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GAME FACTS^j THE EVENT: The 108th annual Army-Navy game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. CBS will begin its broadcast at noon ET on Saturday, Dec. 1. RECORDS: Navy leads with 51 wins to Army's 49. There have been seven ties. BEGINNINGS: The first game was played in 1890, with Navy winning 24-0. RECENT TRENDS: Navy has won five in a row and eight of the last 10, including last year's 26-14 win. STADIUMS PLAYED: At first, the game’s venue alternated between the academies. Since then, it has been played most frequently in Philadelphia, including last year at Lincoln Financial Field. It also has been played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.; Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia; the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.; Soldier Field in Chicago; as well as the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium in New York. A \ I ' Presidents like Truman take part in the tradition. ★ A Legacy of Service ★ Michael J. Soth and I were high school classmates at Pomona Catholic in California. We were friendly ri vals, and he ended up at West Point, and I went to the Naval Academy. We corresponded the entire time. There’s a tradition that first-year plebes at both acade mies exchange cuff links during the game weekend, so we did that After graduation, I served on a submarine in the waters off Vietnam. Mike learned Vietnamese and served as an adviser to the South Vietnam army. We continued to correspond. One time, he wrote about the strong quality of Vietnamese men he worked with. him to know about the uncle he never met. I still wear his cuff link, along with mine. J.W. "Bill" Sheehan Waterford, Conn. Navy Class of 1963 8 USA WEEKEND • Nov. 23-25,2007 Shortly after writing, he was killed in action. I stayed in touch with his family. His twin brother, Mar ty, had a son and named him Michael. When Michael gradu ated from high school, I sent him that last letter. I wanted ARM Y/vs/NAVY Continued from previous page ★ Brothers in Arms ★ In 1974,1 was a rail-thin plebe from rural Florida, the grandson of a sharecropper and honored j to be entering West Point. I wasn’t the least bit in timidated. I felt em- a powered. I was the product and dream of millions of other V African-Americans H who didn't have the « chance to do what I * was doing and attend a service academy. I stood on their shoulders, fueled by their pride and courage. This w’as especially true when it came time to perform our walk-on I during the Army-Navy game that year, my first ever. As we finished and left the field, we got close to the plebes from Annapolis who were also on the field and attempted to out cheer them. Our side got louder. Then their side got louder. Suddenly, the crowds spilled into each other and an impromptu mass wrestling match took hold. Grown-ups tried to break it up, so we sprinted away to the sides of the field to avoid what would certainly if Never Out of Uniform ★ When we were seniors, my classmate and I stayed at my mom’s house near Philadelphia and then visited my uncle just before the game. After we left, my uncle discovered that my friend had left his black leather gloves behind. The gloves were part of the uniform, and you could not be seen without them. My uncle raced to the sta dium. When he found my friend outside the stadium, getting ready in for mation to march inside, he gave him the gloves. But not before observing my friend’s “backup” plan: He was wearing black socks on his hands instead of on his feet! He had figured that no one would ever notice. John Reed Alamo, Calif. Army Class of 1968 4 ■ i W y || I was the product and dream of millions of other African-Americans. I .. I " Gloves were part of the uniform; you could not be seen ■ be a stiff punishment Before I ran away in a sea of Army gray, I locked eyes with the Annapolis plebe who I w’as wrestling with. We ran . toward each other and em- L braced, then, as if this tradition were an in ife stinctive reflex, I took jagM off one of my cuff SPIV And he took : .Mr off one of his. We e.\- changed them, shook hands and then splinted W for safety. I never knew’ W his name. I never even saw him again. r Alter graduation, 1 served in military intelligence for five years, and then, as a private citizen and entrepreneur, I founded Family Digest Magazine. But Army ex periences like that one will remain with me for my w hole life. During every Army-Navy game, I have worn my West Print cuff link on one wrist and that Annapolis plebe’s on the other. Darryl L. Mobley Austin Army Class of 1978 if Switching Sides for Sportsmanship ★ In 1942, America fought a two-front war, and trans portation was strained. No trains or buses could carry spectators to games. Navy was the home team in An napolis. West Point sent its team, but no rooting sec tion. The Navy decided it would be sportsmanlike to balance the cheering, so tw T o battalions were desig nated as “Army cadets.” I w’as in one of those battal ions. We gave Army cheers and sang Army songs all through the game. On game day, after the national anthem, we actually yelled “Beat Navy!” I then served on a destroyer fighting Japan. Fast forward to now; in Tallahassee, Fla., where I retired. There have been both West Point and Annapolis gradu- As “cadets,” we shouted Army cheers and sang Army songs. ates here, and for years we w’atched the games together. In fact, the West Point crowd was astonished at how well I knew their cheers! C 3 Ben Colmery Tallahassee, Fla. Navy Class of 1943 TRUMAN WITH PLAYERS: ABB* ROWE. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. COURTESY HARRY S TRUMAN LIBRARY; MOBLEY BRENT HUMPHREYS FOR USA WEEKENO