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You should
see his house,
with Army
paraphernalia,
chow, sodas
and beer.
how important this tradition is.
I’m now stationed in Pennsylvania, and
I’ll be close to the stadium in Baltimore. So
Ken had his nurse call me a while back, and
he mouthed these words: “Tell Pat that I
want him at the game this year with his wife
and son.” He knows my son loves Army
football. But I wouldn’t hear of it
I said to him, “No way, dude. Not until
you’re gone. Then I’ll get a sideline pass,
look up at the sky during the flyover and
think of you.”
Pat Mangin
Annvilie, Pa.
Army Class of 1990
ARMY CAO6TS: RUSTY KENNB7Y, AP PHOTO; STAUBACH: BRUCE BENNETT STUWOS/GCTTY IMAGES;
ARMY AND NAVY PLAYERS: WAN McNAMEE. REUTERS/COR8IS; NAVY SALUTE: CHRS TOOTMAN, GfTTY IMAGES
so they were send
ing us cellphone
images live from
there. That’s right
I went to Cedar
Rapids before I
saw my family, af
ter being gone for
16 months. That’s
■■r *»
5
★ A New Tradition ★
Growing up, my family always watched the game over
my aunt’s chili and pumpkin pie. When I was in junior
high, my family visited Navy, and I asked an officer
about attending. “Little girls don’t go
here,” he told me. But the next year,
the first class with women entered.
Then I was accepted. Being at my
first Army-Navy game was thrilling.
I realized that I was part of some
thing much bigger than me. I never
made it to a game after graduation
I The men are competitors
on the field, but they're
united by duty.
Once we left
the stadium,
we planned
to make it
a tradition.
★ Part of a Team Forever ★
I’m serving in Iraq, but I’m never far from West
Pbint I loved football, but at 5-foot-4 and 128
pounds, my best way to contribute was as a team
manager. That’s when I got my nickname, “Blitz
Krieg,” from Coach Jack Hecker.
During my first season, my mother
got leukemia. The team provided end
■jX less support. I’ll never forget the
thrill in her voice that year when
she saw me on TV on the side
• ml lines during an Army victory
over Navy. After she died, I at
/ tended a local college while I
J helped my dad deal with his loss.
I returned to West Point in Janu
ary 1992.
During spring football training in 1993, coaches
summoned me to the training room, where I was
told that my dad died
unexpectedly Without
my asking, my coaches
and teammates took
care of everything for
me, making all arrange
ments for emergency
leave. A fellow team
manager put a wad of cash in my hand, knowing
that I may need it I returned to West Point and
stood on the sidelines for two more wins over
Navy. I no longer had a mother or a father, but
I had a home with Army football.
Rob “Blitz" Krieg
Gainesville, Mo.
Army Class of 1994
■ until last year. My two kids, now ages 6 and 8,
had always watched it on TV and loved the
“commercials,” when they’d show deployed men
and women from places around the world. See
ing it live was even better. Once we left the stadium,
the kids asked, “Can we do this again?” We planned to
make it a tradition.
Our tradition will have to wait I was recently mobi-
lized and sent to Kuwait My children understand
that it is my time to serve. I can only hope that
when they’re watching, Fll show up on one of those
“commercials,” so we can be together in spirit
Melanie V. Doherty
Newbenrytown, Pa.
Navy Class of 1984
Continued on next page
I’ll never forget
the thrill in my
mother’s voice
when she saw
me on TV.
USA WEEKEND • Nov. 23-25,2007
7