Every Night I Pray

July 26, 2026

Every night, I pray the words found in First Kings. When God offered Solomon anything he desired, Solomon did not ask for long life, wealth, or victory over his enemies. He asked for “an understanding heart” so that he could lead with wisdom and discernment (1 Kings 3:9).

That is also my prayer.

I ask God for an understanding heart to lead Lettermen of the USA, not for myself, but for the brothers who played that flag football game on August 13, 2011.

Those men came together to help the citizens of Alabama after devastating storms tore through the state. A few months later, in December 2011, that same spirit of brotherhood and service gave birth to Lettermen of the USA. It was born not in a boardroom, but on a football field.

At the heart of that group were men who had played for Auburn University and the University of Alabama. They had been rivals on the field, but on that August night, they became brothers. They set aside the Iron Bowl rivalry to play for something greater than any trophy, victory, or scoreboard.

For many of us, it was the last football game we would ever play.

Some of those men have since gone on to glory. Others now live with lifelong health challenges that followed them home from the game they loved. Their injuries remind every founder why this brotherhood exists. It does not exist for personal glory or recognition. It exists because men were willing to give their last game, their lasting health, and, in some cases, their lives so that something greater could rise.

Something compelled me to write these words only days before the fifteenth anniversary of that flag football game between Auburn and Alabama alumni. Four months after that game, Lettermen of the USA was founded.

I offer this as a testament of faith. This mission was never meant to rest on one man. From the beginning, it has been the work of many people bound together by a purpose greater than any single life.

Scripture reminds us that “the body is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14). Lettermen of the USA was founded as an organization of all of us, not one of us. We understood a difficult truth. When an organization is built around the name of only one person, it often passes away when that person does. We wanted to build something that would endure for generations.

We also knew that a house must be built on a firm foundation. Jesus taught that the wise man built his house upon the rock, and it remained standing when the storms came (Matthew 7:24–25). Our foundation has always been faith, brotherhood, service, and sacrifice.

I have never forgotten what you taught me: “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). Those words have remained with me through every season of this journey.

In 2024, we refined our focus and committed our mission exclusively to serving veterans. That decision did not erase our past. It carried the same spirit of sacrifice forward and directed it toward those who have worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces.

More than eight hundred autographed footballs have been presented to wounded veterans across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and American territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

Power bills and rent have been paid so veterans could remain warm, safe, and housed. Laptops have been provided to Gold Star children and to the children of veterans who could not afford the technology needed for school. Wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and assistance with vehicle expenses have helped restore independence, dignity, and freedom.

More than seventeen hundred veterans and members of their families have been supported and walked alongside during difficult seasons.

Vietnam veterans were taken to the Vietnam Veterans Replica Wall Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park in Tupelo, Mississippi. The permanent, three-hundred-foot black granite memorial is a sixty-percent-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

World War II veterans were given the opportunity to stand on the beaches of Normandy for the eightieth anniversary of D-Day.

Today, our Shelters for Heroes program serves as a tourniquet and a port in the storm. It helps pull veterans off the street, stabilize their lives, and move them into a safe place where healing and restoration can begin.

For each of the past three Thanksgivings, volunteers and partner organizations have delivered personal hot turkey meals during the week before the holiday to veterans who could not afford a Thanksgiving dinner and never expected to receive one.

Every program is designed to help military personnel cross the difficult distance between uniformed service and civilian life. We work to bridge that gap with the same steady hands that once laced up their cleats on an Alabama football field.

In 2025, we formed a partnership with the Concussion and CTE Foundation and the Boston University UNITE Brain Bank in Boston, Massachusetts. Both organizations are on the front lines of the fight to understand the long-term effects of concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The connection between our missions is undeniable.

Within the military community, we are confronting concussions and traumatic brain injuries caused by explosions, percussion devices, improvised explosive devices, and other combat-related forces. Within our own athletic brotherhood, we are facing the reality that some of our brothers have already passed away with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the same invisible injury carried by many football players.

This partnership allows Lettermen of the USA to stand shoulder to shoulder with researchers who are transforming tragedy into knowledge. Through their work, they are expanding our understanding of the human brain, one donation and one discovery at a time.

Additional information is available at concussionandcte.org and bu.edu/cte/brain-donation-registry.

Following the 2020 One Yard at a Time Gala, Coach Bill Clark invited me to his office at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Our military honoree that year was United States Army Medal of Honor recipient Captain Gary Rose, and Coach Clark was our athletic honoree.

