Memorial Day and the Pittsburgh Steelers

If you are regular reader of my posts, you know that my normal Monday posts are about the season just played highlighting the game and the one play that changed each game in favor of or against the Mighty Black and Gold.

Today, on this day reserved for remembering and honoring the men and women who have and continue to serve this great nation, I have decided to take a break from the season review and talk about the men who have served and have played for our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

Art McCaffray, US Marine Corps

There is precious little information about Art McCaffray, but he was born on Dec. 26, 1921 in Seattle, WA.

After attending Pacific University, he completed his active duty hitch and played for a year for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a tackle.

In 1950, he was recalled to active duty and shipped out to fight in the Korean War.

Walter Szot, US Marine Corps

Like McCaffray, there is little to be found about Mr. Szot.

What is known is that he played for two years for the Steelers after the Pittsburgh franchise separated from the the legendary “Carpet” team when the Cardinals (from Chicago) and Pittsburgh were a combined (and dreadful) team.

Szot was recalled to active duty in 1951 to serve in the Korean War.

Lieutenant General Ernest C. Cheatham, Jr., US Marine Corps

Ernest Cheatham was born in Long Beach, CA on July 27, 1929.

General Cheatham earned a commission in the Marine Corps in 1952 and served in the Korean War. He briefly left the military to try his luck with the Steelers (as well as the Colts) as a defensive tackle in 1954.

General Cheatham decided a military career was the life for him and returned to the service in 1955.

During the famous Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War, General Cheatham (who was a colonel at the time) earned the Navy Cross for his “dynamic and heroic leadership” (from militarytimes.com, Hall of Valor)of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. For three days, Colonel Cheatham led his men through the city of Hue City. He and his men faced intense resistance from the North Vietnamese, but he was steadfast in his quest to secure key facilities in the city and drive the enemy out. (Click here for a more detailed description of the remarkable account of Col. Cheatham’s assault on Hue City.)

SPC4 Robert Patrick “Rocky” Bleier, US Army

Perhaps the most famous of the Steelers’ veterans, Rocky Bleier was once told he would never play football again after he was injured in Vietnam.

Born in Appleton, WI on March 5, 1946, Bleier would become a lynch pin the Steelers’ run to four Super Bowl championships in six years.

Bleier was drafted by the Steelers in 1968, played his rookie season, and then was drafted by the Army in Dec. 1968.

While on patrol in a rice paddy in August, 1969, Bleier was shot in his left leg, and then took shrapnel from a grenade in his right leg.

While recovering in a Tokyo hospital, Bleier received a postcard from Art Rooney, Sr., letting him know that the team needed Bleier back. With that inspiration from the Chief, Bleier spent the next five years getting himself back into football shape. He was even cut by the Steelers twice in that time, but he never gave up. Bleier went from not being able to walk without pain to winning four Super Bowls during the Steelers dynasty of the late ’70s.

Are there more?

Fellow Citizens, I would like to hear from you if there are players out there I have missed. If you know of a Steeler who was once in uniform or served after his playing days, please let me know.

In the meantime, please have a safe, fun, happy holiday, and please don’t forget to give thanks to those who serve and support the best country on earth, home of the greatest game on earth, which features the best, greatest team with the best, greatest fan base on planet earth.