1. Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach was born on February 5th, 1942 and he used to be a very talented American professional football player. Given the fact that he was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the boys from the Dallas Cowboys, he was nicknamed “Captain Comeback”, “Roger the Dodger”, and “Captain America”.
Staubach was an attendee at the United States Naval Academy and he won the Heisman Trophy in 1963. After he graduated, he served in the U.S. Navy, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam.
During the war, he served as a supply corps officer, winning the rank of lieutenant. The sportsman stated that the reason why he volunteered for Vietnam was the fact that he wanted to give something back.
2. Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra was one of the most popular sportsmen in the country and also one of the most appreciated catchers that have ever existed. He was born in Saint Louis, in the state of Missouri, in 1925 and he began his impressive baseball career in 1946, with the New York Yankees.
Given the fact that he was considered one of the greatest and most popular catchers in history, he won three Most Valuable Player Awards. He did it while he was leading the team to 10 World Series championship.
Even though the country knows him for his legendary career as a baseball player, many people don’t know that he was a war hero as well. He signed with the New York Yankees in 1943, but put his career on hold and decided to join the Navy.
He served as a gunner’s mate and he was assigned to the attack transport USS Bayfield during World War II.
3. Pat Tillman
Pat Tillman was one of the most important football players in the NFL. After the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11th, he decided to change his path. He left his iconic sports career and enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 2002.
He served in Afghanistan and Iraq and he was killed in a friendly fire incident. Tillman was a good football player and also a good specialist in the army, so he was promoted to corporal posthumously. In addition to that, he also received the Purple Heart and Silver Star medals posthumous.
