James Robert Kalsu (April 13, 1945 – July 21, 1970) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n tackle at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

and an eighth-round selection in the

1968 NFL/AFL draft The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Minn ...

by the

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

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. Kalsu joined the U.S. Army as an officer after the 1968 season and was killed in action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1970. Kalsu was one of two professional football players killed in the Vietnam War and the last to be killed serving as a soldier in a war until

Pat Tillman Patrick Daniel Tillman Jr. (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) who left his sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002 in the afterma ...

in 2004.

Biography

James Robert Kalsu was born on 13 April 1945 in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and attended

Del City High School Del City High School is the only public high school located in Del City, Oklahoma, U.S., and one of three high schools in the Mid-Del School District. The school opened in 1953. According to GreatSchools.org, the high school is rated above Midwes ...

. Kalsu was a starting guard for the

in the 1968 season, playing the entire season and was the Bills' team rookie-of-the-year. Following the 1968 season, to satisfy his

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC) obligation, Kalsu entered the U.S. Army as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and arrived in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

in November 1969 as part of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

. On July 21, 1970, Kalsu was killed in action at the

Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord was a 23-day battle between elements of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and two reinforced divisions of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that took place from 1 to 23 July 1970. It was the last majo ...

when his unit came under enemy 82-millimeter mortar fire while stationed near the

A Shau Valley A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

in Thua Thien Province.''Rockin’ the Rockpile'', p. 513 His family has declined to talk in detail about the circumstances surrounding his death. When Kalsu had left for South Vietnam, Kalsu had to say goodbye to his wife, Jan, and his daughter Jill. On July 23, 1970, two days after his death, Jan gave birth to his son, James Robert Kalsu Jr, at the Kalsu home in Oklahoma City, and was informed that he had died only hours later. Kalsu was one of only two professional football players killed in action during the Vietnam War along with

Don Steinbrunner Donald Thomas Steinbrunner (April 5, 1932 – July 20, 1967) was an American football offensive tackle who was one of only two American professional football players to die in the Vietnam War. Early years Born in Bellingham, Washington, Steinbr ...

, a former

Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy'', and its spin-off series ''The Cleveland Show''. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his mild-mannered ...

player who died on July 20, 1967. Kalsu and Steinbrunner were the first professional players to be killed in action since

Al Blozis Albert Charles Blozis (January 5, 1919 – January 31, 1945) was an American football player and track and field athlete who died fighting in World War II. He played offensive tackle for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL) ...

of the

New York Football Giants New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

died during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945. Kalsu remained the last professional player to be killed in action until

died in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

in 2004.

Legacy

FOB Kalsu Forward Operating Base Kalsu, also known as 'FOB Kalsu', COS Kalsu or simply Camp Kalsu, was a U.S. Military installation in Iskandariya, Iraq, 20 miles south of Baghdad. It was officially closed by members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Ca ...

Babil ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, was founded and named after him by the 105th Military Police Company from Buffalo, New York, in early 2003. The name was chosen in a way to honor his sacrifice for his country and his connection to the Buffalo Bills. *In 1999, NFL Films produced a feature on Kalsu that was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. *In 2000, the Buffalo Bills added Kalsu's name to the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame. *In 2002, the replacement company at Fort Campbell was named in honor of him – 1LT J. Robert Kalsu Replacement Company. *

's football stadium bears his name. * There is a

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

Work Out of the Day (WOD) named in his honor. *There is a post office in

Del City, Oklahoma Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 21,822 at the United States Census, 2020. Del City is located near two major interstate highways, both of whi ...

, named for Kalsu. The legislation was signed in law by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

on November 5, 2015, and the post office was dedicated on November 5, 2016. The official name of the post office is the James Robert Kalsu Post Office, located at 4500 SE 28th Street in Del City, where Kalsu played high school football before enrolling at the University of Oklahoma.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

NFL Films
– Remembering Bob Kalsu
Buffalo News story on KalsuOklahoma Sooners football
– All-American: Bob Kalsu * *
Sports Illustrated
' – cover – July 23, 2001 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalsu, Bob 1945 births 1970 deaths Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Players of American football from Oklahoma American football offensive guards Buffalo Bills players Oklahoma Sooners football players United States Army officers American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War American Football League players United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War

Biography

Legacy

Awards and decorations

See also

References

External links