Schmeling.

This is coolbert:

I see that the 1930's boxing great Max Schmeling has died. At the age of ninety-nine.

Twice world's heavy-weight boxing champion. Was renowned for defeating Joe Louis when Louis was at the height of his powers [Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round of their epic rematch].

But a man that should be known as well for his life outside of the ring.

There are many sides to the life of Max Schmeling.

* A boxer of ability.

* A Nazi hero who himself could more properly categorized as being anti-Nazi.

* A wealthy man who paid for the funeral of Joe Louis.

* And a soldier.

Schmeling, in 1940 was drafted into the German Army at the age of thirty five [this is a rather advanced age for a soldier.

This was of itself, most unusual. [Schmeling is reputed to be the only famous German athlete of the era that was drafted??!! It may be that the other athletes were employed as instructors at those Junker Schulen [leadership schools] I have previously blogged about]].

Schmeling not only was drafted into the Army, but served in the unit usually rated as the BEST German Army unit in World War Two [WW2], the Hermann Goering Parachute Division. NOT ONLY served in the best unit of the German Army, but as a combat commander, with the rank of Captain.

[it may also be true that Lutz Long, the only serious competitor to Jesse Owens in the long jump competition at the 1936 Olympics, was killed in combat in WW2].

And fought in one of the most desperate and intense battles of WW2, The Battle of Crete.

Was wounded. Ppresented to the world by the Nazi propaganda machine as being an Aryan hero of the highest order. The actual fact, much more prosaic, was that Schmeling was "wounded" from a non-combat related injury. He suffered stomach cramps and was captured by the New Zealand defenders of Crete [obviously later released from captivity when the battle went in favor of the German invader].

[These stomach cramps were in all probability the result of heat exhaustion. Temperatures on Crete during the fighting were daily around 105 degrees F. A whole lot of German paratroopers fell casualty to heat exhaustion, in part due to the thickness of the uniform that they wore. Suitable for more northerly climes, NOT for Crete in the heat of the Mediterranean summer].

Schmeling could be the archetype for the "jock warrior". An athlete of the highest order who is physically and mentally most prepared to serve in "elite" military units. Such as the Hermann Goering Division. [the entire topic of "jock" elite military unit has been touched upon in several previous blog entries].

To the extent that Max Schmeling saw fit to do what he saw as his patriotic duty, and do so in the fashion that he did, is to be considered admirable. Very few people are ever able or willing to comport themselves as Max Schmeling did in his life. A MAN that can be held in the highest esteem!!

[personal note: In the early 1980's the U.S. Army held Corps level exercises at Eglin AFB in Florida. The temperatures were very hot. And the new battle dress uniform [BDU] was found to be of too thick of a material for hot weather climes. A lot of troops became heat casualties. Sounds familiar, doesn't it??!!]

coolbert.