Funding for this program was provided by a Greenlight Grant from the Iowa Arts Council and produce Iowa State Office of Film and Media.

Both divisions of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

(indistinct crowd noise) (crowd applauds) - We were cleared by the Secret and we're standing there in the and the door opens up and in walks Ronald Reagan.

78 years old, ramrod straight, and he's making his way past all And I said, "Mr. President, could I ask you a question?"

And he says, "Yes, certainly."

I said, "Well, you worked at WHO in Des Moines in 1937.

I'm curious, did you ever meet Nile Kinnick?"

And Ronald Reagan stopped and just stared at me for a minu And I was told later the Secret Service were staring real intently.

They saw the President lock in.

And he looked at me and he said, "Why, no, I never did.

And that's something that I deep because I'm a big fan of Nile Ki and I would've liked to have met I think he could've been anythin Maybe even President of the United States."

(pensive music) - [Narrator] Throughout the history of college football, few players have had as lasting of an effect on their fan base as Nile Kinnick.

His name is present on streets, on license plates, and on birth certificates.

It's his image that's featured on the coin flipped to start every game in the Big 10 conference.

And when nearly 70,000 fans gath to watch the Hawkeyes play in Io they do so in Kinnick Stadium.

There's even a school named after him in Japan.

But looking into Nile's story reveals a student-athlete that never went pro, on a team that never won a champ He wasn't even the team captain.

But somehow, Nile Kinnick's stor (dramatic music) With one season, he went from obscurity to savior.

With one speech, he went from lo to national celebrity.

- At this moment, Nile Kinnick was transformed.

He went from being a local hero to a huge figure on the national - [Narrator] Then with the world in the palm of his hand, he walked away from it all.

He gave up football for law, then law for the service.

- [Nile] I am ready for whatever it may be my duty to do.

But probably won't be appreciabl until actually moving onto the firing line.

- [Narrator] Even for those who Nile Kinnick quickly went from hero to legend.

- You know, when you think about all of the people that volunteered their lives, he epitomized that greatest gene - "Whoever excels in what we pri appears a hero in our eyes."

- [Narrator] But that legend obscures the flesh and blood man, and at what cost?

We set out to find the real Nile not just the player who's best k for one moment in one season, and what Nile's story can teach (dark music) (somber music) - [G.W.]

The shades of night were falling fast, as through an Alpine village passed.

A youth, who bore, mid snow and a banner with the strange device, Excelsior.

(insects chirping) - [Narrator] Our journey to find Nile Kinnick began in an unexpected place.

Phoenix, Arizona.

When we started our research, we didn't expect to find anyone with living memories of Nile Kin Imagine our surprise when we met Don, Nile's first cousin.

Our research led us to several h but Don was there.

He saw the cast of characters fi (Don whistles) - [Don] What's that funny, non-deserty thing over there?

- [Anne] That looks terrible.

- [Don] Yeah.

Look at this!

"Happy Birthday!"

I don't believe it!

"Happy birth (laughs) We're gettin' rid of this.

Clean up our dessert.

- [Narrator] He's 90 years old, by the way.

- Here's my partner, my buddy, my boss, my everything.

(laughs) She runs the show.

I just run ar - [Paul] Who's that guy?

(laughs) - This is my partner, my best fr my very special partner, yep.

(smooches) - Uh oh, you might get to censor - That's right (chuckles).

- As Don showed us, to understan Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr., you have to start with family.

- I was born in 1927.

My mother was a Kinnick, Uncle Nile's sister.

I think the first thing I'll do is to pick up this.

This is a picture of Uncle Nile, of Nile's father.

You can see in the face, a lot of similarity to Nile's face.

He was a small guy.

And a wonderful gentleman, always a gentleman.

We loved being with him.

Aunt Frances was a Clarke, with an E on the end.

Her father was governor of Iowa for two terms in the early teens.

She was a very cultured, very smart, very sweet, very beautiful, and just a wonderful aunt to have.

(somber music) - [Narrator] Mr. and Mrs. Kinnick of Adel, Iowa.

And by that, we mean of Adel.

The high school sweethearts were born and raised in that small town of 1,300.

They both did well in school, and ended up graduating first an in their high school class of 19 with Frances taking the lead.

After attending separate univers the two hometown sweethearts reu and were married in Adel.

They moved into Nile Sr.'s child He worked the family farms with his father and brother.

She helped and kept house.

And on July 9th, 1918, after a slow and difficult labor, the young couple welcomed their first child into this world, an unusually sturdy baby who they named Nile Clarke Kinni (bright music) Nile's younger brother, Ben, was born just 13 months later and the two boys were raised like twins, inseparable, until fate reached down and carried Nile far away to the elementary school that stood across the street.

Seven years after Ben, Nile's little brother George was and the family was complete.

The boys grew up enjoying a situ that's increasingly rare, even hard to imagine now 100 years removed: the immediacy of extended family Grandparents, aunts and uncles, from both sides of the family all living, farming, and playing in or near Adel.

- This home in the western part is the home to the former governor of Iowa, named George Clarke with an E on He and his wife enjoyed having us kids up here.

They just loved being with child Governor Clarke would read out o or read a poem or read a passage and then ask the children, "What did they think about that, or, "What did they learn about t So he would talk about national events and world events and was really an educator to broaden the width of the knowledge of the grandchildren.

(soft music) She would always serve nice good so we liked that too.

- [Narrator] For Nile and his br it was a childhood of family dinners and camping trips, chores to grumble over, and fields to explore.

In a sense, idyllic, despite the financial woes of the time.

The roaring '20s are remembered for fast-rising living standards and faster-rising stocks for art, jazz, and speakeasies.

But that was in the cities.

Marketplace practices continuall drove grain prices down, leaving most rural Americans out of that great economic boom.

Farmers were heavily mortgaged; times were tight.

The Kinnicks made the most of what they had.

The Adel grade school grounds were small and crowded, so the Kinnick's large lawn became the default place for six-on-six scrimmages of grade school boys during football season.

Basketball season followed football season.

The grade school didn't have a g so Mr. Kinnick installed baskets on either end of the barn's empt and the boys wore out the floor.

(faint basketball game sounds) - And out here where you see tho there used to be a barn.

Uncle Nile would work with his s to show him how to drop kick because Uncle Nile was a drop ki when he was on the football team at Iowa State College.

Uncle Nile and Nile junior, they would take down the haymow and the height that next level was about the same as the goal posts on a football field.

So he'd take Nile out and they'd work for hours kicking footballs into that barn So that's a historic place in my (chuckles) - [Narrator] For young Nile, lawn scrimmages and haymow hoops apparently weren't enough, because in sixth grade he starte to the high school practices.

We don't know if he was invited Otto Kohl, the high school coach just remembers him showing up.

It paid off.

By the time he entered high scho Coach Kohl said Nile knew as much about football and basketball as he did.

- One thing that people need to about Nile Kinnick was from an early age on, he was always trying to improve He was right-handed.

He worked constantly three summers in a row learning how to throw a football left-handed.

