The Olympics are a time of pride and competition. It is always fun to watch athletes who are representing our country compete wearing our flag to earn medals to bring home. As a big sports fan it is also cool to see events that I would never watch otherwise.
As a wrestler in high school and college it is always good to watch the summer Olympics and watch my sport represented really for the only time on the big stage unless you have some sort of app to watch it. Though not the focus of this article, one of my favorite memories of the Olympics was watching team USA beat Russia in the winter Olympics and as a big Buffalo Sabres fan, watching goalie Ryan Miller win MVP at the Winter Olympics in 2010.
If you are at Fort Drum, I highly encourage you to drive to Lake Placid and visit the winter Olympic set up that they have down there. All the ski jumps, and things are still up from the 1980 Olympics and used for training and competing. You can also visit the Winter Olympics Museum which has the net for the game and is located in the arena where the 1980 Miracle game happened with USA beating the USSR, the movie Miracle is based on this game.
Games and competition really bring out the best in us, especially when we are representing something greater than ourselves. I remember when I first got to 2-22IN in 2018 we went on a brigade run and two soldiers were sent out into a ring afterwards with football pads and pugil sticks to fight it out. Since I was new, I was upset to not be chosen but as I would see I was in the right spot. During this fight to the last man, the winner was from 2-22IN. I was also informed that we had taken the D Series and sent a team to Best Ranger that year, I was in the right place.
Though I wish I would have experienced more of this competition at Drum like we did in the 25th out in Hawaii, squad competitions and any competition is always fun. But it was when I started to study the unit history that I saw there was a history of excellence in competition.
In the war in the Philippines which is known as the Philippine Insurrection the 22nd Infantry Regiment would deploy twice to the Philippines and between the deployments there would be a competitions held by the Army. The regiment won first place in the department rifle competition at Fort Leavenworth, and second place in the army competition at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. 1st Sergeant Archie Deuberry, company B, won both places. In 1903 The regiment again won first place in the annual department rifle competition at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, (Corporal William A. Vickery, company C) and eighth place in the army competition at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. (1st Sergeant Archie Deuberry, company B).
While on deployment in the Philippines the 22nd would have another opportunity to have some soldiers break from the fighting to compete in athletics. The Army’s Annual Department athletic contest was held at Zamboanga March 24-28, 1904. It featured both conventional activities, such as field and track, baseball, and football, but also field exercises, such as field stripping, running in formation with packs, dissembling, reassembling artillery pieces, etc. The 22nd’s baseball team was so good that they would compete and win 7 Luzon Championships. PVT George W. Smith from K Company would win best overall athlete.
Our tradition of winning and excellence is long and proud, like that of our accolades in combat. Those of you reading this who are still in the 22nd, remember that you are representing and continuing a legacy of winning and competing. No matter if is it a fire team competition, or a division wide D-Series; always strive to do your best.
Enjoy the rest of the Olympics and root for our great nation! America is and always will be the greatest nation to ever be formed. I thank you for fighting for the freedoms we have to watch these games without worry or care. As the medal count continues to go up, Go USA! USA, USA, USA, USA!!!!!
John Cooper
2018-2021 Afghanistan, 2-22IN
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