New Book Recounts Experiences of UA Football Players in World War II; Veterans to be Honored at Alabama-Mississippi State game Nov. 13

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  – A new and unique book that pays tribute to former University of Alabama football players who served in the military during World War II will make its debut on Veterans Day Weekend, Nov. 12-13.

The book, titled “When Winning Was Everything,” was written by award-winning journalist and author Delbert Reed and published by UA’s Paul W. Bryant Museum.

More than 325 former University of Alabama football players and coaches served in the military during World War II, according to the book. The players were among the more than 6,000 former University students who served during wartime. Thirteen of the former Crimson Tide players and a former team manager were among the 343 former UA students who lost their lives in the line of duty during the war.

The book focuses on the individual war-time experiences of approximately 60 of the men to illustrate the service and sacrifice of all the men on all battlefronts of the war. It also includes a roster of all known former players who served during the war.

“Former University of Alabama football players were in every major battle of the war, from start to finish,” said Reed, who spent just over a year researching and writing the book.

“They fought at Guadalcanal, Midway, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. They were with General Patton in North Africa and in his drive to Berlin in Europe. They jumped behind German lines at Omaha Beach on D-Day and again into Holland during Operation Market Garden. They battled through the jungles of Burma and flew over the “Hump” into China. They slugged it out in the Battle of the Bulge, where some were captured. They flew hundreds of bombing raids over France and Germany, where some lost their lives and others were captured when their planes were shot down,” Reed said.

“They were at the forefront, leading the way as officers in many cases, performing heroically in battle just as they had as players on the football field. In doing so they helped win the war and preserve the freedoms that we have enjoyed throughout our lives.

“They have been our national heroes for generations and their stories deserve preservation. The veterans have certainly earned any recognition this book might bring them. Our goal is to have it serve as a lasting tribute to them and to their sacrifice and service,” Reed added.

Two former Crimson Tide players – Charlie Compton and Hugh Barr Miller – were nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroic actions during the war. Compton received the Distinguished Service Cross while Miller and Navy dive bomber pilot Johnny Roberts, who died when he purposely crashed his plane into a Japanese aircraft carrier at the Battle of Midway, each received the Navy Cross. The awards are second only to the Medal of Honor. Detailed accounts of the war-time exploits of those three are among the stories presented in the book.

W.T. “Bully” Van de Graaff, the Crimson Tide’s first All-America player in 1915, and former Tide head coach Wallace Wade were among the oldest former members of the UA football program known to have served in World War II, according to the book. The roster of former players who served during the war also includes former Tide All-Americans Dixie Howell, Joe Kilgrow, Cary Cox, Holt Rast, Fred Sington and Tarzan White. Cox and Rast each earned the Silver Star for heroic service during the war and are among the former players featured in the book.

Former Alabama fullback and Jacksonville State head coach Don Salls is also featured prominently in the book. Salls earned a Bronze Star decoration and was wounded in action in France while serving as an infantry lieutenant.

Charley Boswell, a former Alabama halfback who lost his eyesight while serving as an infantry officer during combat in Europe but later won 17 national blind golf championships, and former Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant who served in the Navy in the U.S. and in North Africa, are also notable figures in the book.

“Research revealed far more than we expected after so many years,” said Reed, a former sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News and the author of “Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant: What Made Him a Winner.”  

“We were able to locate about 25 veterans between 85 and 96 years old and talking with them provided a great deal of the information for the book. In other instances, family members provided us with important information.”

The University of Alabama will honor veteran football players from World War II and all other veterans in special events and ceremonies on Veterans Day weekend in conjunction with the book’s debut.

Crimson Tide veterans featured in the book and their families will be honored on Friday, Nov. 12, at a reception at Bryant-Denny Stadium and the veterans will be honored in a pre-game ceremony prior to the Alabama-Mississippi State game on Saturday, Nov. 13.

About a dozen former Tide players who served in the military during World War II plan to attend the events, according to Reed. Those include Salls, Bill Cadenhead, Nick Terlizzi, Ray Hutson, Emmet Dendy, Charles Davis, Byron Chambliss, Lionel “Red” Noonan, Rebel Steiner, Howard Pierson, Monk Mosley, Wildon Bennett and Mike Mizerany.

Ken Gaddy, director of the Bryant Museum and coordinator of the book project, said the 288-page book will include scores of historic photographs in addition to the individual stories, and will sell for $39.95. Anyone interested in ordering the book in advance should contact the Bryant Museum at 1-866-772-2327 or place an order online at http://bryantmuseum.ua.edu/