ROCKY Bleier has a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, four Super Bowl rings – and arguably the greatest comeback story in sports history.
Bleier won four NFL titles with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s after being so badly injured in the Vietnam War that he was told he would never play football again.
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It was little surprise that his gripping tale of hope, courage and perseverance was made into a TV movie.
Bleier appeared destined for a long and successful career in the NFL after winning a college title with Notre Dame in 1966.
But the running back's life changed forever in 1968 when he was drafted by the US Army to serve in the Vietnam War after his rookie season with the Steelers.
Bleier was drafted at a time when numerous NFL players did not get the call to serve in Vietnam even though they were eligible.
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"I fell through the cracks," Bleier told Fox Sports.
"You wonder how that happens, but it was a different time at that point, and I got drafted.
"There were a handful of players who had been drafted in their career, and I got drafted in the latter part of the year.
"Next thing I knew I was in basic training and my world had kind of been turned upside down."
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Bleier served with C Company, 4th of the 31st, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division at Hiep Duc.
In August 1969, three months after being deployed, Bleier was shot through his thigh and also suffered a grenade blast where shrapnel severely damaged his right foot and both legs when his Charlie Company unit was ambushed.
"[The grenade] hit my commanding officer, who I was lying next to," Bleier said.
"It bounced off his back and rolled between my legs, and by the time I jumped to get up, it blew up."
Bleier was taken to Tokyo where he had surgery to remove more than 100 pieces of shrapnel from his right foot and leg.
Doctors were able to save Bleier’s foot but told him he would never play football again.
However, a postcard from Steelers owner Art Rooney provided Bleier with all the inspiration he needed to return.
It read: “Rock – the team's not doing well. We need you. Art Rooney.”
Bleier was allowed to rehabilitate with the Steelers and somehow made the roster in 1971, playing six games on special teams.
He eventually worked his way back to become a key part of the Steelers' offense in 1974, serving as Franco Harris's lead blocker as well as a valued running back and receiver.
Bleier helped Pittsburgh win four Super Bowls to go alongside the Purple Heart and Bronze Star he was given for his time in Vietnam.
His story was hugely inspirational at a time when many Vietnam veterans were treated as second-class citizens upon their return to the United States.
In 1975, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, “Rocky Bleier's War: A Pro Football Player in Vietnam.”
After retiring from the NFL he became a leading motivational speaker, starred in a one-man play and founded a Pittsburgh-based construction company.
In 2019, Bleier made an emotional return to Vietnam with ESPN aged 72 to mark the 50-year anniversary of his tour in the country.
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''If I hadn't gotten hurt, my story would be boring, right?'' Bleier told Sports Illustrated.
''No book, no movie, no glory.''
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