ORCHARD
PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Bob Kalsu -- the only professional football player killed in
the Vietnam War -- was added to the Buffalo
Bills' Wall of Fame in a ceremony held before Buffalo's game against
Chicago on Sunday. Kalsu's
widow, Jan Kalsu McLauchlin, was on hand to accept the honor along with the
couple's two children, Jill Horning, 32, and Bob Jr., 30. Bob Kalsu Jr., who
wore his father's jersey during the ceremony, was born two days after his father
was killed by mortar fire on July 21, 1970. "The
Buffalo Bills organization has supported us. When we were crumbled with grief
they were there to pick us up and wrap their arms around us and remember
Bob," Kalsu McLauchlin said. "For the children and myself, it's such
an honor and such a statement to the Bills organization." The
ceremony also included a video tribute to Kalsu by retired Gen. Colin Powell. "America
owes a great debt to those who died to keep us free," Powell said. Kalsu
-- who is a native of Oklahoma City and was an All-American tackle at the
University of Oklahoma -- was an eighth-round pick of Buffalo in 1968 and was
voted the team's top rookie following the 1968 season. Kalsu
McLauchlin said that the Bills not only paid tribute to her late husband on
Sunday, but all of those who lost their lives in Vietnam. "Bob
was 25 but the others they were 18, 19 years old. They had dreams too and they
were cut short," Kalsu McLauchlin said. "Bob was able to start
beginning his dream. Some of them never got to and for that I would have Bob's
name up there to honor them." Kalsu
#61 and former Buffalo defensive back George Saimes -- who was also honored by the
Bills on Sunday -- became the 15th and 16th members of the team's Wall of Fame.
It was the first time in team history that more than one person was added in a
single season.
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