So Nile was basically ambidextrous with a football by the time he was at the University of Iowa.

And that's pure discipline.

When he played at Adel High Scho as a sophomore and junior, was the number one athlete in the state of Iowa.

His junior year, he's first team All-State Football on an undefeated team.

His junior year, he's also the second leading scorer on the basketball team which was very, very, good.

And he was a very good baseball - [Narrator] Nile's drive wasn't exclusive to athletics.

He excelled academically, and was dedicated to Adel's oratorical team.

These early experiences, forming arguments, listening to others, clarifying his own thoughts, proved every bit as foundational to the man he would become as any experience in a jersey.

- He grew up in the Christian Science faith, and his mother was probably the key person in that.

- And after dinner, they sat aro he, his mother, his father, and his brothers, and talked about the world.

They talked about politics.

They talked about literature.

They talked about newspaper items of the day.

So imagine that.

Imagine the chemistry that's goi in the Kinnick household for all those early years where Nile is sitting there just absorbing all this knowledg - They were always talking about live right, do right, think right, act right.

You could tell that it had a bea on who Nile Kinnick ended up bei because he had a very strong social consciousness as he got older.

- [Narrator] A star athlete, a political pedigree.

It could seem that Nile was destined for greatness.

But the economic strains that had been the background of Kinnick life for so long, finally presented Nile's first major setback.

While the Stock Market crash of 1929 had happened overnight, what we call the Great Depressio It was a slow, painful dwindling of prices, savings, and hope; of farmers thinking it couldn't get any worse, and then discovering that it cou The lawns and haymows grew quiet Satisfying dinner conversations slipped into the past.

The mood grew somber.

- We had three little concrete steps coming from the-- - [Anne] From the door.

- From the door there, down to t And I can clearly remember in 19 I was then nine-years-old, sitting on those steps and bawli I had my little coveralls on, because we had lost the farm to And the auctioneer was out there auctioning off all our belonging And the auctioneer was out there, just pounding, pounding the gravel, and saying And every time he'd say "sold", I'd sob again, because there was my life going - [Narrator] By 1932, the Great Depression had reached Adel and the Kinnick family farms were swept away.

Mr. Kinnick searched for new ways to support the family.

In the fall of '33, he found work with the Omaha Federal Land Bank and was forced to hear of Nile's spectacular junior year of football and undefeated basketball season from a hotel, 100 miles away.

The boys finished out their school year in Adel.

And in 1934, Nile said goodbye to the small town that had been his whole world.

- So think about this.

Nile has led Adel to an undefeated championship season, his junior year, he's also an all-state basketball player and suddenly he's uplifted and transported to Omaha.

And he became a Benson Bunny.

The name of the school was Benson High School, and their nickname was the Bunni He became first team all-state football player in Nebraska and first team all-state basketb So Nile Kinnick holds the unique distinction of being all-state in two sports and all-state in two sports in N - I would go out to Omaha and spend a couple of weeks with him each summer.

I was about eight and a half years younger than Nile.

He had a younger brother that was just a few months older so we palled around together.

The schedule was the same all th We would get up early, have a huge breakfast.

Watch Nile devour four eggs, a whole bunch of bacon, some cereal, and orange juice.

So he was ready for the day.

And then George and I would go out with him to the Benson High School footba We would have a bag full of foot And George and I were the retrie Go down and take a stationary position or run a little ways and he would drop a pass in our (man laughs) (grunts) So he would have these drills.

Sprints forward and backwards.

So he, on defense, could be going backwards but watching where the quarterback's eyes were of the opponent.

And he intercepted many passes.

Next, he would try punting.

Nile finally figured out a way to kick the ball either with a counter-clockwise or a clockwise rotation.

And he would do passing drills with both the right and the left If he's running to the left, it's tough to turn around and th so he would go to the left and throw it while running with his left hand.

He just had a bag of tricks, that most players did not have at that time.

(bright music) - [Narrator] As Nile's senior year came to a close, his parents decided this would not be his final year of high school.

- The reason they did that is this little town of Adel didn't have any kindergartens, so their children were being graduated at 17 years of age rather than the normal 18 years.

- [Narrator] But it was to be an entire year without athletic eligibility.

Undaunted, Nile spent his final in Omaha exploring academics: trigonometry, chemistry, accounting, and literature.

And in the spring of 1936, Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr. graduated from high school and prepared for college.

Writing letters was common back Commonly written and received.

Commonly discarded.

But of all the graduation letter he must have received congratula him, wishing him well, he only kept one through all his - [G.W.]

My dear Nile, I fully appreciate your being labeled as Junior, that is, possessing all the fine and ambitions of your most estimable father.

I still think that at this time in your life when you are just beginning to take a real, deep, thoughtful look at the wor and the years of your life just beginning to unfold, at such time I think you are ent to a name wholly your own and I therefore address you as 'My dear Nile'.

Are you familiar with Longfellow's poem "Excelsior"?

It is inspirational.

"The shades of night were fallin as through an Alpine village pas A youth, who bore, mid snow and a banner with the strange device, 'Excelsior'," means higher, ever upward.

"Try not the Pass," the old man "Dark lowers the tempest overhea the roaring torrent is deep and And loud that clarion voice replied, 'Excelsior!'"

(G.W.

chuckles) I have not quoted all the poem, only parts of it.

Excelsior!

The youth was bound to reach the Nothing stopped him, nothing could, nothing did; for all such ambitions, all such all such persistent efforts against difficulties, hardships, the whole world shouts praise, "Excelsior!"

So may it be to you.

(melancholic music) - [Mike] Nile was interested in Iowa State University because his father played there.

He was also interested in Drake because his mother had attended school there.

But the power in the Midwest the was the University of Minnesota.

- I think the legend of why he ended up at Iowa was that he wanted to go somepla where he could make a difference But I think in reality, he was interested in going to Mi It was a powerhouse at the time, along with Notre Dame.

I believe that Bernie Bierman, head coach at Minnesota, thought that Nile was too small.

He was 5'8", 175 pounds.

- And basically said, "Well, son It's nice that you're interested in being a Gopher but I don't think we're that interested in you."

- I think when he went to University of Iowa he was, they had open arms, because they had really bad foot in the past several years.

And so I think that Nile not only loved Iowa, that's where he grew up, so he had that tie, but also he wanted to go there because they needed him.

And he thought he could learn the most and perform the best if he took on a challenge.

- [Narrator] At the time, the Hawkeye's record was undeniably lackluster.

Ever since the triumph of back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1921 and '22, the football program had faltered along.

The special collection at the University Archives contains hundreds of Nile's personal letters.

None of them discuss why, after being turned away by Minne he chose the University of Iowa.

The only letter we have from Nile at this time is from his summer working on a ditch digging crew.

He writes about laundry requests constant concerns over tuition, and about missing the comforts o - [Nile] When I think of the pet we griped over the last two year I feel like kicking myself.

Tell George to swim and have a g and eat anything and everything for there's no place like the table at home.

