Memorial Day

I was recently asked by a reporter if there is anything special my family or I do to celebrate Memorial Day. As many of you know, I am in the Air Force Reserves and both my brothers are in the Air Force as well. I told the reporter that I am almost always at a competition in Europe on Memorial Day so there we don’t really have any specific traditions associated with this holiday. But that gave me an idea for this blog. While I am again traveling abroad on Memorial Day (this blog is being written on a flight from Frankfurt to Budapest), I wanted to commemorate three former pentathletes and honor their military service.

General George Patton (US Army)

Perhaps the most famous pentathlete from any country at any time is George Patton. As a young Lieutenant in the army, he competed in the 1912 Olympic Games. When pentathlon was first introduced to the Olympics, it was a requirement that the participant be a military officer. Of course Patton fit the bill and was selected for the Olympic Team. He was a pretty good pentathlete and nearly won a medal. Known for his shooting, it ironically was his shooting that cost him the Silver. At the time, athletes shot five times at a target before changing targets. Patton shot four tens and a miss, giving him a target score of 40 instead of 50. Had he shot the fourth ten, he would have been an Olympic Silver Medalist. Urban legend has it that he shot one shot through the hole of one of the four 10s on the target and the judges called it a miss. But this is probably more myth than reality. In fact, typically a second paper was placed a short distance behind the target to account for the bullets. If an athlete believed they had two shots through the same hole, the back paper was examined. Slight variations in bullet speed and angle would cause two shots to appear on the back paper even if only one showed on the target. In Patton’s case, the judges ruled that he only fired four shots at the target. So what happened to the famous missing shot? While there is an outside chance that he did in fact shoot through the hole of another shot, it is not likely. What probably happened was Patton either forgot to load 5 shots into the gun or simply missed the target.

Major Jim Gregory (US Army)

Like most pentathletes, Jim picked up the sport after swimming in college. Jim started competing when I was a junior and eventually moved to Colorado Springs to train while I was attending the Air Force Academy. As an athlete, he was consistently one of the top in the country, qualifying for several World Championship teams. In 1996, he was an Olympic Team Alternate. Four years later, he was again edged out and was an Olympic Team Alternate. Though Jim wanted to compete, he accepted the role of Olympic Team Manager in 2000 and did an outstanding job getting that team ready and equipped for the Sydney Olympics. His work paid off as the two male US athletes both placed in top 10 and the women won a Silver and 4th. Following the 2000 Olympics, Jim tried out and was selected for army Special Operations. In the last 8 years, Jim has served in numerous hostile environments and been on the front lines of the war on terror as a Special Operations Officer. Today, Jim is cross training into an Army public affairs job that will allow him to spend more time with his wife and kids.

Captain Chad Senior (US Air Force)

Chad may be the best pentathlete in US history. He had rare combination of both extreme talent and a dogged work ethic. A college swimmer and high school running standout, Chad was recruited in 1995 to come to pentathlon. Within a few years, Chad proved to be the fastest run/swim athlete in the world. He struggled with shooting and fencing for a while; but in the 2000 season, things started to click. Chad won the first World Cup and medaled in a couple others. Going into the Olympics, he was ranked #1 in the World Cup Rankings. At the 2000 Olympics, Chad had an incredible day in the first 3 disciplines. His shooting was solid, he had his lifetime best fence, and followed that with his typical outstanding swim. Going into the riding discipline, Chad was leading the competition. As the fastest runner in the sport, Chad was poised to win the first Gold Medal for the US in pentathlon and end our 40 year medal drought. But problems struck near the end of the ride costing Chad a medal. Following the Olympics, Chad went to Army officer training (he had formerly been enlisted), and decided to take another shot at an Olympic Medal. In 2004, he handily qualified for his second Olympic Team, but had a lackluster fence and finished well out of medal contention. Following the 2004 Olympics, Chad decided to try out for the Air Force Pararescue program. He was accepted and in 2005 changed his commission from Army to Air Force. He then started the grueling two year training to become a Combat Rescue Officer (CRO, pronounced crow), the officer version of a Pararescueman. Air Force Pararescue soldiers are the premier soldiers trained and equipped to extract injured pilots from combat zones. Chad recently finished a 3 month stint in Afghanistan and I got to spend about an hour on the phone with him from the Middle East last week. I have always respected Chad’s achievements in pentathlon and he periodically checks in with me and offers me some mentoring as I am heading into big competitions. Chad told me volunteered for a follow on deployment in a war zone and will return to the US at the end of the summer.