NASHVILLE – Screaming Eagle Soldiers from across post met early on a frigid Sunday morning, at the Exchange parking lot, awaiting their bus ride to the Tennessee Titans practice stadium in Nashville.
Once at the practice stadium, 75 101st Airborne Division Soldiers rehearsed their unfurling demonstration for the opening ceremony and the half time show, which was to be part of the Titans’ 2017 Salute to Soldiers National Football League game.
After the Soldiers rehearsed, they loaded the buses again, this time headed to Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans stadium holds 70,000 fans, all of whose attention was focused on the 101st Abn. Div. Soldiers during the opening ceremonies.
“Getting to go to the game was a great experience,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Shaul, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. “It was awesome to get to share stories with other veterans.”
The Soldiers ran out of the tunnel and onto the field with Titans’ players, where the Soldiers then unfurled the American flag. As the National Anthem played, Soldiers of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade performed a fly over of the stadium.
“It was an honor to participate in the ceremony, in front of such a large crowd,” said Spc. Rushell D. Johnson, human resource specialist with the 101st CAB, who participated in the flag unfurling. “It made me even more proud to be a Soldier.”
She said she would not think twice should the opportunity to do this again be available in the future.
“It was a great experience,” Johnson said. “The people I met were very thankful of our service. I would definitely do it again.”
Sergeant First Class Eric Harder, platoon sergeant, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Abn. Div., was recognized for his Bronze Star with Valor during the 12th Titan special ceremony where he drove a Titans sword into the field.
During game play, each football team has 11 players on the field, but when the Titans play at home they add an honoree known as the 12th Titan.
“I had a strong feeling of honor,” Harper said. “I got the chance to talk to a few players and staff and I can’t thank them enough for the hospitality to my friends, Family and all the Soldiers.”
The best part of the whole experience was that he was not alone in the celebration, he said.
“Just to be on the field and able to bring fellow Soldiers to share the experience,” Harder said. “It was truly a royal treatment.”
During the Veterans Day game, Soldiers had sideline passes, received free seats in the stadium and a chance to be seen on national television.
“Going to the game was a dream come true,” said Cpl. Brian Hannon, infantryman, 3-187th Inf. Regt. “Getting to meet some of our favorite players, the ones we have watched since their college years. It was definitely a day I won’t ever forget.”
The Soldiers and the band were brought back out during the half time show to once again unfurl the American flag, while the bands from each branch of the military played their branches song.
During the first timeout of the third quarter, Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Poppas, commanding general of the 101st Abn. Div. and Fort Campbell, was presented the game ball by Steve Underwood, Tennessee Titans president.
The 101st Abn. Div. is the only air assault division in the U.S. Army and sets the standard for air assault operations throughout the Army. Partnerships such as the one with the Titans is one bonded by professionalism and commitment to excellence.