With the 4th of July weekend coming up, we want to take the time to honor former lettermen who not just served our country, but also gave their lives for it. This list is not all-inclusive and any omission is purely incidental. If you know of someone we missed, please lets us know in the comments.
Afghanistan
Pat Tillman (2004)
Following the September 11 attacks, Tillman completed the 15 games remaining on the NFL schedule with the Arizona Cardinals and then turned down a three-year, $3 million contract extension to enlist in the Army. He entered Ranger school and was part of the first invasion into Iraq.
Afterward, he re-entered Ranger school and graduated in 2003. In 2004, during another tour in Afghanistan, Tillman was killed by friendly fire. The circumstance surrounding his death and the aftermath of the military’s cover up played out on national television for years following his death. A movie about his life and death will come out at the end of August.
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Vietnam
Bob Kalsu (1970)
Kalsu was an All-American offensive lineman at Oklahoma and an eighth-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in 1968. He was Buffalo’s starting guard in 1968 and was named the team’s rookie of the year. He entered the Army following his one season to fulfill his ROTC obligation. On July 21, 1970, his unit came under enemy fire at FSB Ripcord. He was killed in action.
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Don Steinbrunner (1967)
Steinbrunner was a team captain for Washington State College (now Washington State University) and played one season with the Cleveland Browns in 1953. He joined the Air Force as a navigator and was briefly an assistant coach for the Air Force football team. He was sent to Vietnam in 1966 and on July 20, 1967, he and four other crewmen were shot down during a defoliation mission. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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World War II
Jack Chevigny (1945)
Chevigny played under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame and has a unique place in Fighting Irish history. He scored the game-tying touchdown against Army in the second half – the half after Rockne’s fabled “Win one for the Gipper” speech. Chevigny went on to coaching and even defeated his alma mater as the head coach of Texas in 1934. Chevigny was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
A Notre Dame legend following his death involves a pen he received after Texas beat Notre Dame. The pen was inscribed, “To Jack Chevigny, a Notre Dame boy who beat Notre Dame.” According to the legend, the pen was found in the hands of the Japanese envoy on the U.S.S. Missouri and was going to be used to sign the surrender documents. The pen was later sent back to his home with the inscription was changed to read “To Jack Chevigny, a Notre Dame boy who gave his life for his country in the spirit of old Notre Dame.”
Waddy Young (1945)
Young was the first consensus All-American in Oklahoma history and led the Sooners to their very first conference championship and first bowl berth. He played two seasons with the Brooklyn (football) Dodgers before enlisting into the armed forces as a B-17 Bomber pilot. He flew 25 missions against German forces then volunteered to go to the Pacific. On January 9, 1945, after a successful bombing mission in Tokyo, Young flew his unharmed plane back into action to help a besieged plane. He’d be shot down moments later.
Jack Lummus (1945)
Lummus was a starting end for Baylor and even played a season for the New York Giants in 1941. Following his one season with the Giants, Lummus enlisted in the Marine Corps. Lummus was killed in action during the Battle for Iwo Jima. After he and his division knocked out three enemy strongholds, Lummus stepped on a land mine, losing both his legs. At the aid station, he told his doctor, “Well, doc, the New York Giants lost a mighty good end today.” He died shortly thereafter. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.
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Nile Kinnick (1943)
Kinnick won the 1939 Heisman Trophy his senior season and led the Hawkeyes to a No. 9 national ranking and a 6-1-1 record. Kinnick enlisted in the Naval Air reserve three days before Pearl Harbor. He had written, “There is no reason in the world why we shouldn’t fight for the preservation of a chance to live freely, no reason why we shouldn’t suffer to uphold that which we want to endure.” Kinnick died on June 2, 1943, during a training flight off the coast of Venezuela.
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Al Blozis (1945)
Blozis was an offensive tackle at Georgetown who was also the national indoor and outdoor shotput champion in 1942 and ’43. He played football for the New York Giants in 1942 and ’43 and three games in 1944 while he was on furlough with the Army. In January 1945, while his platoon was scouting enemy lines in France, two of his men didn’t return from their patrols. Blozis went looking for them by himself and never returned. First listed as missing, his death was confirmed in April that year.
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World War I
Hobey Baker (1918)
Baker is more well-known for his connection to college hockey (the Heisman of college hockey is called the Hobey Baker Award) but Baker was a very good college football player at Princeton. He helped them win the national championship in 1911. Following his college career, Baker worked in banking and enlisted in the Army in 1917 during World War I, becoming a pilot. Baker died just weeks after the armistice ending the war while he was test-flying a plane. His orders to return home were found in his pocket.
Other players killed in service:
Mike Basca (HB, Villanova) – Killed in France in 1944
Charlie Behan (E, Northern Illinois) – Killed on Okinawa in 1945
Keith Birlem (E, San Jose State) – Killed trying to land combat-damaged bomber in England in 1943
Chuck Braidwood (E, Loyola Chicago) – Member of Red Cross. Killed in South Pacific in the winter of 1944-1945
Young Bussey (QB, LSU) – Killed in Philippines landing assault in 1944
Ed Doyle (E) – Killed during North Africa invasion in 1942
Grassy Hinton (B) – Killed in plane crash in East Indies in 1944
Smiley Johnson (G, Georgia) – Killed on Iwo Jima in 1945
Eddie Kahn (G) – Died from wounds suffered during Leyte invasion in 1945
Alex Ketzko (T) – Killed in France in 1944
Lee Kizzire (FB, Wyoming) – Shot down near New Guinea in 1943
Bob Mackert (T)
Frank Maher (B, Toledo)
Jim Mooney (E-G-FB) – Killed by sniper in France in 1944
John O’Keefe – Killed flying patrol mission in Panama Canal Zone
Gus Sonnenberg (B, Detroit Mecry) – Died of illness at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1944
Len Supulski (E, Dickinson College) – Killed in plane crash in Nebraska in 1944
Don Wemple (E, Colgate) – Killed in plane crash in India in 1944
Chet Wetterlund (HB, Illinois Wesleyan) – Killed in plane crash off New Jersey coast in 1944
5 Comments
I think this article is outrageous. I mean, millions of other soldiers have died in the history of wars, so why are these guys so special? Just because they were famous athletes? Thats ridiculous. They are no better than the other soldiers that have given their lives for our country.
Maybe he was making a point that instead of choosing sports and money, they would rather fight for our country.
God Bless our men and women that have made our world a special place.
I think you need to take a step back and look at the time that these men served. Professional athletes worked normal jobs. Their salaries of all but the true superstars were not enough to raise a family and in some cases themselves. The exception to this is Pat Tillman who walked away from a 10,000,000 contract to enlist following 9-11.
In selecting to name certain athletes he chose to spotlight them amongst their peers both athletically and militarily. An All-American award and a Purple Heart are honors reserved for people who are the best of the best. One is for the football field, the other is for the battle field.
By listing these veterans as a group they stand out with and beside the men they fought with and gave their lives to support. Many other soldiers also gave their lives beside these men. The purpose of this article is to highlight what they did before they enlisted.
Great Job and God Bless All Soldiers
Hey Pissed! Seriously? This is a website about athletes and what happened to them after their playing days ended. Who should be in the article?
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[...] This is a list of football players but let's not forget all our service men and women this 4th of JulySource:http://www.lostlettermen.com/2010/07/feature-honoring-lettermen-killed-in-service/ [...]