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Charlie Behan
Career information
Born:	(1920-08-04)August 4, 1920 Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States
Died:	May 18, 1945(1945-05-18) (aged 24) Okinawa, Japan †
Position(s)	End
College	Northern Illinois
Career history
As player
1942	Detroit Lions


Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	Sixth Marine Division
Battles / wars	World War II Pacific War Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Battle of Okinawa †

Charles Edward Behan (August 4, 1920 – May 18, 1945) was a professional American football end for one season for the Detroit Lions.

Football career

Behan caught 4 passes for 63 yards in 1942, his only year with the Lions.^[1]

Behan enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces in 1942 and served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Prior to his overseas deployment, he played for the football team at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.^[2] In late 1944, when Behan was fighting with the newly reformed Sixth Marine Division on the island of Guadalcanal, he played in a hard-hitting "touch" football game on Christmas Eve between teams representing the 4th and 29th Regiments. Behan was the 29th Marines' player-coach and team captain in what the roster sheets passed out that day labeled "The Football Classic." The game ended in a scoreless tie.^[3]

Death at Okinawa

Most Marine players and spectators involved in "The Football Classic" were shipped to Okinawa in April 1945. During the Okinawa campaign, Behan took part in the Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. During the battle he was hit with shrapnel in the mouth. Insisting to stay on the front lines, Behan applied cotton to his mouth and changed it out regularly. After tossing grenades at a Japanese machine gun nest, Behan was hit by machine-gun fire and died.^[3]

Behan was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.^[3]^[4]

Notes

^ Rothstein, Mike (July 4, 2014). "Lions history by the numbers: 10-0". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ "Lejeune Marines work on all kicking phases". The News & Observer. AP. September 16, 1943. Retrieved June 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c Frei, Terry (May 31, 2010). "Frei: Salute veterans like Charlie Behan". Denver Post.
^ "Full Text Citations For Award of The Navy Cross To U.S. Marines World War II". Home of Heroes. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

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