At a recent event, I met a woman named Trudy who shared with me that she is the daughter of the late David Merwin Smith. Dave Smith played Major League Baseball as a pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1938 and 1939 before the war snatched him away from a game he loved.
Hearing Trudy reminisce about her father reminded me of the baseball players of old who enjoyed the game in its purest form on historic fields like Firefly Field (A Field of Fireflies). It also helped me remember how great men stepped away from a sport they loved to fight for future athletes to be able to continue playing baseball, and for authors like me to be able to write stories about baseball fields like ones these men might have played on.
Some stories should never be forgotten, and one of those stories includes David Merwin Smith, baseball player and patriot. I wish I could have met him and shook his hand.