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Fighting Gobbler! by Capt. Ernie Ambrose

Many Virginia Tech grads serve the country round the clock in the U. S. military, and this, of course, means lots of our fellow Hokies have been deployed across the globe, including in Iraq.  The searing desert is a far cry from Blacksburg, but overseas Hokie fans like Capt. Ernie Ambrose know how to keep the Hokie spirit even in the most demanding circumstances.

Thanks for this great story, Ernie, and thanks for your service and the service of so many other Americans and their families who make personal sacrifices on a daily basis.

"While I was in Iraq, I actually walked about 3 miles to a Morale, Welfare and Recreation tent once at 3 AM to watch the Texas AM and VT game.  It was my first or second day in Iraq and there had been a mortar attack about an hour before.  I asked my buddy, 'Do you think that was us or them," and he said, 'I don't think it was us.'  I said, "But I gotta see this game!"

"There were many times I had to commandeer a humvee for a night to drive around and look for a unit that had satellite TV coverage of a VT game.  I covered a locker of mine in VT football newspaper clippings sent from home. I also used my rank on more than one occasion to watch a VT game when another game I was on.  I remember I had to order a few soldiers that we were watching the VT vs. Syracuse game. However, once we started blowing them out I let them watch the game they wanted."

Ernie and crew enjoying R & R in Blacksburg.

© Horse Archer Productions, 2006