Garrard attends WWII museum and conference in New Orleans

Lamar Garrard, holding The Lincoln Journal, Lou Brissie of N. Augusta and Milledge Murray, Augusta baseball historian attended the National WWII Museum in New Orleans recently.

The National World War II Museum in New Orleans held a conference and exhibit entitled "Duty, Honor, Country: When Baseball Went to War" during the veterans day weekend, November 9 - 11. Lamar Garrard of Lincolnton, Lou Brissie of North Augusta, and Milledge Murray, baseball historian of Augusta, attended the conference and exhibit.

Mr. Brissie is a veteran of WWII who was badly wounded in action in Italy. He survived 23 operations on his leg and went on to become an allstar pitcher with the Philadelphia A's and the Cleveland Indians. Mr. Brissie is in the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame. He pitched for Savannah in 1947. He was the national director for American Legion Baseball during the 1950's.

The conference panelists, along with Mr. Brissie, included Hall of Fame Cleveland Indians pitcher, Bob Feller, who served on a battleship and gave up four years of baseball to serve in the military. Also on the panel was Jerry Coleman, NY Yankee infielder who played with six Yankee World Series championship teams. Mr. Coleman served his country as a pilot in two wars, WWII and Korea. He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The keynote address was given by Hall of Fame Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda. He won two World Series Championships as the Dodger manager and also managed the US Olympic Baseball Team to a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

President Roosevelt felt that baseball should be played and wrote the famous "green light letter" to baseball commissioner Landis asking him to continue baseball. The president felt that people needed the pastime to help take their minds off the war and their work. Baseball became a welcomed escape and, unquestionable, the national pastime.

Baseball played a significant role in the victory of World War II, both on the battlefront and the home front. The values that make up the American Spirit - teamwork, optimism, courage, and sacrifice - were never more evident than in the men and women who fought and won World War II.

For the next several months, the museum will continue to display the baseball during the war exhibit. It includes photos, equipment, program tickets, letters, from players and games both home and abroad. Thousands of major and minor league players served their country in the war, some losing their careers in baseball and others the ultimate sacrifice. The National World War II Museum salutes this unique era when baseball was more than a game.