To the Moon

Images courtesy: Facebook

Spc. Christopher Moon had a special gift. At first glance, one might think his ability to throw a baseball is being referenced. Yet Spc. Moon had another quality that very few young men possess with such authenticity: courage.

Some might say that from a personal standpoint, Moon had almost nothing to gain by joining the military. After being named the 2006 Southern Arizona Player Of The Year, he accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Arizona. As the Wildcats were enjoying a number one national pre-season ranking in 2008, the future star hung up his cleats before ever toeing the rubber at the college level. Moon told his manager that he was leaving the baseball diamond for a much more important field of battle.

"Like Pat Tillman before him, Chris had a calling to serve our country in the military," The Tucson Citizen's Andy Morales wrote in a moving blog post. "He didn’t have to. He wanted to."

The Arizona Daily Star reports that Moon finished Army training at the top of his class. He then deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As Carol Ann Alaimo and Ryan Finley's article explains, Moon's competitive spirit endeared him to teammates as they worked toward a common goal that far exceeded being on top at the end of nine innings.

"He was a guy who wanted to get out there and get after it," [Tucson High coach Oscar] Romero said. "What better place to play the game of life and get after it for your country than the Army?"

According to the Pentagon, the soldier suffered devastating wounds from a terrorist-planted improvised explosive device on July 6 in Arghandab, Afghanistan. After the emergency amputations of the gifted athlete's legs, Moon succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He was 20 years old.

"It is with deep regret that we must inform you all that Chris, as strong as he was, has passed on," a group of friends wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to Spc. Moon. "We continue to ask for you support not only for Chris but for the Moon family in such a difficult time. Our prayers and sympathy go out to his family, friends and loved one. Rest peacefully kid, you'll always be Tucson's hero."

On January 15, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt mailed his famous "green light letter" to baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The president had been asked his opinion about how America's struggle for freedom overseas would impact its national pastime.

"Baseball provides a recreation which does not last over two hours or two hours and a half, and which can be got for very little cost. And, incidentally, I hope that night games can be extended because it gives an opportunity to the day shift to see a game occasionally.

As to the players themselves, I know you agree with me that the individual players who are active military or naval age should go, without question, into the services."

Despite living in a 21st century media culture which reserves an hour of national airtime for LeBron James to announce which multimillion dollar contract he will accept, Moon had a 20th century mindset similar to President Roosevelt's. Sport is recreation, while defending the United States from evil and tyranny is real. It's a message the fallen soldier's grieving high school coach gave his players just before a July 14 game on the same diamond Moon once dominated.

"While the normally stoic Oscar Romero, who broke down talking to the boys – not young men – my son Joseph Serrano included, listened intently and learned about how much is really sacrificed so that they could play a game last night," Nathan Serrano wrote.

We will never know how high Spc. Christopher Moon could have climbed as a ballplayer. Yet to fully understand his legacy, the righteousness of the path he chose must be recognized. He protected others, while also staying true to himself. Instead of being remembered solely for athletic stardom, the Bronze Star this volunteer warrior earned on the battlefield will shine brighter than a most valuable player trophy ever could.

Note: Please consider joining the Facebook group "Wristbands to support our soldier Chris J. Moon." All proceeds from wristband purchases will be given to the Moon family in an effort to provide financial and emotional support.