Great track athletes who served their country:

[paulthefan]

It is amazing how many track men served their countries with honor and distinction. Some giving the ultimate sacrifice to their countrymen, It would be a good time to recognize these true national heros: Ill start it off with:

Charlie Greene, (Officer U.S. Army)

[bambam1729]

In one of my Olympic books, the one on the 1920 Olympics, I listed the Olympians who had died in The Great War. There were about 135 I could find - all sports, but the following are the 50 track & field Olympians who died in or during World War I.

Aho, Paavo (FIN; ATH-1912) (*21 Dec 1891 - †04 Mar 1918)
Anderson, Gerard (GBR; ATH-1912) (*15 Mar 1889 - †09 Nov 1914)
Anderson, William (GBR; ATH-1906) (†April 1915)
Ashington, Henry (GBR; ATH-1912) (*25 Sep 1891 - †31 Jan 1917)
Astley, Arthur (GBR; ATH-1908) (†1916)
Bellin du Coteau, Marc (FRA; ATH-1906) (*1883 - †1915)
Braun, Hanns (GER; ATH-1912) (*26 Oct 1886 - †09 Oct 1918)
Burkowitz, Hermann (GER; ATH-1912) (*31 Jan 1892 - †11.1914)
Butterfield, George (GBR; ATH-1908) (*1882 - †17 Oct 1917)
Caulle, Joseph (FRA; ATH-1912) (*3 May 1885 - †ca1914-18)
Chavasse, Noël (GBR; ATH-1908) (*9 Nov 1884 - †04 Aug 1917)
Duffy, Edward (RSA; ATH-1908) (*6 Jun 1883 - †19 Oct 1918)
Duffy, James (CAM; ATH-1912) (*1 May 1890 - †23 Apr 1915)
Flaxman, Alfred (GBR; ATH-1908) (*1 Oct 1879 - †01 Jul 1916)
Fóti, Samu (HUN; ATH-1912) (*6 Nov 1884 - †17 Jun 1916)
Gönczy, Lajos (HUN; ATH-1900) (*24 Feb 1881 - †1914)
Halme, Juho (FIN; ATH-1908/12) (*24 May 1888 - †01 Feb 1918)
Hawkins, George (GBR; ATH-1908) (*13 Oct 1883 - †22 Sep 1917)
Herrmann, Max (GER; ATH-1912) (*17 Mar 1885 - †29 Jan 1915)
Hutson, George (GBR; ATH-1912) (*22 Dec 1889 - †14 Sep 1914)
Kitching, Frederick (GBR; ATH-1908) (*7 Jul 1886 - †1914)
Larsen, Edvard (NOR; ATH-1908/12) (*27 Oct 1881 - †11 Sep 1914)
Leeke, Henry (GBR; ATH-1908 15 Nov 1879 29 May 1915)
Legat, Manlio (ITA; ATH-1912) (*30 Aug 1889 - †18 Sep 1915)
Lehmann, Erich (GER; ATH-1912) (*12 Sep 1890 - †ca1914-18)
Leiblee, Clark (USA; ATH-1900) (*2 Nov 1877 - †20 Aug 1917)
Lönnberg, Ivan (SWE; ATH-1912) (*12 Nov 1891 - †26 Apr 1918)
Macintosh, Henry (GBR; ATH-1912) (*10 Jun 1892 - †26 Jul 1918)
Mickler, Alfred Georg (GER; ATH-1912) (*7 Sep 1892 - †14 Jun 1915)
Molinié, Henri (FRA; ATH-1906) (*1874 - †1918)
Mudin, Imre (HUN; ATH-1908/12) (*8 Nov 1887 - †23 Oct 1918)
Mudin, István (HUN; ATH-1906/08) (*16 Oct 1881 - †22 Jul 1918)
Nejedlÿ, ArnoWt (BOH; ATH-1906) (*1883 - †1917)
Nilsson, Calle (SWE; ATH-1912) (*18 May 1888 - †23 Jun 1915)
Patterson, Alan (GBR; ATH-1908/12) (*12 Mar 1886 - †4 Mar 1916)
Person, Julius (GER; ATH-1912) (*1 May 1889 - †ca1914-18)
Persson, Martin (SWE; ATH-1912) (*13 Oct 1886 - †13 Feb 1918)
Pohl-Polenskÿ, Bohuslav (BOH; ATH-1906) (*1881 - †1916)
Roche, James (GBR; ATH-1908) (*1886 - †07 Jun 1917)
Rowland, Arthur (NZL; ATH-1908) (*26 Oct 1885 - †23 Jul 1918)
Salomez, Maurice (FRA; ATH-1900) (†1916)
Soalhat, Michel (FRA; ATH-1906) (*1874 - †25 Sep 1915)
Spiedl, Zoltán (HUN; ATH-1900) (*17 Mar 1880 - †03 Jul 1917)
Spitzer, Roger (USA; ATH-1908) (*21 Sep 1885 - †20 Mar 1916)
Sztantics, György (HUN; ATH-1906) (*19 Aug 1878 - †09 Jul 1918)
Tsiklitaras, Konstantin (GRE; ATH-1912) (*1888 - †1913)
Vosbergen, Ary (NED; ATH-1908) (*10 Jun 1882 - †14 Nov 1918)
Wilhelm, Richard (GER; ATH-1908) (*1888 - †1917)
Wilson, Harold (GBR; ATH-1908) (*22 Jan 1885 - †1916)
Yorke, Richard (GBR; ATH-1908/12) (*28 Jul 1885 - †22 Dec 1914)