Tell Ben to throw all the whinge and throw a couple for me because the first year of college isn't going to be any time for frivolity that I ca 12-foot ditches are pretty deep.

Love, Nile.

- [Narrator] Letters like this, combining the small details of l along with warm affection and ad would flow back and forth several times a week between Nile and his family throughout his college career.

(bright violin music) - [Tom] When Nile came to the un he went out for all three sports basketball, baseball, and footba - Well, of course, freshmen couldn't play on the varsity when Nile first arrived at the University of Iowa, but he was so good in a couple of the scrimmages that they knew right away they had something very, very sp - [Narrator] Nile watched from the sidelines as the Hawkeyes won only 3 games in the 1936 season, including an embarrassing 52 to nothing loss against Minnesota, who went on to win their third national title in a row.

After the season, it was decided that a new coach, Irl Tubbs, would be brought in to right the ship.

(uplifting music) - His sophomore year, he dropped and just played basketball and football his sophomore year.

- [Narrator] Despite the hope surrounding their new coach, things only got worse.

(dark music) The Hawkeyes finished at the bottom of their conference with a record of one and seven.

At the top, Minnesota.

- But he was such a standout.

He was first team All-Big 10, he led the nation in punting, and he was third team all-Americ And that's an amazing accomplish to be a player on a team that wo and be recognized at that level.

(bright music) - [Nile] Dear George, I am so gl that you are having so much fun.

To be a tough, rugged boy is every lad's ambition.

But to be a gentleman, to be kindly, charitable, thoughtful is much more to be desired.

And he who can be both is much the better man and usually much tougher in the You, as well as Ben and I, have a wonderful heritage from parents, grandparents, relation, associations, and reli Make the most of them all.

(dramatic music) - [Mr. Kinnick] Dear Sonny Boy, we hoped for victory, but we would've been philosophic over a margin of one or two touchdown loss.

However, it is all over, and the only gain to be had is to bolster up the weak places and to profit by the mistakes ma The papers mentioned that you were limping.

- [Nile] Dear family, as I hope you have already have I am not in the least downhearted or discouraged.

I rather hope that you have save the unfavorable newspaper comment along with the rest.

If the scrapbook is to give a true picture, the bottom as well as the top should be shown.

I haven't practiced all week because of my ankle.

- Now, there's a lot of controversy and speculation as to what he did to try to fix that ankle.

- Nile's junior year, even before the season started, he hurt his left ankle badly.

To what extent, we don't know, because of his Christian Science he didn't wanna get any medical - He was strongly fixed on not having that broken ankle fixed by a doctor.

He was going to work on it with faith healing, and he also actually adapted, ho a different wrap to his ankle that relieved some of the pain.

So he didn't have a stellar juni - [Nile] This morning I had breakfast with friend Tubbs at his invitation.

During our conversation, he asked me if I was a Christian Scientist.

He was just verifying what he already knew, I suppose.

After a little discussion about and that he asked me if my layin until I felt perfectly ready to would more harmoniously fit my p I said yes, definitely.

I wish so fervently that we could get going for the coaches' sake, they are as fine a bunch as ever The papers and wolves are after hot and heavy, the rats.

The micks all over the state of are all set to run in some Notre Perhaps we can beat them to the by winning two or three upset ga We should battle with a joyous feeling of confidence and absolute lack of apprehension, shouldn't we?

- [Mr. Kinnick] Another fine letter from you this morning.

Your unflinching confidence that victory is certain and close at hand is the sort that makes for victory and will sooner or later set fire to others who lack the vision.

I do not refer alone to football They are of passing importance.

- [Narrator] For the second year the Hawkeyes won only one game.

Irl Tubbs was asked to resign almost immediately.

- [Nile] In four years of high s and two years of college footbal I have played on only one good t my junior year in high school.

Despite a poor season and trying mental problems, I have a pretty good time.

Everything seems to be clearing up quite a bit and I am looking forward to many happy times after football.

This year will see a much more e and normal division of time between my rightful college acti - [Narrator] Nile dropped basketball his junior year, wanting to focus on his educatio That winter, he attended plays and lectures; enjoyed engaging conversations and quiet reflection.

And above all he contemplated hi where he should live, when he should marry, what he should do.

- [Nile] Thus far in my college I have tasted the glory of succe and the ignominy of pretty near the top and the bottom.

Please don't construe my stateme to be impatiently critical or dissatisfied.

On the contrary, I am quite happy and grateful for everything that has come our way in the past few years, and there has been much, don't f (somber music) (dramatic music) - [Mike] A new coach came in for the 1939 season named Dr. Eddie Anderson.

- [Narrator] Eddie Anderson, M.D was an Iowa-native who had played Notre Dame football under the legendary Knute Rockne and alongside George Gipp, The G As a student at Notre Dame, his team only lost one game, coincidentally, to the 1921 Iowa As a coach, Dr. Anderson was coming off a record of 47 and 7 at Holy Cross.

The man was a fighter.

- Dr. Eddie Anderson wanted to have his team in the very best shape of any team in the nation, so spring practice started in Fe They had about 80 players go out for football, but Dr. Eddie ran them constantl to the point where many quit.

- [Nile] Dear George, you would like to see us practice our spins, fakes, and s This system is truly a beautiful thing to watch; a poetry of motion once perfecte Frank Carideo, our new backfield in his day he was one of the best quarterbacks and the nation's best punter.

Already he has started to work with the kickers.

And would you believe it, the way he recommends to hold th the way to stand, everything, is exactly the way I have practiced all my life.

- The Hawkeyes had been one and He's taking over a disheveled pr And immediately, he sees Nile Kinnick and sees the potential of building an entire offense around this young man.

Now, Nile's completely healed from his ankle injuries.

And he did something very out of character for Nile Kinnick.

He wrote his mother and father a two weeks before the season star He said-- - [Nile] For three years, nay for 15 years, I've been preparing for this last year of football.

The season just passed has removed much of the tension that might have attended this la I feel confident and free from the pressure of absolutely necessary success and falsely accepted responsibil I anticipate becoming the roughest, toughest, all-around back yet to hit this conference.

That is a little strong, of cour - [Mr. Kinnick] I don't think so I can't see why you shouldn't, and Iowa too, have a grand year, with everything fulfilled that you have hoped for.

One last year can make up for two poor ones because it's the finish that cou and I hope it's a humdinger.

- [Narrator] The year is now 193 The Depression has had the country in a death grip for 10 years.

The Hawkeye program is in shambl playing in a new stadium they couldn't fill.

And one month prior to the start of the season, the unthinkable happened.

Germany invaded Poland, ending two decades of armistice and reawakening memories of the mechanical carnage of the Great For all Americans, but particularly those in the rural Midwest, hope was hard to come by.

(dramatic music) (indistinct crowd noise) (marching band plays) (men chanting indistinctly) (men exclaim) (cymbals clang) (film rattling) (crowd cheers) - The first game was against Sou He threw three touchdowns, kicked five extra points, and Iowa beat South Dakota 41 to (crowd applauds) The interesting point is there were only 16,000 people there to see the game.

