Nevada and its history of battles and heroism have captured a special spot in historian John Galloway’s heart. As the 2022 project director of the USS Nevada Remembrance project, he presented a trident to the University of Nevada, Reno football team in a ceremony at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (TOPGUN) southeast of Fallon. The proud display trident signals defensive gems (i.e., fumble recoveries or pass interceptions) snared by the gridiron warriors.
The Henderson resident has also educated the public about the heroic actions of the USS Nevada, a battleship that served in both the Pacific theater and at D-Day off Normandy in June 1944.
Now, Galloway, along with the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Air Wing and the university, including President Brian Sandoval and Athletics Director Stephanie Remke, unveiled the Battle Born shield on Aug. 23 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the state’s oldest institution of higher learning in the Silver State.
“The Battle Born Shield marks a very special and multifaceted crossroad in time,” Galloway told a small gathering of airmen, a half dozen football players, their first-year coach Jeff Choate and Sandoval.
Crossroad in time
The idea for the shield came quickly after watching the University introduce Choate as the new head of the football program in December. Galloway said the shield’s nickname is Iron Maiden, which comes from the old Saxon word “skild” or to split, divide or separate.
“Because the Battle Born Shield separates, it distinguishes the University of Nevada from all the 5,000 other schools in America,” Galloway pointed out. “Humbly, I say, there is nothing better than the Battle Born Shield.”
Galloway described the intricate design and how specific measurements and symbols relate to the year when the first football game was played on a small hill overlooking Reno. Twenty stars surround the shield, and the sum of the numbers includes 1, 8, 7, and 4, the year the state constitution called for the establishment of a state university, which was in Elko until 1885.
The shield’s height is 36 inches—or Nevada’s order of states of being admitted to the Union in 1864.
“Just as on the Nevada state flag, the words Battle Born are engraved on the shield because like West Virginia, Nevada attained its statehood during the Civil War,” Galloway said, referring it to the Battle Born state when …
Galloway said the shield also recognizes the state as a leading silver-producing state and the University’s Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, one of four colleges like it in the United States. The shield’s reverse side honors the 152nd Air Lift Command High Rollers.
“On the reverse side, you will also find the letter CL, the Roman numeral for 150 and AYTR. This is an acronym for a metaphor ATYR by Coach Choate. A three-yard run,” Galloway said.
Choate’s own words are also engraved on the shield.
“If you think of life as a football field, a player’s time at the university is a three-yard run. It is a very finite amount of time. Our players are going to lean on these experiences for the rest of their lives. That is what I’m most passionate about—taking care of my people and adding value to their lives. If we can do that every day, then the result on the football field will take care of itself.”
Using references from the Greek, Galloway said the shield also represented defense and illustrated the point when defense enabled the Wolf Pack to defeat San Diego State on the Aztecs’ home field.
The Air Guard’s mission
Before the official unveiling of the shield on the flight line in front of the C-130, Maj. Kevin Porter, a pilot with the 152nd Operations Group and former University of Nevada football linebacker who played for the legendary Chris Ault from 2004-07, gave an overview of the Air Guard’s mission.
Coincidentally, Porter suited up at the same time Fallon’s Harvey Dahl and then Josh Mauga played for the Wolf Pack.
At the same time, a C-130 was flying the football team’s Battle Born shield over Lake Tahoe and the university. Porter said the shield’s unveiling is a collaboration between the military and the university.
Porter explained the Air Guard’s mission on both the federal and state levels. He said a federal mission would consist of deploying to a critical area such as the Horn of Africa, where the Air Guard would support combat troops on the ground by ferrying supplies, transporting soldiers or air-dropping cargo.
Porter said a state mission is assisting the U.S. Forest Service with a C-130 equipped with special equipment to battle wildfires across the West.
Sandoval’s love for the military
Galloway’s presentation resonated with Sandoval, who, as the state’s governor from 2011-2019, also served as the commander-in-chief for the Nevada National Guard. He said his grandfather served in the Army during World War II, and his father served with the Navy during the Korean War. Sandoval made a vow after he was elected.
“I wanted Nevada to be the most friendly military state in the United States,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval, who grew up in Fallon and Reno and attended the University of Nevada in the 1980s, said he recognizes the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve in the military. During a time when more than a dozen units deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan, Sandoval attended every mobilization ceremony and welcomed them home during their demobilizations.
“During my eight years as governor, I never missed deployment ceremonies when they would go off to the Middle East and their other missions around the globe, as well as their demobilizations when they came back,” Sandoval recalled. “One of the most life-changing experiences I had as governor in 2011, is when I had the privilege of going to Iraq and Afghanistan and visiting our troops.”
Sandoval said if those attending the Battle Born shield ceremony saw the conditions in which the soldiers and airmen lived in those two countries, they would understand their sacrifices so those back home could enjoy their freedoms.
The former governor served as the state’s commander-in-chief, and his goal was to make Nevada the friendliest veteran and military state in the nation.
Sandoval, whose grandfather served in the Army during World War II and his father served in the Navy during the Korean War, turned his thoughts to how the university helps the military.
“It’s not just the members of the National Guard and their families that get the tuition waivers,” he said. “ They’re willing to give their lives for us (and) we must be able to provide support for their education.”
Sandoval then looked at the football players sitting in the front row. “You are playing for the school and for the entire state,” he added.
A new tradition
Galloway introduced a Gold Star mother via video to those in attendance. Although it’s been more than a decade since a sniper killed her son in Afghanistan on Feb. 18, 2010, Terri Dunn-Campbell will never forget.
“Every day is Memorial Day for Gold Star families,” she said. “We can never allow our fallen to be forgotten.” Her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Kielin Dunn died on Feb. 18, 2010, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom when his weapon jammed. His family continues to remember and honor his legacy.
“He was inclined to fight until the very last breath,” Dunn-Campbell said.
Choate told the players if they walked into his office, they should look to their left, and they would see a letter the Marine wrote to his mother.
“There is also her son’s Purple Heart,” Choate said.
The Wolf Pack coach stood up and looked at his players and then at the others assembled in the briefing room.
“We have a deep appreciation and respect for everyone in relation to the Nevada National Guard,” he said. “It is very humbling to me to stand here and have this relation with the Wolf Pack way. This is what it’s all about.”
The first-year head coach said the shield will become part of the football program. Choate encouraged the players in attendance to go into the locker room and tell their teammates of the shield’s importance. “This shield becomes part of the history of our program when we take the field at Mackay Stadium or in a bowl game,” he said.
Sandoval, though, summarized the overall experience for both the university and military community. “We deeply appreciate and respect everyone in the Nevada National Guard and all the men and women of the military,” he said. “We are deeply grateful for this relationship of what’s happening today … what’s happened before and in the future.”
