When Brad Childress joined three of his fellow NFL head coaches. . .Carolina’s John Fox, Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, and Philadelphia’s Andy Reid. . .on a USO trip to Afghanistan, he expected to meet a bunch of troops and shake a lot of hands, like he had done on previous trips.
↵However, he didn’t immediately recognize one of the hands he was shaking. . .even if he probably should have.
↵↵↵Then Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Childress started speaking, and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan went from being the latest stop on a goodwill mission to a surprise homecoming.
↵“I’m looking him right in the eye and didn’t know who the hell he was,” Childress said about his son. "He was much thinner. He looked at me with no mustache, no hair, but then I heard his voice and knew it was him.
↵“It was very emotional. Big hug. Hard to describe.”
↵
Yes, Coach Childress got to meet up with his son, Andrew, who joined the Marines in 2008 and left for Afghanistan in May. Kudos to the USMC for making this happen.
↵Now, if you’ll excuse me, the room seems to have gotten a bit dusty for some reason.