Frontpage Features

BY RON BARR

I'm writing this on Memorial Day.  It's a day set aside to remember those who have served our country, those who have lost their lives serving and those who bear the physical and mental scars of war.  We should remember them every day.

I come from a military family and understand the lifestyle, attitude, sacrifices and commitment our servicemen, servicewomen and their families make.  Through Sports Byline USA I've been to Iraq and/or Afghanistan five times, and I'm getting ready to go a sixth time.  My small contribution of taking Sports Byline USA to the troops and letting them co-host the show is the best thing I've done in my career.  Unlike other entertainers and entertainment shows, I and my athlete friends who go with me stay with the soldiers for an extended period of time.  We don't just perform, shake some hands and leave.  We live, eat, travel with and spend time with the soldiers.  We hear about their families, what they did growing up, what they want to do with their lives, and their war stories.  We listen.  Serving in a war zone is life changing for the soldiers and has been for me and my friends as well.

I remember the first time I went to Iraq.  It was August 2004.  The combat at that time was hot and heavy in all of Iraq and so was the weather.  In Mosul, where I was, it hit 135 degrees.  I took Sarge, a comedian friend with me.  Our jump off point into Iraq was Kuwait and as we boarded our C-130 with a group of combat ready, young soldiers, it hit me that I was about to have a life enhancing experience.  I was right.  I experienced combat gunfire and explosions during my broadcasts and I was to suffer my first "combat war zone" injury.  I broke my leg 90 minutes before my first broadcast at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces.  I broke it at his swimming pool and for that Col. Bob Brown, who invited me to Iraq, before I left presented me with the Purple Fart medal for "suffering a serious injury in a foreign body of water."  I display it with great honor in my office.

Also, I remember the late night conversations with soldiers about their lives and their combat experiences.  And, a poignant memory is a middle of the night talk with a young Iraqi lawyer who was working for the soldiers as an interpreter.  He would have been killed for working with the Americans, so he had to live on the Forward Operating Base.  Late each night he would cook on a hibachi his favorite Iraqi food.  He told me what his country was like, what it was like living under Saddam and his hopes and aspirations.  He was 24 years old.

My first visit to Afghanistan to broadcast and see the troops was over the Memorial Day holiday.  Randy Cross, former All Pro guard with the San Francisco 49ers who won three Super Bowl rings, went with me.  It was a first for this war zone for us both.  The combat feeling was different than Iraq.  Iraq was open warfare while Afghanistan felt like guerrilla warfare.  There was no open hostility, it was primarily hidden in the mountains and valleys along the border with Pakistan.  It was here that former NFL linebacker with the Arizona Cardinals, Pat Tillman, was killed by friendly fire.  Tillman was a San Francisco bay area guy who went on to become a star player at Arizona State before continuing his outstanding playing career in the NFL.  I got to know him and broadcasted some of his Arizona State games.  He was an intense, driven and committed person who had strong beliefs and convictions.  Like most people, I was surprised when he quit the NFL, gave up a lucrative contract and joined the Army to become an elite U.S. Army Ranger.  His brother joined as well and they served together in Afghanistan as Rangers. His brother was with Pat when he was killed by his fellow Rangers in the friendly fire incident.  His unnecessary death and the manner in which the military handled it still bothers me today. 

In my five visits to Iraq and/or Afghanistan I've learned a valuable lesson.  If you want to do and get something done during one of these visits make sure you've got the support of a General.  On my first trip to Afghanistan I didn't and endured great frustration.  I eventually complained to a Colonel that I was being limited to Bagram Air Base and wasn't getting a chance to get out and meet and greet the soldiers.  This embarrassed my Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) handlers.  The Colonel solved the problem and the next day I was helicoptering out to the Pakistan border to Forward Operating Base Tillman and the border area where Pat was killed.  It was a poignant visit with 200 soldiers on a mountaintop and made more memorable by a private conversation I had there with a U.S. Army Ranger who gave me some additional insight as to what actually happened to Pat.  It not only made Pat's killing more tragic, but it also made me appreciate more the commitment and sacrifice of our servicemen and women.

My experiences and the stories and memories are many.  The people we think of and remember on Memorial Day should be remembered every day.  Do me a favor.  Wherever you run into a serviceman or woman, please say "thank you" to them.  It means a lot to them.  And, while it never will fully express our gratitude for their service and sacrifice, it will let them know that you think about them every chance you can. 

I’m Ron Barr.

Ron Barr is an Emmy award winning writer and the host of the nationally and internationally syndicated sports talk show, Sports Byline USA.