The recent death of Pat Tillman, a U.S. Army Ranger serving in Afghanistan, is reminiscent of an era when military service and the fate of celebrity athletes resonated throughout the nation. Tillman’s sacrifice harkens back to a time when it was commonplace for American athletes to unhesitatingly volunteer and demonstrate true heroism in the service to their nation.

The military newspaper Stars and Stripes estimated that 800 sports stars, at both the collegiate and professional level, were killed during World War II. Marine Corps athletes, more than any other branch of the military, have carved out a record of bravery and a tradition of excellence on playing fields, in sports arenas and in the numerous theaters of combat in which they served.

Baseball, the national pastime, produced its share of Marines whose lives were seared by the fire of combat. Knowledgeable sports fans know that Ted Williams served two tours as a Marine pilot, flew 39 combat missions in Korea, and, in the process, lost five years of his professional baseball career to military service. Likewise, Marine pilot Lloyd Merriman, a less heralded player of the same era, posted one of the most impressive combat-flying records of the Korean War. Merriman played outfield for three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds before being called to active duty, serving with Marine Fighter Squadron 115.

On one dangerous mission, Merriman’s F-9 Panther was hit by antiaircraft fire. He attempted to land the aircraft without hydraulic brakes on a short strip of K-3 Airfield in Pohang. The Panther hit the ground at 120 knots. The plane plowed through four rice fields before it came to a halt, but not before the canopy blew off. The Panther had broken in half.

Reflecting on his traumatic experience, Merriman said, “All those rice fields had been heavily fertilized. The cockpit was filled with fertilizer when I climbed out.”

Merriman emerged unscathed but smelled like a barnyard. The major-league outfielder ended his tour of Korea after amassing 87 combat missions and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. Merriman closed out his baseball career with the Chicago White Sox in 1955.

Jerry Coleman, another distinguished Marine pilot, was a New York Yankees second baseman. Voted Rookie of the Year in 1949, he was selected to play in the 1950 All-Star game.

Coleman served two tours as a Marine combat pilot. While flying a Corsair in Korea, he crash-landed with a full bomb load. The plane flipped over, and he was nearly strangled by his helmet straps. Coleman flew more than 120 missions, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 13 Air Medals and three Navy citations. In later years, he became a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.

After playing with six Yankee pennant winners, Coleman became the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres. As a broadcaster, he was a master of the malapropism. Some of his memorable gems include “The batter has no balls,” “Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen” and “Johnny Grubb slides into second with a stand-up double.”

In February 2005, the 80-year-old Coleman was elected to the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The recent inductee, who has broadcast for 42 years, joins such other Marine baseball Hall of Fame immortals as Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Ted Lyons, Tom Seaver, Ted Williams and Bill Veeck and fellow broadcasters Jack Brickhouse, Ernie Harwell and Bob Murphy.

Asked how his induction compares to the numerous citations he earned as a Marine pilot in two wars, the self-effacing Coleman said, “There is no comparison. In broadcasting, you make a mistake, you correct yourself and move on. In combat, you make a mistake, and there’s nowhere else to go.”

Hank Bauer was another Yankee great of the 1950s. Bauer joined the Corps in 1942 as an original enlistee of Jimmy Roosevelt’s 4th Raider Battalion and later became a member of Fourth Regiment, Sixth Marine Division. Platoon Sergeant Bauer was wounded in assaults on Guam and Okinawa and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in both campaigns.

After the war, he went up to the majors in 1949. During the 11 years he played for the Yankees, the Bronx Bombers won nine pennants and seven championships. Casey Stengel, his manager during the heyday of Yankee dominance, said, “Bauer was one tough guy. It would sometimes scare the hell out of me to tell him that [Gene] Woodling was going to play in right field instead of Hank.” In later years, Bauer wrote: “The one thing the Marines and the Yankees have in common—It’s called pride.”

Legendary Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman and New York Mets manager Gil Hodges, who hit 370 home runs over an 18-year major-league career, was a Marine option in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program before he was called to active duty.

Hodges served with the 16th Antiaircraft Bn, and during the 18 months he was stationed in the South Pacific, he saw action on Tinian and Okinawa. Hodges was promoted to sergeant during the war and received a Bronze Star. He also earned a Combat Action Ribbon, but never gained the recognition he deserved for that honor until he posthumously received the award in June 2004. At a presentation ceremony held at Shea Stadium, his wife said, “He was so proud to be an American and so proud to be a Marine.”

Football and the military have many common features, and the game’s terminology has borrowed heavily from organized warfare. Terms and phrases such as “in the trenches,” “field general,” “long bomb” and “blitz,” short for the German blitzkrieg, are commonly invoked during National Football League broadcasts.

During WW II, more than 600 NFL players, coaches and officials contributed their services; 21 of those men never returned home, including 12 active players. The collegiate and professional football ranks, with their attendant rigorous physical training, have provided the Marine Corps with many notable combat heroes.

Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame’s first Heisman Trophy winner, left college in 1943 at midterm and joined the Marine Corps. He saw combat action on Guam and Iwo Jima. While on Iwo, a mortar shell landed near Bertelli and a corpsman friend, who was seriously wounded by the blast. The self-effacing Marine recalled sadly that a newswire service reported the All-American’s health status without ever mentioning that the corpsman was almost killed in the same combat incident.

On Christmas Eve, 1944, players from the 29th and 4th Marines competed in the Mosquito Bowl held on Guadalcanal. The teams consisted of college stars, who under ordinary circumstances would have gone on to the pros, and several others who had played in the NFL before joining the Marines. By the end of the war in the Pacific, five of that game’s participants were killed in combat. Among the fallen was Lieutenant Charles Behan. A former Detroit Lion who was awarded the Navy Cross, Behan was killed on Okinawa.

Another was New York Giants end Jack Lummus, who was killed on Iwo Jima when he stepped on a land mine after single-handedly taking out a Japanese gun emplacement. “I guess the New York Giants have lost the services of a damned good end” were reported to be his last words to a battlefield surgeon.

President Harry Truman awarded Lummus the Medal of Honor posthumously. Marine Corps football maven Colonel John Gunn, USMCR (Ret) noted that a plaque honoring Lummus was unveiled at the Polo Grounds, then the home of the football Giants, in October 1945, eight months after the 29-year-old Marine lieutenant was killed. Interestingly, the bronze plaque has not been seen since 1964 when the Polo Grounds was torn down. (Given Lummus’ conspicuous sacrifice, it would be appropriate for the Giants and the NFL to replace the plaque in memory of the heroic Marine lieutenant.)

Known as the NFL’s first scrambler, Eddie LeBaron was the smallest quarterback in pro football history. Drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1950, LeBaron opted to join the Marines. He spent nine months in Korea, where he was wounded twice. For his heroism, LeBaron was awarded the coveted Silver Star. After his service obligations ended, he was named to three Pro Bowls, and in 1960 LeBaron became the Dallas Cowboys’ first starting quarterback.

Whoever said, “Marines don’t play golf—only the colonels” must not have heard of Anthony “Champagne Tony” Lema, a combat Marine during the Korean War.

Lema narrowly missed winning the Masters in 1963 and won the British Open the following year. The colorful golfer earned his nickname because whenever he won a tournament, he treated the press corps to champagne.

Charley Paddock, once known as the world’s fastest human, was a member of three Olympic track teams (1920, 1924 and 1928). During his distinguished track career, Paddock held the record for the 100-meter and 100-yard dashes.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps at the outbreak of WW II. Captain Paddock was killed in action while serving in the Pacific. A WW II Liberty ship, SS Charles Paddock, was named in his honor. The great sprinter was inducted posthumously into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Known as “The Fighting Marine,” Gene Tunney joined the Corps in 1917 despite an elbow injury which would have exempted him from military service. Tunney later saw action at Metz, France. Following his overseas tour with the AEF, he returned to Quantico, Va., where he perfected his boxing skills. After he won his regiment’s light-heavyweight title, one of the classiest fighters to ever lace a pair of gloves turned professional and eventually wrested the heavyweight crown from Jack Dempsey. The former Marine retired from the ring as the first undefeated heavyweight champion.

Barney Ross was the first fighter to hold both the lightweight and welterweight titles simultaneously. During his boxing career, Ross fought an incredible 329 times and never was knocked out.

In 1942, at the age of 32, Ross joined the Marines. By November, he was stationed on Guadalcanal with the 2dMarDiv. Ross and four of his Marine buddies were isolated from the main body of their unit. All except Ross were killed, and Ross alone kept the Japanese assault at bay. After 13 hours, Ross was rescued, and 22 Japanese lay dead around his defensive position. For his heroism, Ross was awarded the Silver Star. The movie “Monkey on My Back” (1957) related Ross’ inspirational life.

Many other athletes and sports-related Marines served with distinction and honor in combat. Among them are Football Hall of Famers Charley Conerly, Art Donovan, Ernie Nevers, Leo Nomellini and Ernie Stautner. Coach O. A. “Bum” Phillips of the Houston Oilers served with the 4th Raider Bn on Guadalcanal. Bill Veeck, maverick baseball owner, was a Marine gunner on Bougainville, and the American Football League’s first president, Joe Foss, wore the Medal of Honor earned as a Marine pilot in WW II.

What these Marines achieved while serving in the Corps deserves as much recognition as what they accomplished in their respective athletic undertakings. In a society where sports is such an integral aspect of life, the careers of these Marine athletes suggest that a new perspective and reappraisal of national values is greatly overdue.

Editor's note: Dennis Carpenter, a writer, teacher and publisher in Great Neck, N.Y., has updated his out-of-print two-volume set, “Anyone Here a Marine?” The new book, titled “Anyone Here a Marine? The Marines, the Media and the Movies,” is available from Marine Corps Association bookstores.