So that means there were at least 34,000 empty seats.

The second game was against Indi They were a pretty good team at that point.

- [Narrator] The Hawkeyes hadn't the Hoosiers since 1921.

They took the field knowing this would be their first real test of the season.

- Iowa fell behind, but they had a remarkable rally behind Nile Kinnick.

He ended up throwing for three t the last one in the last two minutes to Erwin Prasse and they won the game 32 to 29.

(crowd cheers) What Nile Kinnick did in that game is astounding 603 yards.

And he did it running, passing, punt returning, kickoff returning and even threw in an interception for good measure.

- Seeing him dodge the people.

It came to me, it's almost like an imitation of the Heisman Trophy.

- Trophy.

- (laughs) Yeah, right.

(dramatic music) (crowd cheers) Zipping this way, he was fantast Quick in making his cuts at the precise time, to make the guy miss him.

Really was shifty.

- At that point, Dr. Eddie Ander and all Iowa faithful knew they were seeing something very on the football field at the University of Iowa.

(crowd noise) The third game of the season, things didn't go so well.

They went to the University of M which was also a national power.

Iowa lost the game.

And Nile Kinnick was pretty well held in check by a great Michigan defense.

- [Nile] I wish we could play it That is the ruthless part of this game sometimes: once it is over, nothing can be done about it.

It breaks my heart to have sort of let Coach Anderson down.

- [Mr. Kinnick] Dear Sonny Boy, it takes, perhaps, a better man to be outstanding in defeat than in victory.

And I hope that you will remembe that the football episode is only a part of the whole sche Nothing is more ephemeral than public hero worship.

And he who seeks it, and personal aggrandizement, is doomed to disappointment.

You are playing the game for its and for the victory that comes when all play for one and one plays for all.

(indistinct crowd noise) - [Mike] Game four, Iowa was on the road again, this time to Madison, Wisconsin.

(somber music) - [Narrator] Iowa fell behind ea but Nile threw three touchdowns and kicked an extra point for all of Iowa's 19 points.

(dramatic music) It was after this game that Coach Eddie Anderson gave his team the iconic nicknam that would come to symbolize everything that his boys stood f - [Mike] At the end of the game, Dr. Eddie Anderson said, "This is a group of iron men."

(dramatic music) - Football then was a more aerob There wasn't as much scoring, it was going up and down the fie Punting was much more important.

A lot of your top players played both offense and defense.

In 1939, the substitution rule was that when you came out of a you couldn't go back into a game until the next quarter.

But teams that had deeper roster could substitute their top playe with two minutes left in the first quarter.

The Iron Men, because they had few numbers, they didn't have the personnel to give the top players rest and so many of them went 60 minu for several games in a row.

- [Narrator] The Iron Men.

Half-backs and tight-ends, receivers and linemen.

All playing the full 60-minutes of those grueling football games 10 years into the Great Depressi these were precisely the types o that fans could rally behind.

- The next week, they were at Pu and the final score was four to Now, we're talking football, not And what happened was both teams had really good defenses.

And Purdue in particular was out to shut down Nile Kinnick.

But Iowa scored two safeties and won the game again by the score of four to nothing.

Probably one of the most unusual games played in Iowa history.

- [Narrator] On Monday morning, the Des Moines Register wrote, "It took Iowa's four to zero victory over Purdue Saturday to make University of Iowa footb snap out of their heretofore stunned silence, pandemonium reigned for fully ha as the Hawkeyes were greeted with ear-splitting yells that voiced enthusiasm that hasn't been seen on Iowa's campus in years.

Enthusiasm is mounting hourly in as the game with Dr. Anderson's alma matter, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, approaches Saturday, and University of Iowa students are warning Notre Dame supporter 'Look out for this fighting handful of 60-minute men of Iowa - Coming in to Iowa City is Notr And Dr. Eddie Anderson, the Iowa had played for Notre Dame and was an all-American end.

So think of all the hoopla, all the dynamics.

The Iowa team now has a record of four and one.

Everybody's excited.

(brooding music) - [Narrator] "You gotta hand it to Coach Anderson of Iowa.

Iowa will have more people in the park next Saturday than they have had all last year If Iowa beats Notre Dame, they'll take Hitler off the fron and turn it over to Anderson.

I'm afraid the fans will pull the press box down and I'll have to tell the nurses what a game it was."

- [Mr. Kinnick] Probably tomorro will be the high spot for 1939, and somehow it seems to me that you are ready to deliver the package right on the front doorstep.

(melodic bagpipe music) (crowd cheering) (tense music) - [Tom] It was a very defensive Nile Kinnick actually punted the ball 16 times that game, which is still an Iowa record.

- [Narrator] The first half was almost over, and the score was still zero-zer The deadlock was finally broken when Nile intercepted a pass and ran for a 20 yard gain.

(crowd cheering) (tense music) Nile then attempted a long touch but it was intercepted by Notre Dame's Steve Sitko, who promptly fumbled the ball in the face of a wall of Iowa pl - After recovering a fumble, Iowa finally got the ball down to about the five-yard line in the north end zone.

Now Kinnick, he played left half so he kept running off to the right side of the line.

(tense music) Al Couppee decided he should change positions with the right half-back and run the play to the left.

(crowd cheers) (dramatic music) - It might be the most famous ph in Iowa athletic history.

That picture of Nile crashing over the goal line.

(dramatic music) - He was one of the last drop ki That's one reason that Iowa won the Notre Dame game, because they were not used to playing against a drop kicker for points after touchdown.

And the guy came running in but that when you drop kick you take and then a half step before you So it goes something like this.

(crowd cheers) And so that's how they got that seventh point.

(crowd cheering) - [Narrator] The Iron Men held their seven to nothing lead all through the third quarter.

At the top of the fourth, Notre Dame finally broke through for a touchdown, but the kick went wide.

The score was seven to six.

The defensive struggle continued but Iowa slowly lost ground as Notre Dame sent in fresh play The Iron Men found themselves back on their own 30.

With a one-point lead, minutes t and a change in possession loomi the game was in Nile's hands.

- [Mike] Nile kicked the ball 67 - [Don] Over the head of the Notre Dame safety.

He was so mad because he knew with two minutes left and the ball weighed back, there was no way Notre Dame coul And so he took off his helmet and threw it against the ground.

- [Narrator] Notre Dame threw two more desperate passes, but Iowa held them back as the clock dwindled to zero and jubilant fans flooded onto t (crowd cheering) (dramatic music) The following Monday, university classrooms stood near Nile and the Iron Men were mobbed by enthusiastic fans everywhere they went.

Iowa City, and Hawkeye fans, old rode a victory high that carried all the way to the following Sat The toughest game of the season was upon them.

National power-house Minnesota, Big 10 Conference champions 5 of the past 6 years, was headed to Iowa City.

(crowd cheers) - [Mr. Kinnick] The game Saturday with the Swedes will be a battle royal, as it would seem that Iowa no longer has the advantage of being the underdog.

