NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
This Memorial Day weekend, just like the rest, hits Robert Griffin III – but this one might be a little more special.
The son of two U.S. Army veterans, the former Washington Commanders quarterback returned to the nation’s capital as part of his longtime partnership with USAA.
Griffin visited USAA’s Poppy Wall of Honor, a powerful tribute recognizing more than 600,000 service members who gave their lives defending our country, each represented by a single poppy, on the National Mall.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Robert Griffin III looks on before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on December 4, 2023. (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)
“It’s really an opportunity to share their stories. They’ve actually enhanced the exhibit even more this year by adding stories of fallen soldiers, so you can walk through the exhibit and hear the stories told by their family members,” Griffin told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview.
“Because in the military community, we often feel like maybe the sacrifices aren’t appreciated as much, or maybe we’re sometimes forgotten for the things that we do for this country. These people that are honored by this wall made the ultimate sacrifice. So it’s not them that feel it, it’s their families.
“Hearing these stories from families is really important and impactful, and all they want is not to be forgotten. So if we can continue to tell their stories and pay tribute to them and honor them, it will keep their stories alive.”
Griffin knows many Americans will take advantage of the long weekend to have poolside barbecues, but he implored everyone to understand why they are able to do so in the first place.
A wall of more than 600,000 red poppies representing U.S. service members who have died in the line of duty since World War I is on display along the National Mall in Washington, DC, May 26, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
BRONCOS STAR GARETT BOLLES REFLECTS ON TEAM BROTHERHOOD AFTER MEETING WITH THE NATION’S HEROES FOR MEMORIAL DAY
“I’m not saying it’s not because of that. What I’m saying is there’s a reason we’re able to do this, and it’s because of our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Griffin said. “I just want to be here with USAA and get this out there. It’s good to have fun, but if you have some time, come together, take a moment of silence, say a prayer, share the stories if you know someone who was in the military who made the ultimate sacrifice, so we can keep these stories alive and really know that the reason for Memorial Day is about them. It’s not about us.”
Having been around veterans his entire life, Griffin was able to learn some lessons from those who served in the field and in life.
“Yeah, it’s not two points at all. It’s very impactful. With my parents, it was always, ‘Whatever you start, you’re going to finish it.’ It’s ‘yes, ma’am,’ ‘no, ma’am,’ ‘yes, sir,’ ‘no, sir,’ and the discipline it takes to get to where you want to be means you’re going to have to overcome adversity,” he said. “When you talk about the kind of mental toughness you need to do something like this – knowing that you may not see your mother, your father, your child, your husband, your wife again – it’s truly remarkable, and it shows you how seriously they take their service and how much they love this country.
Former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III looks on before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on December 4, 2023. (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
“If we can apply that to everything we do in life, this country is going to continue to grow and be great at the level it has been. To me, that’s what the military is. It’s the best of us, and these people deserve to be honored.”
