Nicknamed "the Pride of the Ghetto," three-time world champion Barney Ross (Cameron Mitchell) is used to hitting hard - and winning! But after serving his country in Guadalcanal, Barney must battle his own personal demons before they destroy everything he's fought for all his life.
America’s preoccupation with sports arguably surpasses any other nation’s obsession. The recent death of Pat Tillman, a U.S. Army Ranger serving in Afghanistan, is reminiscent of an era when military service and the fate of celebrity athletes resonated throughout the nation. Tillman’s sacrifice harkens back to a time when it was commonplace for American athletes to unhesitatingly volunteer and demonstrate true heroism in the service to their nation. The military newspaper Stars and Stripes estimated that 800 sports stars, at both the collegiate and professional level, were killed during World War II.
Just as America’s general population rallied behind the United States’ World War II effort, so too did Football. Hundreds of players joined the effort through enlistment. 995 NFL personnel served in the military during World War II. Baseball players served in every branch of the military and war bond drives were held at every ballpark. Thirty-five Hall of Fame members and more than 500 major league players served in World War II.
Sports
Sir Frederick Arthur Browning, HMS Army
British lieutenant general. He was the creator and chief of all British airborne forces. He was a graduate of Sandhurst and participated in the 1920 Olympic games where he ran the 120-yard hurdles, rode in the horse-jumping competition, and broke his leg
bobsledding. On May 10, 1940, he was in Arras, France, and was awakened by the opening barrage of the German offensive against the West. In 1918, he was asleep on the same street when the Germans began their last great offensive of World War I and was awakened by the first artillery salvos. He was the originator of the phrase "a bridge too far" to characterize the overambitious plan of the Arnhem offensive in 1944. His wife was Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca and many other novels.
Jack Dempsey, USCG
U.S. heavyweight boxing champion. He attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army immediately after Pearl Harbor but was rejected for being overage and because he had no prior military training. Dempsey then enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he became the physical fitness director and morale officer at Sheepshead, New York. In 1945, Dempsey went to the Pacific, landing with the assault forces on Okinawa. During the battle, he pursued, caught, and after a struggle subdued a fleeing Japanese, only to find out that he had caught what appeared to be a ninety-year-old man.
Joe Louis, US Army
Served with the Special Services Division for 14 months and entertained more than 2,000,000 soldiers by his frequent boxing exhibitions and talks.
Charley Paddock, USMC
He enlisted in the Marine Corps at the outbreak of WW II. Captain Paddock was killed in action while serving in the Pacific, once known as the world’s fastest human.
Barney Ross, USMC
In 1942, at the age of 32, Ross joined the Marines. By November, he was stationed on Guadalcanal with the 2dMarDiv. Ross and four of his Marine buddies were isolated from the main body of their unit. All except Ross were killed, and Ross alone kept the Japanese assault at bay. After 13 hours, Ross was rescued, and 22 Japanese lay dead around his defensive position. For his heroism, Ross was awarded the Silver Star. The first fighter to hold both the lightweight and welterweight titles simultaneously and never was knocked out. The movie Monkey on My Back (1957) related Ross’ inspirational life.
Lou Zamperini, USAAF
Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in September 1941, and after being commissioned a second lieutenant the following August, he was deployed to Hawaii as a B-24 bombardier. After flying a number of missions, his aircraft went down due to mechanical failure on May 27, 1943. After 47 days adrift in the ocean, Zamperini and the only other surviving crew member (pilot Russ Phillips) were rescued by the Japanese Navy. Louis was held in captivity through the end of the war and returned to a hero's welcome; the Torrance airport was renamed Zamperini Field in 1946.
Tom Harmon
During World War II he enlisted as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. Early in 1943, Harmon parachuted into the South American Jungle when his plane flew into a tropical storm. None of the other crewmen bailed out or survived. He was the object of a massive regional search operation once his plane was reported missing. Four days later he stumbled into a clearing in Dutch Guiana. He transferred to single seat fighters.