Play the game with the same vigor and stamina as has been so often demonstrated this fall.

And if that doesn't bring home t there will at least be no regret (tense music) (crowd cheering) (intense music) - Gophers were ahead nine to not late in the second half when Iowa caught fire.

Now remember, Kinnick had though going to the University of Minne but their coach said he was too So imagine the satisfaction when he throws a touchdown pass to Erwin Prasse and kicks the extra point.

It's now nine to seven.

Late in the game with about three minutes to go, Kinnick throws another touchdown This time to a running back, Bil And the place explodes.

Iowa walks away with a 13 to 9 v over the Minnesota Gophers.

They have just beaten their second straight nationally ranked team.

The Iowa fans are in a frenzy.

(crowd cheering) (objects rattling) (crowd applauds) (crowd whistles) Listen to this quote, "There's a golden helmet riding on a human sea across Iowa's football field in the twilight here.

Now, the helmet rises as wave upon wave of humanity pours onto the field.

There's a boy under the golden h which is shining like a crown on A golden number 24 gleams on his slumping tired shoulders.

The boy is Nile Clarke Kinnick, who's just now risen above all the defenses that could be raised against him He's just thrown the great power and size of Minnesota into a 13-9 defeat before an overflow crowd of 50,000.

He was courage incarnate, poise personified in the calm delineation of a 21-year-old boy.

Here was Kinnick at the peak of his great career leading a frenzied little band of football players to victory, which is impossible.

They couldn't win, but they did (crowd cheers) - [Narrator] After 10 years of depression and broken dreams, under the threat of getting pulled into a new, massive European war, (dramatic music) (camera shutters) the story of hardscrabble underdogs who beat the odds spread like wildfire.

The Iron Men became a sensation.

(dramatic music) With one game left in the season Iowa had a chance to win their first conference championship in 17 years.

- [Don] This was published the day before that game at Dych It says, "Nile Clarke Kinnick, J Iowa's enduring little leader, brings the stamina, the courage, the wizardry, and the inspiration that has mad the greatest sports hero of 1939 For the gallant little man who has played 360 minutes without relief, this will be the of a heroic gridiron career."

(dramatic music) - [Mike] The final game was at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.

Nile played through most of the and very badly injured his shoul Spent the second half sitting on the bench.

- [Narrator] Exhausted and worn the Iowa line couldn't find a way to pull ahead.

According to one writer, "Only those who saw this spectac can honestly appreciate what beating Iowa took.

The heroic handful simply wore o midway through the second period Only 14 men played against Purdue, 15 against Notre Dame, 17 against Minnesota, and 18 tod The boys hadn't enough left to repulse the stream of new men sent in by Northwestern which used 27 players."

- The game ended in a seven-seve So Iowa closed out their season six, one, and one.

- [Narrator] They missed their c to win the conference championsh But the miracle of what the Iron Men had accomplished was lost on no one.

"Let Ohio State have its conference championship, computed on paper.

Iowa stands on its record.

That's the sentiment of the fighting outfit from the cornbelt which never conceded a thing to any rival, and doesn't now."

(dramatic music) Disappointed, but not defeated, the Hawkeyes headed home.

Their season was over.

For Nile Kinnick, the second-hal was just about to start.

(dramatic music) (dark music) - He won the Maxwell Trophy as the best running back in the He won the Walter Camp Trophy.

Incredibly, he was named the Male AP Athlete of the Year over Joe DiMaggio of the New Yor who batted .381 that season, and over Joe Louis, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, who had four knockouts that year It's just an incredible testamen to the impact Nile Kinnick, this young man from Adel, Iowa, had on the entire nation.

- I'd like to talk a little about the Heisman Trophy, really a magic time in the life and of all his family and extend It was a wonderful situation.

- [Mr. Kinnick] God speed on your excursion to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentat How I should like to witness that little triumph.

You will appreciate the necessity for proper thought on and preparation for these affair just like before the Saturday co which have gone before.

This will be a fine opportunity to broaden your acquaintance and to demonstrate that a sterling performer on the football field can also be a man of friendly charm and interesting from other standpoints than athletics.

By the way, if you want to make the best impression, please buy one of those short ha (camera shutters) This is a serious suggestion.

- He and Dr. Eddie Anderson were the royal treatment everywhere t People were just excited to meet this dynamic, young football player from the University of Iowa.

And a lot of them were surprised when they saw his size.

Once again, 5'8", 172, 173 pound The Heisman Trophy actually came into existence in 1935.

So it was a relatively new award back then.

But it still had already gained a lot of prominence because it was held in New York at the New York Downtown Athleti which was full of millionaires and very important people.

- [Narrator] It had been a mere four months since Hitler had reignited European conflict.

The question of US involvement was being hotly debated across the country.

The Depression still affected mi To many these new opulent, exclusive ceremonies were at best superfluous, and at worst, an insult to the s "I hope the great and worthy gam of intercollegiate football will never again in the history of this nation be made the victim of this type of prostitution," wrote sports columnist Bill Cunn of an earlier All-American event "The nearest thing to it in this part of the country is that Heisman award."

At this moment, Nile Kinnick is 22 years old, a Midwestern boy on his first trip to New York, preparing to speak to a room of some of the most wealthy and influential men in the count It was indeed an opulent affair.

Most of the speaking time was given to donors and dignitar When it was finally Nile's turn his job was to thank his coach, his team, and the committee, then sit down.

(audience applauds) - [Nile] It seems to me that eve is letting their superlatives run away with them this evening.

But nonetheless, I want you to k that I'm mighty, mighty happy to accept this trophy this eveni Every football player in these United States dreams about winning that trophy and of this fine trip to New Yor Every player considers that trophy the acme in recognition of this kind.

And the fact that I'm actually receiving this trophy tonight almost overwhelms me.

I want to take this grand opportunity to thank collectivel all the sportswriters, and all the sportscasters, and all those who have seen their way clear to cast a ballot in my favor for this trophy.

From my own personal viewpoint, I consider my winning this award as indirectly a great tribute to the new coaching staff at the University of Iowa headed by Dr. Eddie Anderson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) A finer man and a better coach never hit these United States, and a finer bunch of boys and a more courageous bunch of b never graced the gridirons of th than that Iowa team of 1939.

(audience applauds) - [Narrator] The applause cresce Nile's job was finished.

He was not.

- [Nile] And, finally, if you'll permit me, I'd like to make a comment which, in my mind, is indicative of the greater significance of f and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is: I thank God I was w on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of E (audience applauds) I can speak confidently and posi that the players of this country would much more, much rather struggle and fight to win the Heisman Award than a Croix de Guerre.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) (explosions boom) (tense music) - [Narrator] The Croix de Guerre symbolized America's involvement in the First World War, a medal given by France to its a Nile was speaking to a generation who, as young men, had fought and died on French battlefields, and who were now considering whether Nile's generation would For those who arrived expecting a canned athletic speech, these words were nothing less than stunning.

It was his defining moment.

- Nile Kinnick was transformed.

