Back in the mid-1970s, when I was a student a few miles north of CTP at Reading Memorial High School, I had the privilege of getting to know a teacher and track coach named Hal Croft. Though I was never in one of his classes or on a team he coached, I got to know him as a sportswriter for the local newspaper, covering the track & field teams he coached. He was a highly decorated Marine who fought in Vietnam, and was recognized as being tough but fair, both in the classroom and on the track. His wit and dry sense of humor were outweighed only by his brilliance as a teacher and his unprecedented success as a coach.
Last Thursday evening, on my birthday, I attended the premier of a documentary film called “CROFT: One Man’s Race For Redemption.” The idea for the film came from Brandon Millett, a writer and producer whose specialty is telling stories about military service members and their families. Brandon is a Reading High grad who set out to tell the story of a man who took what he learned as a Marine and used it to educate, motivate and extract the best out of every student-athlete he ever taught or coached. Though he was brilliant as an educator, Mr. Croft is widely recognized as the coach of a Reading High outdoor track team that went 29 years without losing a dual meet.
What Brandon didn’t know when he started the project was the degree to which Mr. Croft battled PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) on a daily basis upon returning from Vietnam. During more than 20 hours interviewing Mr. Croft for the project, Brandon learned of the daily pain Mr. Croft suffered after returning from Vietnam, and how it impacted his life not just as a teacher and coach, but as a husband and father. He described the image of seeing North Vietnamese soldiers dead in a ditch on the battlefield as “a serpent running across the back of my mind that I wake up with every day,” one that will be there for the rest of his life.
During the many months the film was in production Brandon encouraged Mr. Croft to seek help, and he eventually agreed, in part because he wanted to set an example for veterans who may be resistant to treatment. Mr. Croft reconnected with another Reading High grad, retired Brigadier General Jack Hammond, who is Executive Director of Home Base, an organization dedicated to helping heal the wounds of war veterans. You may have heard of the annual Run To Home Base fundraiser that ends with participants crossing home plate at Fenway Park.
Almost six decades after returning from Vietnam, Mr. Croft is finally getting the support that he and so many of our veterans so desperately need.
There were many interviews in the documentary with former students and athletes whose lives were impacted in such a positive way by Mr. Croft. But the most poignant words came from Mr. Croft’s family, describing the challenges they all faced in their home for so many years. Now, with the support provided by Home Base, Mr. Croft’s children describe the Dad they know today as the one they wish they had when they were growing up.
Some of you may remember legendary former college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer more than 30 years ago and whose V Foundation has raised almost $500 million for cancer research. Jimmy V. was a man of many phrases, and one of his most famous was his description of three things to do every day:
“Number one is to laugh. Number two is to think — spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that’s a heck of a day.”
Thanks to Hal Croft, Brandon Millett and many others responsible for the making of CROFT, Jimmy V. would be pleased to know that my birthday last week was a heck of a day.
As we celebrate Veterans Day today, I hope you’ll look for an opportunity to say thanks to a veteran for all they’ve given us and our nation. The pain too many of them have suffered often goes far beyond the battlefield, and without them we would not be the nation we are today.
Back in the mid-1970s, when I was a student a few miles north of CTP at Reading Memorial High School, I had the privilege of getting to know a teacher and track coach named Hal Croft. Though I was never in one of his classes or on a team he coached, I got to know him as a sportswriter for the local newspaper. He was a highly decorated ex-Marine who fought in Vietnam, and was recognized as being tough but fair, both in the classroom and on the track. His wit and dry sense of humor were outweighed only by his brilliance as a teacher and his unprecedented success as a coach.
Last Thursday evening I attended the premier of a documentary film called “CROFT: One Man’s Race For Redemption.” The idea for the film came from Brandon Millet, a writer and producer whose specialty is telling stories about military service members and their families. Brandon is a Reading High grad who set out to tell the story of a man who took what he learned as a Marine and used it to educate, motivate and extract the best out of every student-athlete he ever worked with. Though he was brilliant as an educator, Mr. Croft is widely recognized as the coach of an outdoor track team that went 29 years without losing a dual meet.
What Brandon didn’t know when he started the project was the degree to which Mr. Croft battled PTSD on a daily basis upon returning from Vietnam. During more than 20 hours interviewing Mr. Croft for the project, Brandon learned of the daily pain Mr. Croft suffered after returning from Vietnam, and how it impacted his life not just as a teacher and coach, but as a husband and father. He described the image of seeing North Vietnamese soldiers dead in a ditch on the battlefield as “a serpent running across the back of my mind that I wake up with every day,” one that will be there for the rest of his life. During the many months the film was in production, Brandon encouraged Mr. Croft to seek help and was initially rebuffed. But finally, Brandon introduced Mr. Croft to another Reading High grad, retired Brigadier General Jack Hammond, Executive Director of Home Base, an organization dedicated to helping heal the wounds of war veterans. You may have heard of the annual Run To Home Base fundraiser that ends crossing home plate at Fenway Park.
Almost six decades after returning from Vietnam, Mr. Croft is finally getting the support that he and so many hundreds of thousand of our veterans so desperately need.
There were many interviews in the documentary with former students and athletes whose lives were impacted in such a positive way by Mr. Croft. But the most poignant words came from Mr. Croft’s family, describing the challenges they all faced in their home for so many years. Now, with the support provided by Home Base, Mr. Croft’s children describe the Dad they know today as the one they wish they had when they were growing up.
Some of you may remember legendary former college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer more than 30 years ago and whose V Foundation has raised almost $500 Million for cancer research. Jimmy V. was a many of many phrases, and one of his most famous was his description of three things to do every day:
“Number one is to laugh. Number two is to think — spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that’s a heck of a day.”
Thanks to Hal Croft, Brandon Millet and many others responsible for the making of CROFT, Jimmy V. would be pleased to know that my birthday last week was a heck of a day.
As we celebrate Veterans Day, I hope you’ll look for an opportunity to say thanks to a veteran for all they’ve given us and our nation. The pain too many of them have suffered goes far beyond the battlefield, and without them we would not be the nation we are today.