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re: I’m amazed at the SEC legendary coaches that served in WWII.

Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:09 pm to
Posted by BOSCEAUX
Where the Down Boys go.
Member since Mar 2008
53012 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:09 pm to
Right. I was thinking about that when I made the thread and he was the only modern example I could think of.
Posted by Arksulli
Fayetteville
Member since Aug 2014
27090 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:19 pm to
quote:

Imagine Jayden Daniels, Lane Kiffin, or timothee chalamet going to war now. We would be fricked


John Wayne bravely got a draft exemption and stayed behind. Joe Louis did boxing exhibitions. Nixon was a supply clerk during the war who spent his time organizing poker games. Ronald Reagan stepped forward and insisted he spend his time making training films warning about the dangers of VD. Not everyone was a hero back then.

Hell, the studio heads were so certain that Jimmy Stewart would come across as gay they made him visit a brothel down the street from the studio to establish he was 100 percent heterosexual. Military hero for sure but he was his generation's version of Chalamet before WW2.

Kiffin is 51. If we start turning to 51 year olds who aren't military professionals we are utterly screwed. Do you want a 51 year old private going into the line?

Existential wars tend to grab a lot of people, and a lot of people spend their wealth and influence to avoid fighting in them even if the country is in danger. The last several generations have a better history of volunteering to go to war than the Greatest Generation did.

Before you start screaming woke and pissing your pants in anger... look it up. We fought Vietnam with a higher percentage of volunteers than World War 2 did.

The important thing to remember about this. The really important thing, is simple. But for World War 2 Arkansas would have had a young Bear Bryant as our head coach.
Posted by Night Vision
Member since Feb 2018
24008 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:27 pm to
quote:

But for World War 2 Arkansas would have had a young Bear Bryant as our head coach.


Bryant was eventually going to end up at BAMA no matter what because that's where he played and his mother was a huge BAMA fan as well.

His mother called him and made sure he took the BAMA job when offered.

Posted by Gunga Din
Oklahoma
Member since Jul 2020
3762 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:32 pm to
Oklahoma wasn't SEC then... but OU lost 1938 All American Waddy Young in WWII... In Viet Nam OU lost former AA Bob Kalsu who was the only active NFL player lost in Viet Nam and I believe the only NFL guy who died in war until Pat Tillman.

Bud Wilkinson was in the Navy during the war and the boat he was on was bombed.
Posted by Night Vision
Member since Feb 2018
24008 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:36 pm to
quote:

I believe the only NFL guy who died in war until Pat Tillman.



Hard to believe that. Rocky Bleier got really messed up in Vietnam.
Posted by captdalton
Member since Feb 2021
25415 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:40 pm to
quote:

Before you start screaming woke and pissing your pants in anger... look it up. We fought Vietnam with a higher percentage of volunteers than World War 2 did.


It is an apples and oranges comparison. The amount of manpower required in WWII dwarfed that of Vietnam. Despite the U.S. population being 40% smaller at the beginning of WWII than Vietnam, twice as many men served, and four times as many fought in WWII compared to Vietnam. Had the U.S. needed to call up 1/4 of the total male population to fight Vietnam, like they did in WWII, the percent of volunteers would have changed greatly.
Posted by New Money
Athens, GA
Member since Jun 2023
4451 posts
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:55 pm to


LEW CORDELL

Llewellyn (Lew) Cordell was born in Hart County in 1910. He was a star athlete in high school and went on to play football at the University of Georgia. A diligent performer, Cordell never missed a practice while at UGA. He was a letterman on the Bulldogs' 1934 team that went 7-3. In his senior year, Cordell signed a contract with the Chicago Bears, only to reverse his field and accept a coaching job at Georgia Military College (GMC). Cordell would remain at the school from 1936-1958, posting an overall record of 118-36-7. He guided his teams to 12 Southeastern Regional Junior College Championships and lifted the GMC football program to national prominence. Lew was the first JUCO Coach East of the Mississippi to place a player on the All-American list, and had a total of 27 when retired. In 1985, GMC renamed the Field House Complex the Cordell Events Center in his honor.

------------------------------------

Now, take note that he was listed as the HC at GMC from 1936-1958; however, he was on active duty for six years during WWII. He actually coached sixteen seasons. He had 12 championships. Do the math.

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