Veterans’ Day is a whole lot more than great sales at the mall and a day off from school. It commemorates and honors the sacrifices of men and women from all walks of life on behalf of their country.

In the 1940s and 1950s, during World War II and the Korean War, athletes were regularly conscripted or volunteered to serve, and many gave up the prime years of their career to do so. Consider Second Lieutenant Theodore S. Williams, USMC. He surrendered four years of his amazing tenure with the Boston Red Sox (you have heard of Ted Williams, right?) He served from 1943-45 and again in Korea, flying 39 combat missions (1952-53).

The NFL dedicated 32 games in the month of November to its Salute to Service, promising to devote $1 per point scored to each of three charities – the Pat Tillman Foundation, the USO, and the Wounded Warrior Project. The donation tracker on NFL.com was up to $210,300 as of Monday afternoon.

Tillman left a promising NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2002 to join the Army Rangers. Offered a $3.6 million, three-year contract by the team, he instead chose to do his duty as he saw it. He perished in a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan in 2004.

Tillman’s fascinating life story is well told in Jon Krakauer’s 2009 book “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” and it will make an excellent gift come holiday time. So if you’re shopping on Veterans’ Day, put this on the list.

Also take a moment on this holiday to consider what military service people do and have done, from humanitarian relief in treacherous areas to combat in defense of their country. Be grateful and say thanks.

Today’s Question

Has someone close to you served in the military?

Please say thanks to them in the comment box.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .