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Army-Navy game 2022: Veterans receive special escort to see the game in-person for the first time

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Published  December 10, 2022 10:34pm EST
Military
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Army-Navy game 2022: Veterans receive special escort to see the game in-person for the first time

While most folks drove to the Army-Navy game in a car or truck, one group of mostly strangers hitched an escorted police ride to see the game for the very first time in their lives.

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - A bus load of veterans received a police escort for an amazing experience at the Linc Saturday.

Initially strangers, they come from different eras and different branches, but are forever bonded by the brotherhood shared by America’s service academies.

While most folks drove to the Army-Navy game in a car or truck, one group of mostly strangers hitched an escorted police ride to see the game for the very first time in their lives.

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Bill Rafferty is the Sergeant at Arms of the Frederick A. Scott American Legion post and came up with the idea.

"I thought I’m going to try and pull to see if there’s any interest to get the bus together and get the veterans and the response was really overwhelming," Rafferty explained.

So, off they went, more than two dozen veterans spanning multiple wars and deployments came together to experience the mighty pageantry of one of America’s oldest games.

But, behind every veteran is often a battlefield of demons and emotions they take on every day and, tragically, many take their own lives.

"We are ripped from a brotherhood so quickly, when you’re discharged and all of a sudden, you’re home and you don’t know anybody," said Purple Heart recipient and former Marine Corps Sergeant Matthew Crawford.

Crawford says special days like the Army-Navy game help provide support, love and relief. "It’s great! Even though we rile each other about being on different sides of the fence, it’s a camaraderie at the end of the day. We’re all one and out for the same cause."

Marine Corps veteran Brian Douglas says, bottom line, no matter the branch, no matter the length of deployments, no matter the gender, if you’re a vet, you have family forever.

"No matter how many miles or how many decades go past, the second you meet up, you’re back in that original spot. That’s the good stuff, man!" Douglas said.