Glory Beyond the Sport, honoring those who wrestled and have served the USA

There has been a long connection between the sport of wrestling and service in the U.S. military that goes back to the beginning of our nation's history.

It was only recently that the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Stillwater, Okla., created an exhibit and published a book, Glory Beyond the Sport, honoring those who have served for our country and who were standout wrestling athletes.

In 2007, a group of wrestlers from the University of Oklahoma, who were also in the military, went to Hall of Fame Executive, Lee Roy Smith, about recognizing those who served in the Armed Forces and who were wrestlers.

"Their vision was to just be recognized at the Hall of Fame," Smith said. "I immediately embraced the idea to doing something related to the military. It was long overdue to recognize the great relationship and story that exists between wrestling and the military."

With help from the Military Exhibit Committee Members, Roger Moore, a freelance journalist and U.S. Army sergeant, and contributing writers Jay Hammond, Jamie Moffatt and Don Sayenga, the long process began.

First they had to find the best stories to tell about this rich heritage. The Committee had to narrow down thousands of stories to fit in a 100 page book. Then, Smith and Moore worked together to organize how the book would be laid out.

The book begins with a brief introduction about the evolution of wrestling and the military, including a picture that was found of an Iraqi vase dated 2600 B.C. that shows two figures wrestling.

Then the American stories begin, starting with 13 former U.S. Presidents who had a wrestling background.

"George Washington was a prominent wrestler. The biggest challenge for Roger was to narrow the focus down," Smith said. "We had so many stories tell and so many participants involved, so we created criteria to narrow the focus on the book down."

The book continues with the following chapters:
- Outstanding Americans, a list of 11 Outstanding American honorees who wrestled and served in the Armed Forces.
- Distinguished Members, highlighting the 54 Distinguished Members of the Hall of Fame.
- Above and Beyond, a list of wrestlers who participated in the Armed Forces
- The Ultimate Sacrifice, former wrestlers who have given their lives to serve their country.
- The Modern Solider, current and former competitors and their opportunities the military has provided them.
- Diversity, wrestling and the military giving opportunities to minorities.

"This book could've been 1000 pages," Moore said. "There are so many stories. It's hard to pick specific people we tried to pick the studs in the military and who were great wrestlers. I went through so many questionnaires of people. We tried to get as many as we could in."

Smith and Moore both have their favorite parts of the book.

"My favorite was the Doug Zembiec story," Moore said. "He is John Wayne of military and had great leadership. I narrowed his story down, but it could be a lot longer. He is the ultimate American hero. He sounds like the guy you want to have be your brother."

Smith said what stood out to him was how society and culture was different during World War II.

"Some have referred to that as the best generation," Moore said. "People didn't think twice as putting the country first. It was expected of them and promised."

There are thousands of stories still out there about wrestlers who served our nation in the military. The Hall of Fame plans to create a database to identify all of the past Olympic and World Team members and NCAA champions who were in the military.

"Our mission is to preserve history," Smith said. "We view this project, as all of them, as an opportunity to chronicle and document those who have served our country and wrestled."

Along with the book is an exhibit that will be featured at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, March 19-21, in St. Louis, Mo.

For more information or to purchase Glory Beyond the Sport, visit visit www.wrestlinghalloffame.org.