[paulthefan]

utterly heartbreaking. That war took the heart out of europe.

[rasb]

A movie currently playing, at least in Canada, is called "Passchendaele".
It is the story of a historic WW 1 battle, directed by and starring Paul Gross.
Here are a few relevant points:
* Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, and took place from July 11th to
November 6th, 1917, in West Flanders, Belgium.
* The Canadian Corps took Passchendaele on November 6th, at the conclusion of a battle which claimed 140,000 allied lives, and captured a distance of 5 miles, about 2 inches per dead soldier. Later the gain was abandoned, and returned to the enemy.
* Although Canada's population was less than 8 million at the time, 600,000 Canadian soldiers were sent to the Western front in Europe --- 10 % never
came home.
* One of the Canadians killed during this battle was Alex Decoteau, Canada's first Aboriginal police officer and the country's best long distance runner at the time. Alex competed for Canada at the 1912 Olympic Games.

[paulthefan]

* One of the Canadians killed during this battle was Alex Decoteau, Canada's first Aboriginal police officer and the country's best long distance runner at the time. Alex competed for Canada at the 1912 Olympic Games.

Depressing. Alex was a Cree. Canada lost its very best that day.

[Vault-emort]

Aussies John Winter (48 Gold HJ) Bill Bruce (48 Silver LJ) and from memory Charlie Green (48 110H) all served in the Australian forces in WWII. If I recall correctly, the three of them formed an Aussie team to compete against a British forces squad close to the end of the war and won the match.

[malmo]

utterly heartbreaking. That war took the heart out of europe.

Not nearly as much as the great influenza pandemic did.

[kuha]

utterly heartbreaking. That war took the heart out of europe.

Not nearly as much as the great influenza pandemic did.

Not really. We know that the flu pandemic killed more people worldwide--over 20 million, at least--so it was a huge "natural" catastrophe. WWI, however, profoundly changed the culture of Europe--it put an end to the entire mindset of the Victorian era (a culture, in many respects, of progressive, scientific optimism) and profoundly re-arranged the political map (setting the stage for further generations of turmoil). Body count may be one thing, but the Great War changed Europe far more than the epidemic.

On my last European trip, in early September, I visited the battlefields of Verdun (for at least the 10th time) and the Somme (the 3rd time). I've also paid repeated visits to Ypres and other WWI battlefields. Having any knowledge of what happened at these places makes being there absolutely unforgettable...and heartbreaking.

[paulthefan]

Mel Pender (decorated Vietnam war combat veteran, serving in the U.S. Army for 21 years and retiring at the rank of captain)

[eldrick]

kuha

You may be interested in reading this book :

http://www.amazon.com/Origins-First-Wor ... 079&sr=8-1

To pay it a compliment, it's the first book I've bought in years ( too busy usually to read books ) & have so far got 1/4 of the way through. I cannot remember a book where every page is to be savoured & has to be re-read. I wish it was 3 times longer !

I cannot recommend it highly enough if you enjoy reading history.

[kuha]

Eldy: Thanks for the reference. I have a fairly large shelf of WWI stuff, but not this one... I'll look for it... One of the most interesting visual books of late is Peter Barton's "The Battlefields of the First World War: The Unseen Panoramas of the Western Front" (2005).

[dukehjsteve]

kuha and others:

I especially was impressed with Stephen O'Shea's " Back To the Front." Compelling reading. He walks the whole Western Front from the Switzerland/France/Germany border near Basel all the way to the North Sea. Compelling reading.

[kuha]

kuha and others:

I especially was impressed with Stephen O'Shea's " Back To the Front." Compelling reading. He walks the whole Western Front from the Switzerland/France/Germany border near Basel all the way to the North Sea. Compelling reading.

Yes, I've read it and I completely agree...

[rasb]

"Vimy", by Canadian historical writer Pierre Berton, is also a great read.

[tandfman]

Capt. Ron Zinn, US Olympian, 6th in the 20km race walk in the Tokyo Games in 1964. Killed while serving in Vietnam.