Fallen but not forgotten: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson
Posted: Thursday, December 04, 2008 3:01 PM by Daily Nightly Contributor
Filed Under:
John Rutherford
By John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
When the New York Giants thumped the Washington Redskins Sunday, 23-7, the Giants' honorary co-captain, Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, was on the sidelines, cheering the Super Bowl champs on to victory.
"They're playing with great confidence, and you can't underscore how well they're playing as a team," the 42-year-old Gadson said after the game.
That wasn't the case a year ago. Gadson, who lost both legs to a roadside bomb in Baghdad, was asked to give the winless Giants a pep talk before last year's game in Washington.
"I talked to them about their obligation as professionals to do their best," he said. 
The Giants responded by beating the Redskins, 24-17, turning their season around, and going on to win the Super Bowl. In April, they brought Gadson along with them to meet President Bush at the White House.
"Greg has just been an unbelievable inspiration to this team," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said at the time.
Gadson is modest about any role he's played in the Giants' success.
"I guess that would assume there was some direct linkage between me and their success," he said. "I would be the last to attribute their success to me."
Still, Gadson and the Giants remain in close contact.
"I spent some time with them during training camp this summer, and the last game I was at was up in New York for the Dallas game [a 35-14 Giants win]," Gadson said. "I actually spent Saturday night with the team at their hotel and had dinner with them and just kind of hung out with them for the weekend. I'm kind of, I guess, a quasi-teammate."
New York's success on the field (an 11-1 record) mirrors Gadson's steady improvement off the field.
"I'm continuing to get better, and my recovery is still going pretty well," said Gadson, who gets around on prosthetic legs.
Gadson plans to stay in the Army and is taking graduate courses in policy management at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
"I don't have a master plan for what I ultimately want to do with it," he said. "The Army, I'm sure, will put it to good use."
In the meantime, Gadson continues to inspire the Giants, much to the chagrin of their NFL opponents.
AP photo of Greg Gadson in Giants' locker room after their 2007 victory over the Redskins. Getty Images photo of Gadson and his son Galen with Giants quarterback Eli Manning after New York's Super Bowl win.
Click here to view an earlier story on Greg Gadson and the Giants.
Click here to view tributes to the 455 service members killed this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the following three casualties from last week:
1. Army 1st Lt. William Jernigan, 35, of Doraville, Ga.
2. Marine Capt. Warren Frank, 26, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
3. Army Master Sgt. Anthony Davis, 43, of Triangle, Va.
Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He also posts stories on the military at www.fieldnotes.msnbc.com (click on "John Rutherford" under "categories") and at http://john-rutherford.newsvine.com. The first tribute gallery can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22802019/ and the second at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27336564.