He went from being a local hero in Iowa City in the state of Iow to a huge figure on the national Nile Kinnick's Heisman Trophy speech, to this day, is considered the greatest Heisman Trophy speech ever given - [Narrator] "I hope every man, woman, and child in these United States was listening last night when this young man from Iowa made his response.

To say he swept the crowd off it is to be guilty of rank understa For some reason, football players are not supposed to be especially bright certainly not finished orators, and especially not in such moments as this.

But this one tackled Demosthenes for a safety and threw Cicero for a 15-yard l This country's okay as long as it produces Nile Kinnicks.

The football part is incidental.

Bill Cunningham."

- Of course, Nile brought the Heisman back, and he displayed it in the, brought it with him to Adel, and took down to the paper, news and let people take pictures with him and the Heisman and so forth.

So he let them, the hometown, get a little thrill of being in possession of the Heisman Trophy for a day.

He then kept that at home in Oma at Aunt Frances and Uncle Nile's where it sat proudly on top of their piano for a long time.

Every time we went out there we'd go in and pat that Heisman.

(laughs) (somber music) - [Narrator] When Nile arrived back in Iowa City, he was two things: one of the most famous athletes in the country, and an undergraduate student with a semester left in his stud - [Announcer] Ladies and gentlem Nile Kinnick is one of some 6,500 undergraduates here on the University of Iowa c but also, at the present moment, I'd say he's competing nationall with probably Shirley Temple and Charlie McCarthy to become America's favorite per And so I'd like to know, looking back on the football sea and also on the things that have happened since then, what's this year of football mea - [Nile] Well, I think football out of which you can get a great But you're more or less playing with fire there unless you really love the game and really make it pay you, because if you won't concentrate and make it pay you dividends, it will take from you.

(melancholic music) - The NFL held their draft and Nile declined.

He didn't wanna play pro footbal Football and athletics were now in the mind of Nile Kinnick.

He was moving on to other things in his life.

- [Narrator] Reports of Nile's N range from $10,000 for the seaso to $1,000 for any game he wished to play in.

At a time when new cars cost $800, that was a lot of money.

No one seemed to believe that he'd really pass it up.

But, the day after the Heisman award dinner, the New York Herald Tribune had featured the following headl - [Nile] I'm going to try to be I am definitely through with football this year.

In fact, I don't think I'll do anything except study until graduation time.

Man should be motivated in searching for employment and finding his place in society by the desire to benefit his fellow man and society, to leave his community and country a better place in which to live insofar as his effort, humble as it may be, will help produce that result.

- [Narrator] As the school year Nile made good on his promise to forsake football, Nile kept an active speaking sch and enrolled in the Law School at the University of Iowa.

- [Erwin] Dear Mr. Kinnick: I noticed by the Des Moines Register this morning that you are to appear with Mr. at Iowa Falls the 27th.

You are now the popular man with 100% of the people in the United States.

The day you appear with a presidential candidate, that popularity will drop to 50% People in the United States take their politics seriously yo and they are like elephants on f Neither of the presidential candidates can do you any good, but you will do yourself irrepar I would be equally disappointed if you appeared with Mr. Roosevelt in the same capacity.

You know, Nile, it's like endorsing a cigarette or a liver pill.

- [Narrator] Nile was taking his first step into politics.

And It was not without risk.

The election of 1940 was a light Not only was Franklin D. Rooseve running for an unprecedented thi but the question of America's in in a second global war hung in the balance.

- [Nile] Dear Dr. Gottsch: I'm answering your letter not because I feel the need of justifying my conclusion to y but because I feel that you were more than sincere.

I am not introducing Mr. Willkie because I expect him to do me an but because I expect him to do this country some good.

I am addressing the Young Republican state convention not because I think that doing so will boost my prestige, but because I am interested in g and have some ambition in that d Politics are not very clean, but they should be.

If my path seems to lie in that I shall proceed as best I can.

My grandfather was a Republican governor of this state, he was honest, fearless and comp He lost many friends but regained most of them and in the end won the respect o It is my hope, if politics prove that I can advance always on the same principles that he d Perhaps I have made a mistake.

If so, it will not be the first and I shall recoup.

However, I am doing what I think is the thing to do.

Yours, Nile Kinnick.

- [Narrator] Wendell Wilkie only 10 states that November, but one of them was Iowa.

Meanwhile, Nile kept an active speaking schedule while settling back into life as a student.

- So here he is going to law school in a class of 106.

At the end of his first year, he's ranked third in the class.

And he's also coaching Iowa freshman football, something like 20 hours a week.

So that just shows you how deter and dedicated and driven Nile wa - [Nile] Dear Family: Without lies a deep blanket of snow freshly fallen last night.

In days gone by, it would beckon successfully for me to come out and build a s or go sledding or skiing, et cet But today, my mistress the law jealously has held me inside.

My, my life is strenuous.

Went over to the field house the for a little workout, I didn't realize how much sharpe a little exercise makes me feel.

Yes, mother please send me a qua and what would you think of my volunteering in the summer?

- [Narrator] Volunteering, this simple word, nestled between a request for ma must have shook the Kinnick hous It meant joining the war effort, ahead of being drafted, and while the United States was still a neutral power.

Throughout 1940, the United Stat its once-strong allies brought to the brink.

(gun fires) In April, Hitler began his Blitzkrieg invasion of Norway, Denmark, and Holland, that culminated in the British evacuation at Dunkirk.

(explosions boom) By June, France had surrendered, and Hitler turned his focus to B In September, the Tripartite Pac between Germany, Italy, and Japa sent a chilling message to the United States: "If you come to Britain's aid, you will be surrounded."

- [Nile] I can speak confidently and positively that the players of this country would much more, much rather struggle and fight to win a Heisman award than a Croix de Guerre.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) - [Narrator] How does the man who uttered these words consider putting on a uniform little more than a year later?

In fact, military service had been on the back of Nile's mind for quite some time.

The day of the Heisman speech, the Navy took Nile on a recruiti That same day, he told reporters he was considering enlisting as a Navy pilot.

And yet he had enrolled in law s gotten involved in politics, and seemed to be finding his course in life.

What changed?

- [Nile] A thought has occurred which I am passing on for your consideration.

It looks as if we are all going to be in the army sooner or later, probably sooner My draft number is 1866.

And it is my guess that I would be called late in the summer or next fall.

Why don't we see if some way or we can get into the same division of the army in the same camp?

How can this be done?

Well, probably only by volunteer - [Narrator] Though still lacking the political support for an outright declaration of w Congress had instituted its first-ever peacetime draft.

Throughout 1941, young men were being called into service whether they wanted to or not.

- [Nile] In short, I am not committing myself definitely but I think it is worth thinking You may have something else in m if so don't give this a thought.

In other words just like so many of our erstwhile plans everything is tentative and embr - [Narrator] It wasn't a decision to make lightly.

Volunteering came with the abili to choose branch of service, apply for a specialty or officer track, and get better pay.

But it required a four-year commitment, unlike draftees.