Coach Clark looked at me and asked, “Darryl, when that flag football game between Alabama and Auburn was over, the one you organized, why didn’t you found the Darryl Furman Foundation?”

I looked him directly in the eyes and answered, “Coach, it was never about Darryl Furman. It was always about all of us. It was about the legacy we could build and the impact we could leave behind.”

The founders never dreamed of creating a club that would last for only their own season. They wanted to establish an organization that would continue long after we have returned to dust.

Our hope is that one day our great-great-great-grandchildren will be able to say, “My great-great-grandfather was part of that. He helped build it, and he helped serve others through it.”

Every night, I continue to pray Solomon’s prayer over this organization and its legacy. I ask God for the wisdom to steward something that was created to outlive all of us.

True leadership does not begin beneath bright lights or in front of a crowd. It begins on your knees, with open hands, a humble spirit, and a heart willing to listen.

In Christ,

Darryl

Every Night I Pray

Every night I kneel and ask for the same thing Solomon asked for—an understanding heart.

Not for long life.

Not for riches.

Not for myself.

But for the wisdom to lead the Lettermen of the USA the way it was always meant to be led: for the brothers who played that final game together on August 13, 2011… and for the veterans we still serve today.

Faith. Wisdom. Brotherhood. Service.

To God be the glory.

August 13, 2011 — Spain Park

Fifteen years ago this month, former Alabama and Auburn players put the Iron Bowl aside and came together on this field.

That night we raised $150,000 for the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund to help the people of Alabama still recovering from the storms.

Four months later, out of that same spirit of brotherhood, the Lettermen of the USA was born.

Looking at this photo now, it’s hard to believe how many of the brothers who stood with us that night have already gone on to glory.

We carry their memory every day in the work that continues.

The bonds we built on the field that night were never just about one game.

They became a lifelong commitment to serve.

To God be the glory.

In the early days of the Lettermen of the USA, moments like this reminded us why we started. Former Alabama offensive lineman David Gilmer leans in and holds a veteran who has been completely overwhelmed by the simple act of being seen, thanked, and cared for.

No speeches.

No cameras staged for effect.

Just one brother refusing to let another carry the weight alone.

This is what the Lettermen of the USA was always meant to be.

Not an organization that talks about service…

but one that shows up, puts a hand on a shoulder, and stays until the tears stop.

To every veteran who has ever felt forgotten:

You are not alone.

We see you.

And we will keep showing up.

November 11, 2015 — Huntsville, Alabama

Veterans Day at Good Shepherd Methodist Church with the Semper Fi Community Task Force of North Alabama.

That day the Lettermen of the USA handed out autographed footballs — each one matched to a veteran’s favorite college team.

Look at their faces.

You can see what it meant.

Some of those 800 footballs we’ve given over the years are in this room.

Not just souvenirs… but a quiet way of saying:

We see you. We remember. And we’re grateful.

Fifteen years later, that same spirit still drives everything we do.

To every veteran who has ever held one of these footballs — thank you for your service.

You are the reason we keep going.

December 21, 2020 – Present

Born in the middle of COVID, the Lettermen of the USA laptop program began on December 21, 2020, when we placed computers into the hands of Gold Star children so they could keep up with school during a difficult time.

That mission never stopped.

Five years later, it continues — now also reaching the children of living veterans who simply cannot afford a laptop for school. On August 20, 2025, in partnership with the Birmingham Barons, more children received the tools they need to succeed.

From the very first laptop handed out in 2020 to the ones delivered today, the heart of the program remains the same:

No child of a veteran or Gold Star family should fall behind in school because their family can’t afford the basic tools to learn.

This is the Lettermen of the USA — still showing up, still serving, still keeping the promise we made when this work began.

Five years later, it continues — now also reaching the children of living veterans who simply cannot afford a laptop for school. On August 20, 2025, in partnership with the Birmingham Barons, more children received the tools they need to succeed.

From the very first laptop handed out in 2020 to the ones delivered today, the heart of the program remains the same:

No child of a veteran or Gold Star family should fall behind in school because their family can’t afford the basic tools to learn.

This is the Lettermen of the USA — still showing up, still serving, still keeping the promise we made when this work began.

February 22, 2020

A Vietnam veteran receives a new motorized wheelchair from the Lettermen of the USA.

His previous chair no longer fit him.

This one does.

Look at his face.

It says everything words cannot.

Sometimes the greatest service we can offer is not a speech or a ceremony —

but the simple dignity of being able to move freely again.

