bonarae
September 9th, 2011, 06:49 PM
Great read, especially with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 looming.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-0909-jp-bolwahnn-911-20110909,0,6170508,full.story?track=-slug&utm_source=bleacherreport.com&utm_medium=referral
Like any good military man, JP Bolwahnn has it all mapped out.
Shortly after he crosses the goal line for the first time, the ball cradled in his arm, the University of San Diego running back will turn toward the American flag and salute.
The gesture will be for Petty Officer Danny Dietz, killed six years ago in a firefight with Taliban guerrillas. It will be for Lt. Cmdr. Jonas Kelsall and Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves, who died last month when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. And it will be for all the other Navy SEALs still fighting abroad.
Bolwahnn was once a member of the special operations force, attaining the rank of Special Operator 1st Class. Over a military career that spanned 13 years, his missions took him to the Mediterranean in peacetime and the Persian Gulf during the war in Iraq.
Now he is a 34-year-old college sophomore who is never more than 100 yards from his intended destination. He's back in the game he's long loved, chasing the dream he had half his life ago as an undersized and overlooked high school back with no scholarship offers.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-0909-jp-bolwahnn-911-20110909,0,6170508,full.story?track=-slug&utm_source=bleacherreport.com&utm_medium=referral
Like any good military man, JP Bolwahnn has it all mapped out.
Shortly after he crosses the goal line for the first time, the ball cradled in his arm, the University of San Diego running back will turn toward the American flag and salute.
The gesture will be for Petty Officer Danny Dietz, killed six years ago in a firefight with Taliban guerrillas. It will be for Lt. Cmdr. Jonas Kelsall and Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves, who died last month when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. And it will be for all the other Navy SEALs still fighting abroad.
Bolwahnn was once a member of the special operations force, attaining the rank of Special Operator 1st Class. Over a military career that spanned 13 years, his missions took him to the Mediterranean in peacetime and the Persian Gulf during the war in Iraq.
Now he is a 34-year-old college sophomore who is never more than 100 yards from his intended destination. He's back in the game he's long loved, chasing the dream he had half his life ago as an undersized and overlooked high school back with no scholarship offers.