They would go home as soon as the war was over.

- [Nile] I wrote Hobbs today to find out what his draft numbe and just mentioned that it would be to our advantage to try to get into a special bra such as the Marines, Navy, or Air Service, I imagine.

- [Narrator] Nile's pragmatic side was in full swing.

An intense debate developed week in the form of letters to friends and family.

- [Nile] We either must jump in this mess strongly regardless of the risk or refuse to take our rightful place in the world.

We are not people apart.

There is no reason in the world why we shouldn't suffer to uphol that which we want to endure while others do.

And it is a matter of self-prese right this very minute.

Plan to come home at the end of and then some kind of a decision on this Army deal will have to be made.

It won't be long until our navy is a belligerent, and rightly so.

It is not pleasant to contemplat but it is a job that has to be d - [Mr. Kinnick] Dr. Sonny Boy: The request for Navy and Marine has not been unminded, and in this week's laundry you will find the things that the Marine recruiting offic I phoned both the Navy and Marin and had chats about the points that you raised.

They told me that neither branch is taking draftees and that it is necessary to enlist for the regular stretch.

Too many folks seem unwilling to that dies are being cast every d and that we had better see that ours are cast in molds of our own choosing.

- [Narrator] As spring turned to and the inevitable drew closer, Nile continued to wrestle with t - [Nile] I should like to have it on the record that I volunteered.

The men whose words will carry w in times of trouble 20 and 30 years from now will be those who have acted as well as talked.

I have no glorious disillusions about my destiny, but whether I am a country lawyer or a congressman the principle is pretty much the However, for a while yet, I shall continue to await my dra Now, in reading thus far you will note two things I haven't mentioned.

One is the fact that the glamor, patriotism, and desire for new experience have increased my enthusiasm.

To that, I must say, that such e justly and correctly buttress my intense belief in the rightness of the cause for which we are preparing.

The other is the possibility of on the field of action, which I' because it is in my makeup to plan to come back regardless.

These are troublesome times and the outlook is not pleasant.

However, the situation we face is not new in the history of the it has been common to most young of previous generations.

As a personal feeling, I should add that I would hate to go before the middle of August and will wait at least that long before volunteering.

So if my number comes in the mea I shall be a draftee after all.

- [Narrator] Finally, at the close of August 1941, Nile made his decision.

He enlisted in the Naval Reserve Air Corps, putting his law degree on hold.

Through the fall, he continued as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes, until receiving orders to report at Fairfax Airport in Northeast Kansas City.

(ominous music) (brooding music) - [Nile] I'm looking forward with enthusiasm to this new experience.

I'm fully aware that this countr is on the brink of a shooting war in two oceans, and that I might, in a very shor find myself in the thick of very serious combat work.

- [Narrator] With training came the start of Nile's war dia In them, we get a fascinating glimpse of his thoughts and attitudes as he prepared for - [Nile] But what should be done, can be done, and the best way is always through not around.

(explosions boom) News of Japan's unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor came over the radio about three Everybody accepted it quite unem seemingly more interested in whether liberties would be cu than whether the US could retaliate effectively.

I expected it but not quite so s I am ready for whatever it may be my duty to do.

However, I wish my training were already over and I was ready to go.

Apart from picking up around the we did almost nothing at all during the morning.

This morning we did very little.

We helped push airplanes from th back into the hanger.

Getting quite impatient to fly, I have never suffered from such periods of enforced id as when I am out there on the li (clock ticks) At seven o'clock, Ken and I called at the Penn-Marshall apartments for our dates.

Katie Smith, the girl I escorted was very much all right.

- [Nile] Nile would spend just over two months training in Kansas City.

The seemingly disordered manner of the war effort was frustrating for a young man not used to being idle.

Nile took every opportunity to journey off the base.

- [Nile] Last night Ken and I saw Walt Disney's new movie starring Dumbo, the elephant with the large ears.

It was extremely entertaining.

What they can do with these animated cartoons is marvelous!

Hard to realize that we are at w I do not have many aristocratic but for some reason or another I do like privacy when assuming the undignified po necessary for a bowel movement.

However, with no other alternative available, I consistently find myself sitting on a cold stool opposite some lugubrious faced c and surrounded by waiting aspira Man, did I have a good deal this I am referring to my date with Merle McKay.

Have I yet said that my roommate is an inveterate gargler?

Every night he throws back his head and gurgles with gusto, and not for just a little while No sir, he keeps at it until a thorough job is done.

Can't help making the observatio that the college athletes that I know of at this base are the ones who do the least bi at work detail to be done.

Have I said that Merle is very c and that I enjoy her company muc Almost was late getting back to I lingered a little longer than I should have.

Why I never truly enjoyed the company of women until the past two or three years I'll never know.

Given half a chance, I'll willingly endeavor to make up for lost time.

Passed my final check in a pretty satisfactory manner.

This terminates my flight training here at Fairfax.

(cheerful music) - [Narrator] Having passed the elimination phase of trainin Nile said goodbye to Kansas City and left familiar surroundings b He was stationed briefly in New before moving on to Pensacola, F to continue his pilot's training As Nile drove through the Gulf S he experienced a very different side of America.

- [Nile] The inequities in human relationships are many, but the lot of the Negro is one of the worst.

Here in the South, this fact is tragically evident.

The poor colored people are kicked from pillar to post, condemned, cussed, ridiculed, accorded no respect, permitted no sense of human dign We supposedly are fighting this to obliterate the malignant idea of racial supremacy and master-slave relationships.

When this war is over, the colored problem is apt to be more difficult than ever.

May wisdom, justice, brotherly l guide our steps to the right sol - [Narrator] At the Naval Air base in Pensacola, Nile began what would be the toughest portion of his trai Daily piloting exercises and daily mistakes left him feeling far from capabl And far from home.

- [Nile] Seems as if I have been hurrying all my life.

Gets kind of old sometimes.

St. Valentine's day, patron saint of lovers, which still leaves me outside th Fired the machine gun again this this time through the propeller No record was kept of our hits, which saved me further embarrass Just missed by one lousy charact checking out of radio today.

I am experiencing a greater degree of anonymity here than in any time for the past three years, perhaps longer.

It is not unpleasant.

In fact, in many ways it is downright enjoyable; less pressure, less responsibili less expected of me.

For the moment I feel quite low, almost uninterested in flying.

You could buy me for a nickel tonight and no haggling.

Don't even believe I could fly a Received a fine letter from Celia this afternoon.

It sure is a lonely world without feminine comfort and int I have failed to write here for several days.

My neglect of this record bespeaks my interest in this last month of training.

I'm tired of it all and anxious to get home.

Got off to a good start in dive bombing today, four out of five were hits.

Should finish up tomorrow.

All through!

Can hardly believe it!

Should be commissioned on Thursd and ready to start home on Frida Happy day!

- [Narrator] After passing his pilot's examination, Nile was granted three weeks lea before having to report for duty He headed back to the Midwest, spending time with his family in seeing relatives in Adel, and revisiting his alma mater.

