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• mm^ ~ Tfriri SSiS^-- ■ WHjfl Hf flj sHHk v 10? 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