Images courtesy: Fred Greaves/USOCpl. Richard Cecil was resting in his hospital bed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany when a group of NFL football coaches gathered at his bedside. After breaking his leg in four places when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle in Afghanistan, Cpl. Cecil was glad to receive such a high-profile visit. Yet due to his selfless instincts, his fellow men and women on the battlefield were still on his mind.
"I appreciate you guys stopping by," he said. "But they’ll really appreciate it even more downrange (in the active war theater). It’ll be a real taste of home for them."
The Cincinnati Bengals website has a nice profile of the second annual USO Coaches Tour. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress, Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox, and Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis took part in this year's trip to Germany and the Persian Gulf. David Krichavsky's article said Lewis, pictured above with Cpl. Cecil, was particularly moved by the strong will displayed by wounded warriors.
"The attitudes of the guys, to want to get back out there with their brothers, is absolutely remarkable," the Bengals coach said.
A USO blog article about the trip, which includes more photos, has a good quote from Childress, the proud father of a volunteer warrior.
"Since my son has enlisted in the Marine Corps I have learned a new appreciation for the freedoms we all enjoy and take for granted. Our armed forces are the most highly skilled, best-trained men and women in the world. Their character is on display on a daily basis because they’re an all-volunteer force. We all owe them a debt of gratitude and this trip is a small way of saying thank you," the Vikings coach said.
The NFL and the USO should both be applauded for this wonderful initiative. While announcers commonly refer to sports stars as "heroes" or "warriors," it is refreshing to see prominent football figures bringing home a real, often unpublicized perspective from overseas. I will not be surprised if each coach shares their war zone experiences with the players they are responsible for training and motivating. There are quite a few highly-paid athletes who could benefit from hearing the stories of America's true superstars.
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