Don Holleder Donald Walter Holleder ( August 3 , 1934 – October 17 , 1967 ) was an American college football star who was killed in the Vietnam War . Early life and football career . Holleder was born in Buffalo , New York , and at age 13 , he and his family moved to Irondequoit , New York . He attended high school at the Aquinas Institute in nearby Rochester . He was heavily recruited by a number of top college football teams , including West Point ' s offensive coach Vince Lombardi . He elected to enroll at the United States Military Academy at West Point . As a junior in 1954 , he was named to the All - America team as an end . The following season , Army head coach Red Blaik asked him to move to quarterback . Holleder clearly lacked the skills to be a productive passer , but Blaik felt that his leadership skills were important and would help the struggling team improve . Blaik ' s move was ridiculed but it paid off . The team finished with a record of 6 - 3 - 0 , including a rousing upset of Navy that led to Holleder ' s appearance on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . One of Holleder ' s classmates at West Point was Norman Schwarzkopf . They both graduated in 1956 . Military career . The New York Giants selected Holleder in the 1956 NFL Draft college draft , but Holleder was not interested in a professional football career . After graduating West Point , he continued to serve in the US Army . Over the next ten years he rose to the rank of Major , serving posts in Hawaii and Korea , and in between returning to West Point for three years as an assistant football coach , recruiter , and scout . Battle of Ong Thanh . In 1967 , Holleder , now a major , requested to be sent to Vietnam , where he became the Operations Officer for 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division . He was killed in the Battle of Ong Thanh on October 17 , 1967 . While he and his commanding officer were overflying the battle in a helicopter , they observed that the entire command unit on the ground had been killed and the remaining men were in serious trouble . Don volunteered to organize a rescue effort . Upon landing , Don secured three volunteers and rushed to the battle site . Running far in front of his volunteers , he was gunned down and killed by a sniper . The battle is documented in Pulitzer Prize - winning reporter David Maraniss ’ book " They Marched Into Sunlight " and Terry Tibbetts ' book " A Spartan Game , the Life and Loss of Don Holleder " . A film of the story is being produced by Tom Hanks . Legacy . Holleder left behind a wife and four children . In 1974 , the football stadium in his hometown was renamed Holleder Memorial Stadium in his honor . The stadium was home to the football team of his high school Alma Mater , Aquinas Institute . In 1985 the stadium was torn down . The Holleder Technology Park now stands on the site , bisected by Holleder Parkway . In 1985 , he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame , and that same year , West Point ' s basketball / hockey arena was named in his honor ( The Donald W . Holleder Center ) . Each year , the Army football team recognizes one of their players with the Black Lion Award , given " to a player who best exemplifies the character of Don Holleder , leadership , courage , devotion to duty , self sacrifice and , above all , an unselfish concern to put the team ahead of himself . " He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on April 27 , 2012 .