Stars In Uniform - 62

Stars In Uniform - 62 years ago, Jimmy Stewart was drafted, rejected for being underweight, and joined the US Army Air Corps anyway. He was standing guard duty when news of Pearl Harbor broke. He was a corporal when he reported for flight training. By the end of the war, he was a bird colonel and had flown 20 combat missions, and proven himself as a leader even beyond that. The story is fascinating.

The Tillman brothers - Pat, an Arizona Cardinals safety, and Kevin, a minor-league pitching prospect - earned plaudits for leaving the world of professional sports behind to join the Army after 9/11 - and justly so. Both served in combat in the Gulf, and now both have been accepted into Ranger training (although only a small number even among successful trainees are selected to join the 75th Airborne (Ranger) Regiment).

Now, perhaps, even a stranger story; rapper Canibus has followed through with his own vow to join the Army. He's now a cavalry scout.

So what's so important about celebrities (albeit B-list ones, unlike Stewart) joining the military? In the case of the Tillmans, it's that men who are on the brink of immense wealth are willing to drop it all in mid-career to serve their country - knowing that professional athletics depends on being at a physical peak that is not only fleeting, but that the military, especially elite infantry units like the Rangers, are famous for wearing out just as fast as professional sports.

For the rapper, it's as big a jump; while Canibus is a B-list rapper (most famous as a battle-rapper), he was at the peak of his career, in an industry with a shorter memory than sports.

The point? Maybe there is none. Or maybe it's just that all is not lost.