Remembering NFL Heroes

[KendrickPanther]

I just wanted to take a minute to remember some of the great football players and better men who gave their lives for our freedom.

Pat Tillman is the most recognizable to my generation. We are a generation full of cynicism that scoffs at cliches. Pat Tillman was not a cliche. Listening to him talk about his decision to join gives me goosebumps. The media coverage may be overbearing, his death was tragic and unnecessary. But none of that changes who Pat Tillman was.
 

NFL Athletes Who Became Soldiers

Over 1,000 NFL players have served in the Armed Forces.

 

During World War II, 995 NFL athletes joined the ranks of our military and served our country. Of those, 23 died.

Over 200 NFL soldiers defended America in Korea.

Twenty-eight of our NFL soldiers fought in Vietnam, and a handful have shipped out to the Middle East. Three of these brave men have lost their lives.

While the number of NFL soldiers has lessened, the level of commitment for those who serve our country has not.

 

In 1968, the Buffalo Bills drafted James Robert “Bob” Kalsu, an All-American tackle coming out of the University of Oklahoma.  He played one NFL season. After his rookie season with the Bills, Kalsu entered the United States Army.  He was a Second Lieutenant.

Kalsu first stepped down onto Vietnam soil in November, 1969. Some eight months later, on July 21, 1970, Kalsu was killed in action.

On July 23, 1970, two days after Kalsu took his last breath of the foreign Vietnam air, his son, James Robert Kalsu, Jr., was born and took his first breath of United States air.  Only 48 hours separated son from dad.

 

 

    

Some 30-plus years since Bob Kalsu’s untimely death, the Hall of Fame learned of a second pro football player, Don Steinbrunner, who died while serving his country in Vietnam. Steinbrunner, an end from Washington State, played offensive tackle in 1953 for the Cleveland Browns.

Steinbrunner, who joined the ROTC while in college, was called to active duty following his rookie season with Cleveland. Upon completion of a two-year tour of duty as an Air Force navigator, the Bellingham, Washington native considered returning to the Browns, but instead opted to pursue a military career.

 

In 1966, Steinbrunner was called to serve in Vietnam. Not long after his arrival, he was shot in the knee during an aerial mission. Due to his injury, he was offered an opportunity to accept a less dangerous assignment, but declined, preferring to return to his unit. According to his family, the 35-year-old Steinbrunner reasoned that he was better suited to serve his country than many of the younger, less seasoned soldiers he’d observed. It was a decision that cost him his life. On July 20, 1967, Steinbrunner’s plane was shot down over Kontum, South Vietnam. There were no survivors.

Posthumously, Don Steinbrunner was awarded the purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. His citation read in part, “Disregarding the hazards of flying the difficult target terrain and the opposition presented by hostile ground forces, he led the formation through one attack and returned to make a second attack. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Major Steinbrunner reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
 

Bob Kalsu

 

Don Steinbrunner

 

Jack Lummus

NY Giants, KIA Iwo Jima 1945

 

Men like Chuck Bednarik, Tom Landry, and Sid Luckman are remembered for the great things they accomplished on the field after returning from World War II. The men on this list never had that opportunity.

 

World War II

Cpl. Mike Basca (HB, Philadelphia, 1941)—Killed in France in 1944

Lt. Charlie Behan (E, Detroit, 1942)—Killed in Okinawa in 1945

Maj. Keith Birlem (E, Cardinals-Washington, 1939)—Killed in England in 1943

Lt. Al Blozis (T, Giants, 1942-1944)—Killed in France in 1945

Lt. Chuck Braidwood (E, Portsmouth-Cleveland-Cardinals-Cincinnati, 1930-1933)—Killed in South Pacific in 1944

Lt. Young Bussey (QB, Bears, 1940-1941)—Killed in Philippines in 1944

Lt. Jack Chevigny (Coach, Cardinals, 1932)—Killed on Iwo Jima in 1945

Capt. Ed Doyle (E, Frankford-Pottsville, 1924-1925)—Killed in North Africa in 1942

Lt. Col. Grassy Hinton (B, Staten Island, 1932)—Killed in East Indies in 1944

Capt. Smiley Johnson (G, Green Bay, 1940-1941)—Killed on Iwo Jima in 1945

Lt. Eddie Kahn (G, Boston/Washington, 1935-1937)—Died in Leyte in 1945

Sgt. Alex Ketzko (T, Detroit, 1943)—Killed in France in 1944

Capt. Lee Kizzire (FB, Detroit, 1937)—Killed in New Guinea in 1943

Lt. Jack Lummus (E, Giants, 1941)—Killed on Iwo Jima in 1945

Bob Mackert (rank unknown) (T, Rochester Jeffersons, 1925)—location of death unknown

