FORT BENNING, Ga., (Aug. 21, 2013) -- In the novel, Atlas Shrugged, Who is John Galt was the question everyone was asking.
No one seemed to know, until the the last part of the novel.
I ran across an equally puzzling question for the second time in three years, but my question concerned the 1946 undefeated Fort Benning Doughboys.
My question? Who is John Green?
Press releases from several sources tout Green as a Fort Benning Doughboy who played on the undefeated 1946 team and identifies him as a member of the National Football League Hall of Fame.
Green is mentioned on page 355 in the book; Home of the Infantry: The History of Fort Benning, written by Peggy A. Stelpflug and Richard Hyatt and published by Mercer University Press in 2007.
Regarding the 1946 Doughboys, the text reads: "Army captain Bill Meeks was coach, and his players included John Green, a member of the National Football League Hall of Fame."
So, like any journalist, I checked the names on the NFL Hall of Fame listing of HOF members -- to my surprise, there was no John Green.
So, I started to dig. I had to know, Who is John Green?
After some research, I may have found Green in the annals of the U.S. Military Academy.
There was, in fact, a John "Jack" Green who played guard at West Point from 1943-1945. A native of Kent, Ind., he was a two-time All-American and played on the undefeated Army national championship teams in 1944 and 1945, where he was a captain of the team in 1945.
After graduation from West Point, Green went on to serve in the Army for five years, attaining the rank of captain.
Green later coached Vanderbilt University and was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989 as a player.
Green died Aug. 4, 1981 in Nashville, Tenn.
Is this the same Green cited for being in the NFL Hall of Fame?
Not to take away from Green's career as a football player, but it is important to have the facts correct.
According to the National Football Foundation website, Green was "one of the finest guards ever to play for Army," so he deserves the recoginition.
Although I can't be sure if the Army's Green is the same player on the 1946 Dougboy team, I will find out.
To be continued ... stay tuned.
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