Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - Memorial Day & Football

Memorial Day reminds us of the many brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for our great country. In Washington, we can visit the 400,000-plus buried at Arlington Cemetery and the wonderful memorials on the National Mall.

The NFL sent almost 1,000 players, coaches and even owners into World War II. Twenty-six died, including former Redskins end Keith Birlem and guard Eddie Kahn.

Major Birlem, who spent 1939 with the Redskins, died in 1943 when attempting to land his bomber amid enemy fire. Lt. Kahn, who played in Boston and Washington from 1935-37, died of wounds during the 1944 Philippines invasion.

Birlem and Kahn were among 995 NFL players in World War II. More than 200 later served in the Korean War. (My father was an infantry man who was wounded in Korea.) Only 28 players were in the Vietnam War, including Roger Staubach. Arizona safety Pat Tillman was killed in 2004 in Afghanistan. He was the first NFL player who died while serving since Buffalo offensive lineman Bob Kalsu in 1970.

Birlem was killed only three days after his first mission. He was co-pilot of the “Vicious Virgin” of the 427 Bomber Squadron attached to the 303 Bombardment Group. In his first mission, Birlem was among 27 planes that attacked two automotive plants in Antwerp, Belgium. The group dropped 52½ tons of bombs at 23,500 feet. Nearly 22,000 rounds were fired defending the group with five enemy planes downed. Movie star Clark Gable filmed the mission that was later turned into “Combat America.”

In a report, Birlem said, “I never thought those Germans would come so close. I was riding co-pilot to Capt. Eddie Broussard and one FW-190 came right at us. If Capt. Broussard hadn't pulled up the nose, he would have hit us head on."

Sadly, Birlem died on his second mission. Reports vary with one saying he was shot down over Germany and another claiming he was killed while trying to land in England.

Kahn played three years with the Redskins and retired after the 1937 championship.

A first lieutenant in the Marines, Kahn died on Feb. 17, 1945. He was part of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s invasion to free the Philippines after three years of Japanese rule. More than 3,500 Americans died over nine weeks of fighting while the Japanese lost 49,000 troops.

Tomorrow, Ol’ Ricky remembers a Redskins coach who served in World War II – Ray Flaherty.

Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.