Hall of Fame salutes those who served on Veterans Day

• Precious Metal: An unexpected letter from France adds to the legacy of Hall of Famer Pete Pihos

By Ray Didinger

Editor's note: The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s mission to “Honor the Greatest of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values and Celebrate Excellence Together,” continues Saturday on Veterans Day. The Hall salutes those who have bravely served and sacrificed for the common good. This Veterans Day, the Hall looks back at a special story by Ray Didinger from the 2020-21 Yearbook.

The letter was postmarked Fontainebleau, France. Melissa Pihos did not have family there. She had never heard of the place. What, she wondered, could this be?

She opened the letter and found a lovely note written in French by a woman named Sylvette.

“I was walking in the forest near my home,” she wrote, “and I found this.”

It was a U.S. Army dog tag with the name PETE PIHOS.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Melissa said. “I was speechless.”

Pete Pihos, Melissa’s father, died in 2011 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Melissa and her mother, Donna, cared for him to the end. Pihos was a great two-way player with the Philadelphia Eagles and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970, but he also was a highly decorated infantryman in World War II.

Pihos was part of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, earning a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and a battlefield commission while serving under Gen. George Patton. He was among the American GIs who drove the Germans out of Fontainebleau and liberated the town. At some point in the fighting, Pihos lost his dog tag. Nearly 80 years later, it was found by a total stranger and returned to his family.

“It is like a miracle,” said Melissa, 46, a professor of dance at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. That was where Sylvette, with the help of the internet, tracked her down.

Melissa received the letter in March. She stayed in touch with Sylvette and hoped to visit her in Fontainebleau, adding one more chapter in her ongoing quest to learn more about her father, who was 51 when she was born.

“People would say, ‘Is that your grandfather?’ ” she said. “I’d say, ‘No, that’s my dad.’ There was a lot I didn’t know about him. I knew he played football, I knew he was in the war, but I didn’t know the full extent of it. He didn’t talk that much about himself. He wasn’t that way.”

Melissa learned more about her father when she accompanied him to Canton for a Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend. She saw the way people fussed over him; she sat next to him while the Hall of Famers swapped stories. Most of all, she remembers walking through the gallery and seeing her father’s Bronze Bust on display alongside legends like SAMMY BAUGH, RED GRANGE and JIM THORPE.
 
“I was 11 or 12 at the time,” she said, “but I remember thinking how many men played the game of football and these were the select few, the very best, and my father was one of them. I was so proud of him. He was like a superhero to me. He still is.”

Melissa researched her father’s career, which began at Indiana University, where he was an All-America fullback, then a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. He joined the team in 1947 and moved to end, where he earned All-Pro honors five times. He led the NFL in receptions three years in a row and helped the Eagles win world championships in 1948 and ’49, catching a 31-yard touchdown pass in the latter game.

Pihos retired after the 1955 season, but he still ranks among the Eagles’ all-time leaders in receptions (373) and receiving yards (5,619). His 61 touchdown catches are third in franchise history, behind only fellow Hall of Famers HAROLD CARMICHAEL (79) and TOMMY MCDONALD (66).

After her father’s death, Melissa produced a short film called “Dear Dad” that combined footage of Pihos’ NFL career with home movies of his battle with Alzheimer’s.

“My dad led an extraordinary life,” Melissa said, “and this is one more piece of his history.”

Along with Pihos, dozens of other Hall of Famers served our country. Today and every day, we remember those who gave their all and sacrificed for the common good.

Veterans Day Event & Expo at the Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will host its annual Veterans Day Event & Expo to honor military veterans on Saturday, Nov. 11. The Hall will also present a Veterans Day Expo from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. featuring veteran-based services and organizations. A special giveaway of a Salute to Service helmet will be raffled off. Guests will receive a checklist at the point of entry — every booth must be visited to enter the raffle.