He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for his actions in China with the 449th Fighter Squadron including having his plane shot down. He saved the silk parachute and it was later used as the material for his wife's wedding dress.
Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr.
He found glory on the gridiron and death on the battlefield. He’s one of two NFL players to win the Congressional Medal of Honor and the only one to win it posthumously. The circumstances of his death, the brazen heroism, will make you shudder.
He was a native of Ennis, Texas and a baseball and football star at Baylor University. He signed with the N.Y. Football Giants in 1941. His rookie campaign was one of great promise. Lummus was a two-way end as the Giants won the Eastern Division title before losing to Chicago, 37-9, in the NFL championship game, just two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A month later, in January 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He would never return to pro football.
Lummus rose to become a Marine Corps company commander. He stormed the black sand beaches of Iwo Jima in February 1945 in what proved to be the most heroic battle in the long history of the Corps.
After twice being knocked over by grenade blasts, the second of which resulted in shoulder wounds, Lummus continued to attack entrenched positions when "suddenly he was at the center of a powerful explosion, obscured by flying rock and dirt. As it cleared, his men saw him rising as if in a hole. A land mine had blown off both his legs that had carried him to football honors at Baylor.
They watched in horror as he stood on the bloody stumps, calling them on. Several men, crying now, ran to him and, for a moment, talked of shooting him to stop the agony. But he was still shouting for them to move out, move out, and the platoon scrambled forward. Their tears turned to rage, they swept an incredible 300 yards over the impossible ground and at nightfall were on the ridge, overlooking the sea.
After being hit by the land mine, the legless Lummus was carried to a battlefield hospital and lived for several more hours. There, according to surgeon Lt. E. Graham Evans, Lummus was thinking of football when he uttered his final words. “I guess the New York Giants,” Lummus said, “have lost the services of a damn good end.”
Maurice Lee "Footsie" Britt, Jr.
He entered the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was supported by an athletic scholarship in both football and basketball. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1941 and played football with the Lions during the 1941 season. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Britt immediately entered the United States Army as a second lieutenant. He saw action in French Morocco, Sicily, and Italy. He landed at Casablanca and was jokingly said to have chased German General Erwin Rommel across all of north Africa.
In February 1944, Britt was fighting in Italy. He was part of the initial invasion at Anzio, where he won a battlefield promotion to captain. On October 10, 1943, Britt did calisthenics to draw German fire at the battleground of Mignano, Italy, which his fellow soldiers referred to thereafter as "Britt's Junction". He managed to repel the Germans, but he lost his right arm. He was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his heroism. He also received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. Britt was the first recipient of the top three combat decorations in a single war.
In 1966, he was elected lieutenant governor. He was re-elected in 1968 but did not seek a third term in 1970.
Football
Chuck Bednarik, USAAF
Bednarik flew on 30 combat missions over Germany as a gunner during World War II.
Charles Behan, USMC
A former Detroit Lion who was awarded the Navy Cross, Lieutenant Charles Behan was killed on Okinawa.
Angelo Bertelli, USMC
Notre Dame’s first Heisman Trophy winner, left college in 1943 at midterm and joined the Marine Corps. He saw combat action on Guam and Iwo Jima.
Paul Brown, USN
Coach of the football team at Great Lakes Pre-Flight.
Tony Canadeo, US Army
In 1945, World War II interrupted Canadeo's pro career.
Jack Chevigny, USMC
He did not play in the NFL but by 1932 – before he had even turned 30 – he was given the head coaching job of the then-Chicago Cardinals. In February 1945, Chevigny found himself among the first waves of U.S. Marines to storm the beaches at Iwo Jima. Within 24 hours, he was dead. Some reports say he was shot by a sniper. The 1946 NFL record book, meanwhile, says he was killed by a direct shell hit as he took cover in a bomb crater.
George Connor, USN
Before transferring to Notre Dame, he served as an executive officer on a sub chaser.