This is why we do what we do.

July 26, 2024 — Tupelo, Mississippi

Vietnam veterans stood before the Vietnam Veterans Replica Wall Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park — a permanent 300-foot black granite wall, sixty percent the size of the original in Washington, D.C.

For many of these men, this was the first time they had ever stood in front of the names of the brothers they lost.

The Lettermen of the USA, working alongside the Birmingham Vet Center and other partner organizations, made the trip possible.

No speeches were needed.

The wall itself spoke.

Some of these veterans had waited decades for this moment.

Some found names they had carried in their hearts for more than fifty years.

Some simply stood in silence and remembered.

This is what the Lettermen of the USA was built to do —

not just to talk about service,

but to help veterans finish the journeys that still matter.

To every Vietnam veteran who made this trip:

We see you.

We honor you.

And we will keep showing up.

June 6, 2024 — The 80th Anniversary of D-Day

These are the men who once stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Eighty years later, the Lettermen of the USA helped send World War II veterans back to those same shores so they could stand once more on the ground where history was written in blood and courage.

We paid $4,000 to make the journey possible.

Not as a gesture.

As a debt of gratitude.

Most of these men are in their late 90s and beyond.

Many will never make another trip like this.

But for a few sacred days in June 2024, they returned to the place that defined their generation — and ours.

We will never be able to repay what they gave.

But we can make sure they are never forgotten…

and that, when possible, they get to see the beaches one last time.

To every World War II veteran who made this journey:

Thank you.

We will carry your story forward.

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November 17, 2023 — The First Turkeys for Heroes

This is where it began.

A kitchen full of volunteers.

A long table of carefully prepared meals.

Chefs carving turkey and ham with the same care they would for their own families.

That day the Lettermen of the USA, working alongside VFW Post 668 and other partners, launched Turkeys for Heroes — delivering hot, complete Thanksgiving meals to veterans who could never afford one and never expected to receive one.

Not a frozen bird left on a porch.

A real meal.

Prepared with dignity.

Delivered with respect.

For many of these veterans, it was the first Thanksgiving meal they had received in years.

Three years later, the tradition continues.

Because no one who wore the uniform should spend the week of Thanksgiving without a proper meal…

or the knowledge that someone still cares enough to show up.

This is the Lettermen of the USA.

Still serving.

Still remembering.

Still feeding the ones who once fed the fight for our freedom.

• 

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American Man: Kevin Turner’s Price for Gridiron Glory

This film tells the story of my teammate, Kevin Turner — a man whose courage on the field was matched only by the quiet battle he fought long after the final whistle.

Kevin’s journey with chronic traumatic encephalopathy is one of the reasons the Lettermen of the USA formed a partnership with the Concussion and CTE Foundation and the Boston University UNITE Brain Bank two years ago.

That partnership is not limited to athletes.

It stands for every brother who has paid a hidden price —

whether from years of violent collisions on the football field,

or from the concussive force of IEDs and percussion devices in combat.

The links between the two are undeniable.

We remain committed to this fight:

for the former players who once wore the same jersey,

and for the veterans whose invisible wounds still go too often unseen.

Kevin’s story is not just about the cost of the game.

It is a reminder of why we keep showing up —

for the living, and for those whose brains still have something left to teach us.

Coach Bill Clark

After the 2020 One Yard at a Time Gala, Coach Bill Clark invited me into his office at UAB.

On his desk sat the Eddie Robinson Award — the national coach of the year honor he received in 2018, a bronze bust of the legendary Grambling coach himself.

That day he looked at me and asked a question I’ll never forget:

“Darryl, when that flag football game between Alabama and Auburn was over — the one you organized — why didn’t you found the Darryl Furman Foundation?”

I looked him dead in the eyes and answered,

“Coach, it was never about Darryl Furman.

It was always about all of us — about the legacy and the impact we could leave.”

In this first photo, Coach Clark is doing what he has always done best: signing a football for a veteran, Master Sergeant Chris Combs, with the simple words,

“Thank you for your sacrifice.”

That is the heart of the man who once asked me that question.

And that is the heart of the Lettermen of the USA.

Every Night I Pray

Every night I kneel and ask for the same thing Solomon asked for—an understanding heart.

Not for long life.

Not for riches.

Not for myself.

But for the wisdom to lead the Lettermen of the USA the way it was always meant to be led: for the brothers who played that final game together on August 13, 2011… and for the veterans we still serve today.

Faith. Wisdom. Brotherhood. Service.

To God be the glory.