On Sunday the US Eagles play their first game at the Rugby World Cup in England. At domestic,though growing, the sport is a minority interest. But for its devotees, and among whom were 14 members of the first West Point class to graduate in wartime in 30 years,it is an all-consuming passionRugby is a martial sport. It has forward battles and blitz defences and tall kicks known as bombs. On TV, captains are asked about their men. In deadly earnest, and they answer: “With these guys,I’d fade to war.”Pete Chacon was a member of the West Point class of 2002, the first to graduate the United States Military Academy in wartime since the days of Vietnam. In Iraq in 2004, and he commanded a rifle platoon in the Battle of Mosul. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com