Frank Maher (rank unknown) (B, Pittsburgh-Cleveland Rams, 1941)—location of death unknown

Pvt. Jim Mooney (E-G-FB, Newark-Brooklyn-Cincinnati-St. Louis-Cardinals, 1930-1937)—Killed in France in 1944

Lt. John O’Keefe (Front office, Philadelphia)—Killed in Panama (date unknown)

Chief Spec. Gus Sonnenberg (B, Buffalo-Columbus-Detroit-Providence, 1923-1928, 1930)—Died of illness at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1944

Lt. Len Supulski (E, Philadelphia, 1942)—Killed in plane crash in Nebraska in 1944

Lt. Don Wemple (E, Brooklyn, 1941)—Killed in India in 1944

Lt. Chet Wetterlund (HB, Cardinals-Detroit, 1942)—Killed in plane crash off New Jersey coast in 1944

Capt. Waddy Young (E, Brooklyn, 1939-1940)—Killed in Tokyo in 1945

Vietnam

Lt. Bob Kalsu (G, Buffalo, 1968)—Killed  while defending Base Ripcord in 1970

Maj. Don Steinbrunner (T, Cleveland Browns, 1953)—Killed in South Vietnam in 1967

War in the Middle East

Cpl. Pat Tillman (DB, Arizona, 1998-2001)—Killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004
 

 

 

 

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/story.aspx?story_id=88

 

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/war/worldwar2/honor_roll.aspx

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/935554-veterans-day-a-tribute-to-the-26-nfl-players-who-died-defending-our-country

 

And while this isn't a story that has ended in death, I wanted to include the ladies of the NFL who have served as well.

 

Rachel Washburn left the Philadelphia Eagles Cheer leading squad to server as an Intelligence Officer.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/eagles/2013/12/19/cheerleader-rachel-washburn-army-intelligence-officer-afghanistan/4134549/

 

[4Corners]

Glen Coffee quit the nfl a few years ago and is a ranger now I think. There was a deadspin article on him I read.

[EMSMedic79]

Good research. Pretty cool thread.

[Jimmy]

Excellent thread. 

[Panthers8969]

I forge the name of the guy, but some black dude who couldn't swim jumped into a lake to save I think it was 3 boys. He drowned but ended up saving the boys. He had just been named the oroty too.

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

I forge the name of the guy, but some black dude who couldn't swim jumped into a lake to save I think it was 3 boys. He drowned but ended up saving the boys. He had just been named the oroty too.

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

 

Joe Delaney, Chiefs RB. So sad. I think only one of the boys survived though.

 

[KendrickPanther]

Joe Delaney, Chiefs RB. So sad. I think only one of the boys survived though.

 

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/29/remembering-joe-delaney-29-years-later/

 

 

Twenty-nine years ago today, a budding NFL star did something that few of us ever would do.  And he made the ultimate sacrifice while doing it.

Chiefs running back Joe Delaney, a 24-year-old father of three young girls who needed him, tried to save three young boys who needed him, in that moment, even more.

On June 29, 1983, the boys had waded into a man-made water hole that had a deep end they didn’t know about.  They soon were struggling, and Delaney reacted.

As Frank Deford, then of Sports Illustrated, later explained it, “There were all sorts of people around, but only Joe dashed to the pond. There was a little boy there. ‘Can you swim?’ he asked Joe.

“‘I can’t swim good,’ Joe said, ‘but I’ve got to save those kids.  If I don’t come up, get somebody.’  And he rushed into the water.”

One of the boys made it out, two didn’t.  Neither did Joe Delaney.

It didn’t matter that Joe Delaney couldn’t swim very well.  It mattered that three boys were in trouble.

Nearly three full decades after his death, Joe Delaney’s ongoing message to the rest of us is that there are plenty of ways to help people who are in trouble, ways that don’t involve risks to life and limb.

And so when the time comes to make excuses for not lending a hand, that’s the time to remember Joe Delaney.

 

As far as I know Joe was not in the military but under this thread title he is definitely and NFL hero.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Not football related but if interested google an Olympic runner Louis Zamperini. Was on the same Olympic team that went to Germany with Jesse Owens and then became an Airman who was captured by the Japanese. There is a novel called Unbroken that chronicles his story and it is excellent. Bonafide American Hero.