What's in a Name? II
"Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men." ~Richard Watson Gilder
Earlier in the year, a sports commentator mentioned that the reason our baseball team was winning was because the team had decided that the name on the front of their jersey's meant more than the name on the back of their jersey's. This small statement opened up a big realization that team can be way more powerful and motivating than one when the purpose is pure.
Today was the 109th match-up of Army vs. Navy in football and the jersey's of the Army - United States Military Academy team said a lot about the athlete's who wore them. The football helmet's were patterned with digitized camouflage and adorned by an American flag at the back. The pants were digitized camo and the jersey's were black with Camo screened numbers. The thing that stuck out to me was what was on the back of their jersey's. Here on the field of football dreams, the backs of the athlete's jersey's all said the same thing, "Duty, Honor, Country". Not the name of the player, not the designated birth name of the ones in the football "battle", but the motto which their university boasts. Duty, Honor, Country.
Beyond the importance of the team they play for, the Army team, was the importance of what they are about, Duty, Honor, Country. Long after the score is forgotten, long into the holiday season when football is almost forgotten, the real reason they do what they do will remain. The truth is, everyone in who wears camouflage in "battle" does it for something much bigger than themselves.
Their duty is to the constitution that they swear to support and defend. Their honor is their integrity, their word, their moral compass . Their country is our country, the United States of America.
How lucky we are that the future of our military sits in the hands of young men who would put all of that before themselves.
Earlier in the year, a sports commentator mentioned that the reason our baseball team was winning was because the team had decided that the name on the front of their jersey's meant more than the name on the back of their jersey's. This small statement opened up a big realization that team can be way more powerful and motivating than one when the purpose is pure.
Today was the 109th match-up of Army vs. Navy in football and the jersey's of the Army - United States Military Academy team said a lot about the athlete's who wore them. The football helmet's were patterned with digitized camouflage and adorned by an American flag at the back. The pants were digitized camo and the jersey's were black with Camo screened numbers. The thing that stuck out to me was what was on the back of their jersey's. Here on the field of football dreams, the backs of the athlete's jersey's all said the same thing, "Duty, Honor, Country". Not the name of the player, not the designated birth name of the ones in the football "battle", but the motto which their university boasts. Duty, Honor, Country.
Beyond the importance of the team they play for, the Army team, was the importance of what they are about, Duty, Honor, Country. Long after the score is forgotten, long into the holiday season when football is almost forgotten, the real reason they do what they do will remain. The truth is, everyone in who wears camouflage in "battle" does it for something much bigger than themselves.
Their duty is to the constitution that they swear to support and defend. Their honor is their integrity, their word, their moral compass . Their country is our country, the United States of America.
How lucky we are that the future of our military sits in the hands of young men who would put all of that before themselves.
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