lives of his friends. His father trained him to listen to the woods, to 'see' without his eyes. He is referred to 'one of the lost ones.As a boy growing up in the remote mining town of Clinchco, Virginia, Darrell 'Shifty' Powers's goal was to become the best rifle shot he could be. Lowrey thinks fondly of Easy Company's men, describing themselves as 'young, carefree, 10 feet tall and bulletproof.' He chose not to associate with his old comrades, however, because he did not want anything to trigger the war memory that will set him back. He would retreat to the stockroom if he felt an attack coming. He eventually worked in the shoe business ran by his friend in Montgomery. The epilepsy also made it hard for him to find jobs. He therefore went to business school in Montogomery, but he could not handle it due to headaches and concentration problems. Lowrey wanted to become a CPA and a tax attorney. He spent a year at Cushing, and thought that the time there taught him 'patience, humility and hope.' Lowrey and Barbara got married in December 28, 1946, and had two children. They fell in love, but since Lowrey decided to go to Cushing General Hospital for further treatment, he told her to date others. He met Barbara Drew, who was 16, in a cafe while still in the hospital. Lowrey had posttraumatic epilepsy due to his wound. He was sent to a hospital in England and later to hospitals in the States for operations. Lowrey also fought in Carentan and was wounded there when a shrapnel hit his head. He spent the night alone, crawling and scurrying with his machine gun. He hung on a tree and had to cut himself down. Lowrey made his first combat jump on D-Day into Normandy. Lowrey did not recall the incident, but did not discount it either, as he admitted having an awful temper. Lowrey apologized to Malarkey next morning. Joseph Toye grabbed Lowrey away, and saved Malarkey. When Malarkey tried to comfort him, Lowrey was sticking a knife to his gut. His comrade Donald Malarkey remembered one night Lowrey was drunk and crying in the barracks, probably after some serious harassing in the pubs. Lowrey was sent to Aldbourne, England for further training and preparation for the invasion of Europe. The incident was recounted in Shifty Powers's biography, which described Lowrey as a good-hearted farmboy.

Draftee was later given to the nurses in Fort Benning. Photos of Lowrey and Draftee were featured on newspapers. The dog was named Draftee and became the mascot of Easy Company. Lowrey's comrades helped him to take his stuff in his backpack, and Lowrey carry the dog in his backpack. Noticing that the dog was limping, Lowrey picked him up. On the march from Toccoa to Atlanta, a stray dog had been following the soldiers for several miles. He then volunteered for paratroopers, and was sent to Toccoa, Georgia for training. Lowrey wanted to get into the navy, but was rejected because he failed the colorblindness test. After finishing eleventh grade, he got a boat loading job in the shipyards. He grew up in the farm his family owned and worked there when he got old enough.