As you read this, you will see some were drafted and some enlisted. The one that always sticks out is Bob Feller. Bob, while in the middle of his pitching career, enlisted in the military two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In a 1990 interview Youtube video of Bob Feller interview Bob tells how, although he lost four years of his playing career, he did not regret one moment he spent fighting the enemy in World War II. He goes on to say:
"I'm no hero. Heroes don't come back. Survivors return home. Heroes never come home. If anyone thinks I'm a hero, I'm not."
Well said by a great pitcher and an even greater man.
Major league baseball players (as in all professional sports) have served a role in every war from WWI to Vietnam. Everyone of those men played a part in helping protect the freedom we enjoy today.
Today, Memorial Day, we honor those men and woman who gave their lives so we can live ours. We should also say "thank you" to the millions who have served and those who still serve in our military. That includes our Boys of Summer - those still here and those we have lost since.
"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is."Robert Feller
