Before the NFL was big, Lions players served their country in big ways

As much as any professional sports league in America, the National Football League uses its huge public platform to honor service members, veterans and military families.

In fact, as part of the NFL’s annual “Salute to Service” initiative throughout November, during Weeks 9-11 of the regular season, all 32 NFL teams will recognize the military community through game day tributes, community events and charitable initiatives that build on the league's year-round commitment to those who serve.

On Sunday, Nov. 22, the Detroit Lions will host their Salute to Service game for 2026 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit Ford Field. The special ceremonies will include the National Anthem sung by Detroit native and US Air Force Staff Sergeant MeLan Kameyo Smartt; a giant U.S. flag presentation, including a group of military veterans that are longtime Lions fans; a $25,000 Folds of Honor Scholarship Check presented to a local community hero; recognition of Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp as the team’s nominee for the NFL’s 2026 Salute To Service Award; and more.

However, before that game, the observance of Veterans Day on Nov. 11 provides an opportunity to reflect back on a time before professional football was “America’s passion," but was instead played by young men with boundless passion not just for the game, but also for their country.

A product of those times with a connection to the Lions, was Dave Schreiner, who was celebrated in newspapers across the country, including the Detroit Free Press, when he was voted the Big Ten’s “Player of the Year” in 1942 as the first two-time All Big Ten selection for the University of Wisconsin, where he played end. Schreiner’s play at Wisconsin also was good enough to make him the 11th overall selection in the 1943 NFL Draft by the Lions.

Unfortunately Detroit sports writers would never have an opportunity to write about Schreiner as a member of the Lions, because before he graduated from Wisconsin Schreiner already had enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. So, rather than participating in a Lions rookie minicamp shortly after being selected by the team, Schreiner reported for active military duty at Paris Island, S.C. where he underwent basic training and completed Officer Candidate School.

First Lieutenant David Nathan Schreiner died on June 21, 1945, after being mortally wounded while taking part in mop-up operations in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.

There also were a few other good men, who did have a chance to play for the Lions during either the 1942 or 1943 seasons before swapping a Lions jersey for military uniforms representing several branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. They, too, made the ultimate sacrifice for their country during World War II.

These men of valor were Charlie Behan, a two-way end in 1942, who was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa while serving in the Marine Corps; Chet Wetterlund, a running back and defensive back in 1942 who died in a naval training flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 1944; and Alex Ketzko a tackle from Michigan State, who split the 1943 NFL season with the New York Giants and the Lions before being killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge in France while serving in the Army.

One person who has extensive knowledge about the contributions of Detroit military veterans across all areas of our society is Paul Palazzolo, who served in the Army from 1967-69 during the Vietnam War and today is the president of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Detroit Chapter No. 9.

The ranks of Detroit Vietnam veterans also included many former high school and college athletes, along with Detroiters that possessed great talents in other areas that put their futures on hold to serve their country. They received little public praise for doing so, and in some cases, they faced hostility.

Still, those veterans proudly served America, and one of the many ways that they continue to serve is from a piece of land on the corner of Woodward and Temple – within walking distance of Detroit’s major sports venues and other popular entertainment destinations – that allows veterans to support fellow veterans in need, as well as the city of Detroit at-large through a parking lot operated by Palazzolo’s VVA chapter, which puts the money collected at the lot right back into the community.

“Not a dime is wasted,” said Palazzolo, about the lot which sits just north of Little Caesars Arena and is staffed primarily during game days – including Lions tailgating – and other major sports and entertainment events.

“We help Detroiters go to school through our scholarship program; we’re about to give turkeys to Detroiters; we fed the Police Department two weeks ago because our police officers don’t make a lot of money; we support the Michigan Veterans Foundation (a nonprofit dedicated to housing homeless veterans and helping service members transition back into independent living). We do whatever we can to help.”

And for anyone who has ever taken a close look at what appears to be a collection of homemade large posters that stand in the parking lot at Woodward and Temple, it is clear that veterans are using a humble public stage to keep some rich Detroit history alive.

This includes – as one of the posters points out – a time in Detroit during 1935-36 when Detroit was home to three world championship teams – the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions in 1935 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1936 – at the same time Joe Louis (an Army Technical Sergeant during World War II) was making his rise toward claiming the World Heavyweight Boxing title, which he did in 1937 by defeating James J. Braddock.

“We should respect our veterans for their service to our country, and we should also respect Detroit’s history,” said Palazzolo, who still speaks fondly about his days as an urban planner when he worked with Detroit Mayor Coleman Young (a Tuskegee Airman, while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946). “We were also the bowling capital of the world and champions in roller derby, and then there is all of the great music and artists that we have had.

“We never give kudos to all of the history that has taken place. We don’t publicize what we’re about, but we have had so many people who have done great things and have served our country well.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.