Donald Walter Holleder (August 3, 1934 – October 17, 1967) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

star while attending the United States Military Academy and later assistant football coach for the United States Military Academy, who was later 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 recruiters, 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 Colonel 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 General Norman Schwarzkopf. They both graduated in the Class of 1956.

1956 NFL draft

The

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

selected Holleder in the 1956 NFL Draft college draft. However, Holleder was not interested in a professional football career.

Military career

After graduating from West Point, he continued to serve in the U.S. Army. Over the next ten years, he rose to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, 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. During the

Battle of Ong Thanh The Battle of Ong Thanh was fought at the stream of that name (Ông Thành) on the morning of 17 October 1967, in Chơn Thành District, at the time part of Bình Dương Province, South Vietnam, today in Bình Phước Province. During the ...

on Tuesday October 17, 1967, he and his commanding officer were overflying the battle in a helicopter. They observed 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, Holleder secured three volunteers and rushed to the battle site. Running far in front of his volunteers, he was shot by a sniper. The volunteers who accompanied him pulled him into cover behind a tree. Before they could apply emergency first aid, Holleder died. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards and decorations

Distinguished Service Cross

Citation:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Major (Infantry) Donald Walter Holleder (ASN: 0-73723), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action. On 17 October 1967, during Operation Shenandoah II, Major Holleder was serving as Brigade Operations Officer while accompanying his Brigade Commander in the aerial supervision of ground elements. At approximately 1100 hours, the 2d Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, became heavily engaged with elements of two Viet Cong battalions. The fire of the well positioned enemy caused a loss of key personnel, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the friendly unit. The Brigade Commander elected to command the embattled battalion from the ground and landed his helicopter. They then moved forward to reestablish effective command and control of the unit. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Major Holleder braved the vicious enemy fire to move through the ranks of the fighting and wounded soldiers, offering them words of encouragement and helping to establish orderly evacuation for the casualties. When the intense sniper fire impeded the evacuation of the wounded, Major Holleder unhesitatingly moved forward to reconnoiter the evacuation route. He refused to take seek cover from the deadly volleys of insurgent sniper fire and continued to assess the enemy situation until he was mortally wounded by the heavy ground fire. His tremendous courage and poise in the face of overwhelming odds had a stabilizing effect on his men and was instrumental in saving many lives. Major Holleder's unquestionable valor in close combat against numerically superior hostile forces, was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Military Service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 1st Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

Silver Star

Citation:

For distinguishing himself by outstanding meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam during the period July 1967 to September 1967. Through his untiring efforts and professional ability, he consistently obtained outstanding results. He was quick to grasp the implications of new problems with which he was faced as a result of the ever changing situations inherent in a counterinsurgency operation and to find ways and means to solve those problems. The energetic application of his extensive knowledge has materially contributed to the efforts of the United States mission to the Republic of Vietnam to assist that country in ridding itself of the Communist threat to its freedom. His initiative, zeal, sound judgement and devotion to duty have been in the highest tradition of the United States Army and reflect great credit on him and on the military service.

Commendations

Personal life

Holleder had a wife, Caroline, and four daughters, Stacy, Katherine, Susan, and Caroline.

Legacy

In 1974, the football stadium in his hometown of Rochester was renamed

Holleder Memorial Stadium Holleder Memorial Stadium was a 20,000 seat football stadium in Rochester, New York. Located on Ridgeway Avenue, at the south east corner of Mount Read Blvd., it was built in 1949 to serve as the home of Aquinas Institute football. Originally na ...

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 where 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 The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

, 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 The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

on April 27, 2012. David Maraniss' book '' They Marched Into Sunlight'' is currently in production for a 6-part series for FX and will include Holleder's story.