USO and NFL: Saluting 40 Years With the Troops |
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The National Football League and the USO mark the 40th anniversary of a relationship that has helped bring a touch of home to service members around the world.
In 1966, the NFL joined forces with the USO, becoming the first sports organization to send a group of players to Vietnam and other locations in the Far East. The inaugural USO-NFL tour was comprised of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Willie Davis (Green Bay Packers), Frank Gifford (New York Giants), Sam Huff (New York Giants) and Johnny Unitas (Baltimore Colts).
In the past four decades, NFL stars, including Don Meredith, Larry Csonka, Dick Butkus, Gene Upshaw, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Mike Singletary, have made USO tours, visiting troops in such locations as Somalia, Bosnia, South Korea, Japan, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.
In March 2005, through a donation from the NFL, the USO opened a center at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan named in honor of Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player and Army Ranger who was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan. Larry Izzo of the New England Patriots and Warrick Dunn of the Atlanta Falcons participated in the center's opening during a USO-NFL tour to the region.
In spring 2006, Patrick Kerney of the Atlanta Falcons, Max Starks of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bryce Fisher of the Seattle Seahawks – a graduate of the Air Force Academy and currently a public affairs officer in the Washington Air National Guard – visited military personnel stationed in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and Afghanistan.
NFL All-Stars Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles and Michael Strahan of the New York Giants accompanied former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to Germany over the Memorial Day weekend this year to visit injured troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
Since its inception in the 1920s, the National Football League and its players have answered America's call during times of national crisis and military conflicts. During World War II, the league also helped sell war bonds and donated revenues of 15 preseason games to service charities. More than 1,200 players, coaches and team owners interrupted or delayed their NFL careers to serve in the armed forces during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Twenty-three gave their lives for their country. Three World War II soldiers with pro football connections -- Joe Foss, Maurice Britt and Jack Lummus – received the Medal of Honor.
In addition to Bryce Fisher, several active NFL players have strong military connections. Redskins linebacker Robert McCune is an Army veteran who spent six months in Kuwait and one year in Korea during his three-year tour of duty. Texans safety C.C. Brown is a member of the Mississippi National Guard, while teammate and 2006 No. 1 draft pick Mario Williams will host Marines at a game this fall in honor of his Marine sergeant brother-in-law, Nicholas Hodson, who was killed in Iraq.
In addition, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have teamed with the USO for an unprecedented 60 times since 1979 to boost morale of the men and women of our U.S. military at hundreds of bases and outposts around the world.