Free Republic

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Christian Stephenson has bided his time as a finance noncommissioned officer. Stephenson, who has been in the Army for eight years, was promoted to sergeant four years ago and became promotable to staff sergeant three years ago. “I’ve had 720 (promotion) points for a long time, in five years (the points to staff sergeant) have never gone below 775,” said Stephenson, from Emerald Isle, N.C. “It was frustrating working so hard to get those points but never making the cutoff. It had been at least six months since I’d even checked the scores when...

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Browns will pay tribute Sunday to a former player who died in the Vietnam War and has gone unrecognized by the NFL for decades. It has long been reported that Bob Kalsu, a Buffalo Bills lineman, was the only former NFL player killed while serving in Vietnam. But it recently came to the attention of the Pro Football Hall of Fame that Air Force Maj. Don Steinbrunner, a rookie offensive tackle with the Browns in 1953, died in Vietnam in 1967. Steinbrunner, who joined the Air Force ROTC while at Washington State University, was called to...