Art Donovan, USMC
Stationed in the Pacific to the end, he took part in some of the fiercest engagements - from Luzon to Iwo Jima.
Bill Dudley, USAAF
He had a sensational rookie pro season with Pittsburgh in 1942 and was service football’s No. 1 player in 1944 while a flight instructor at Randolph Field, Texas.
Weeb Ewbank, USN
Joined Navy and was an assistant coach for Paul Brown at Great Lakes Naval Training Center.
Tom Fears, USAAF
Fears first played football for Santa Clara University but he was drafted for World War II where he spent three years in military service.
Tom Harmon, USAAF
During World War II Tom Harmon enlisted as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He was twice forced to bail out after his airplane was hit with enemy fire, once walking without food and water for four days before being rescued in China. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.
Howard W. “Smiley” Johnson, USMC
Johnson was a star fullback and guard at the University of Georgia from 1937 to 1939. He then spent two seasons as a guard for the Green Bay Packers before joining the Marine Corps soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Johnson earned a Silver Star for “conspicuous gallantry” during the battle for Saipan. Johnson was killed in the battle for Iwo Jima.
Tom Landry, USAAF
Landry attended the University of Texas at Austin but interrupted his education to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force during WW II. Flying 30 missions in a B-17 bomber and survived a crash in Belgium. As a 21-year-old co-pilot, the future Dallas Cowboys coach flew in the 493rd Bomb Group. He followed his older brother into the 8th Air Force; Robert Landry was killed ferrying a Fortress to Britain.
Marv Levy, USAAF
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He failed an eye exam and never was sent overseas.
Jack Lummus, USMC
Killed on Iwo Jima when he stepped on a land mine after single-handedly taking out a Japanese gun emplacement. "I guess the New York Giants have lost the services of a damned good end” were reported to be his last words to a battlefield surgeon. President Harry Truman awarded Lummus the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Wellington Mara, USN
Besides his contributions to football Mara was known for being a strong Catholic and a Pro-Life supporter. He also served as a Lieutenant Commander during World War II for the Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific. That period during the war would be Mara's only prolonged time away from the Giants.
Gino Marchetti, US Army
Gino enlisted in the US Army after graduating high school and fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a machine gunner during World War II.
Ed McCaskey, US Army
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, McCaskey served in the Army's 80th Infantry in France during World War II. He entered the war as a private and emerged as a captain. He won a Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge for his performance in combat.
John 'Blood' McNally, USAAF
He had been an Air Force staff sergeant and cryptographer in India and China during World War II.
Ernie Nevers, USMC
After his football playing career ended in 1932, Nevers began a coaching career, but at the outbreak of World War II, although too old to be drafted, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. While serving in the Pacific, he and his battalion were reported missing for several months. When they were finally found on a deserted island, several had died, and Nevers, who suffered from beri-beri, weighed only 110 pounds. While he was away in the service, his wife died of pnuemonia.
Leo Nomellini, USMC
He enlisted in the Marines and was at Cherry Point, NC. He played for the football team there for one season. During World War II he saw active duty with the marines in the invasion of Saipan and Okinawa.
O.A. "Bum” Phillips, USMC
Coach of the Houston Oilers served with the 4th Raider Bn on Guadalcanal.
Emlen Tunnell, USCG
At Toledo he suffered a broken neck. His injury was severe enough that both the Army and Navy rejected his enlistment efforts during World War II. The Coast Guard finally accepted Em for duty.
Bud Wilkinson, USN
In 1943 he joined the U.S. Navy, where he was an assistant to Faurot with the Iowa Pre-Flight football team, he served as a hangar deck officer on the aircraft carrier Enterprise in the Pacific for almost two years. When World War II ended, new Oklahoma coach Jim Tatum persuaded Wilkinson to join his staff in 1946.
In Part. Dennis Carpenter, a writer, teacher and publisher in Great Neck, N.Y. Copyright 2006 Leatherneck. Corps Athletes of the Past. Military.com. October 13, 2005.
(1957) related Ross’ inspirational life.