It was a beautiful, crisp, autumn day, September 19th, 1942 when Nile Kinnick made his very last appearance in Iowa City.

Of course, he went to the Iowa football game and he was invited up into the press box by Tate Cummins, who is gonna interview him at halftime of the game.

- [Nile] Shortly afterwards while conversing up in the press someone told me that the crowd was yelling, "We want Kinnick."

I was hesitant to believe it, for I couldn't hear them, but when reassured I walked to t and sure enough they were yelling just that.

I wanted to go down front to the microphone and tell them what a grand crowd they were, but by that time the teams were coming back on the field and I thought it best just to acknowledge their tribute by stepping outside the press box and waving my cap.

Wish that I had heard them soone I left Iowa City secretly happy over the manner in which she had welcomed me back.

(crowd cheers) - [Narrator] In his war diaries, we get our most tangible glimpse of the real Nile Kinnick.

His first two notebooks, written during training, read like the letters he sent to friends and family: relatively light and bright; a record for posterity of his activities and experiences.

The entries in his third noteboo don't begin until eight months after his return from the Midwes when he boarded the newly-constructed USS Lexington As the carrier shipped out to join the Pacific fleet, her rookie pilots continued flight training while in peaceful waters.

But Nile barely mentioned those His writing becomes more stream of consciousness, philosophical, and existential.

No longer a record for posterity it reads as a manifesto for futu Filled with questions of economics, racial inequities, and political necessities, it shows the issues that occupied his young mind as he drew closer to the front.

- [Nile] Is this war a people's or a struggle for survival or bo How best to meet the Negro probl Pro and con of patent rights.

Wonder why my folks voted for Hoover in 1932.

Was he advancing any of the social and economic remedies promulgated by Roosevelt?

Is class warfare needed for social gain of common people?

What is wrong with running a gov on a fear and favor basis, as the new deal is prone to do?

Much needed social legislation has been passed, hasn't it?

A constitution is a magnificent instrument, but it is not a dispensation fro We must not be afraid to let it grow and change, nor to fear liberal interpretati in the interest of social gain and justice.

Is profit an essential element of efficiency?

Letter from Celia, nice surprise - [Narrator] Punctuated throughout are short, memory-jogging phrases; strong moral statements of the m he would have himself become; and even unlooked for moments of calm and beauty that escape his pen.

- [Anne] That was a very moving experience for us, to see those diaries and to read his writing.

He was very observant and quite - [Nile] Sunset in the harbor, a suffusion of gold and scarlet lingering over the bank of purple clouds in the west; freighters at anchor, blinking semaphore signals, silent but articulate; strange, clamoring cry of sea gulls; (seagulls chittering) quiet, peaceful.

- [Don] I think he felt that he was looking at God's cre and was just grateful for the opportunity to observe that.

- [Nile] Moonbeams were dancing on the water tonight in ever-changing forms, a kaleidoscope of geometric patter without refocusing my eyes the shapes seem to grow, to become permanent as if they w on the bottom of a pool of water about six inches deep.

- [Narrator] Although days were slow and spacious, the Lexington and her crew were nearing the Panama Canal, nearing the Pacific, and the violence it contained.

(plane rumbles) Two years of grueling preparation were almost over.

Nile believed he was about to enter a red-hot shooting war, whose outcome was still very much uncertain.

- [Nile] The axiom "If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing well" has its limitations.

Stay on the ball most of the tim but learn to coast between moments of all-out effort.

How I wish that I could sing and play the piano!

- [Narrator] On the morning of June second, the Lexington was off the coast of Venezuela.

Nile and his squadron took off on a routine practice flight.

(plane engine sputters) (engine cuts out) (rushing wind) (worried breathing) (plane rumbling) - [Buie] My dear Mr. and Mrs. Ki It is with deepest regret and sy that I inform you of the loss of your son, Nile, in an airplane crash on the 2nd of June 1943.

His plane developed a serious oi about 10 minutes before he lande Having lost all oil, the engine forcing Nile to land in the wate Nile made a normal unhurried water landing in calm water about four miles ahead and in full view of the ship.

He was seen by one of his teamma to get clear of the plane.

Both the Lexington and the plane guard boat proceeded directly to the scene of the landing, arriving at the spot about eight minutes later.

A diligent and immediate search of the exact location of the lan and the adjacent waters failed to reveal any trace whatever of Nile was an outstanding man in every respect.

His calm and determined manner, his quick grin, his sound common sense, and his outstanding all around a made him a wonderful asset to th and a man that we were all proud to call our friend.

His loss was a horrible blow to and a serious loss to the country he so ably served.

- [Narrator] On what should've b an unremarkable Wednesday in 194 Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr. died.

He was one month shy of his 25th - [G.W.]

My dear Nile: I have not quoted all the poem, only parts of it.

"There in the twilight cold and lifeless, but beautiful, he lay; And from the sky, serene and far a voice fell like a falling star Excelsior!"

(melancholic music) - It was of course a shock to al when we heard that his plane had gone down and he was lost.

And we actually learned this through the newspaper rather than through the family.

I think when Uncle Nile and Aunt Frances received that news, I think they needed a few days to process that, but it was all over the papers.

And so that's the way we found o - [Narrator] While Nile's death sent shockwaves across the Midwe nationally, the news was crowded by the staggering scope and carn of this Second World War.

Mr. Kinnick continued his correspondence with Lt. Buie, hoping to uncover more details about his son's death.

Ultimately, the reason Nile was to survive the landing remains a Conflicting accounts from the eyewitnesses, Nile's wingmen, were never resol They were both killed in the battle for the Pacific.

(seagulls squawking) - [Nile] Dear Celia, your welcome letter reached me l here in this faraway place of which I am permitted to tell you nothing.

Carrier life is interesting and adventurous, but after a time it begins to dr Word from you boosted my spirits to no end.

I'm so glad you could speak enthusiastically of your visit in Iowa City.

That little town means so much t It is almost like home.

I love the people, the campus, t everything about it.

Ah, for those days of laughter a when the grass was newly green and about a grab and a half high I hope you strolled off across the golf course just at twilight and felt the peace and quiet of an Iowa evening, just as I us Nile C. Kinnick, Ensign United States Naval Reserve.

(melancholic music) - [Scott] And we happened to come across this photo, which we don't think has ever been seen before.

And I just want you to take a lo and see what you see.

- Wow.

That's him on the far right.

- [Scott] Yeah, on the USS Lexington, with his buddies.

- [Mike] I've never seen it, and I've seen a lot of Kinnick p (melancholic music) - Right there.

Okay, I got it.

Okay, yeah, I see it.

There's Nile.

- [Director] Something really special about seeing him not posing, just-- - In such a relaxed atmosphere.

- [Director] Yeah.

- [Mike] And the way he's looking up, and the big grin.

Scott, that's a real treasure.

- Oh, wait, there's Nile!

He was really shifty.

I didn't realize he was that shi - Me neither.

- No, amazing.

Really, just kind of-- - Powered through, didn't he?

Look at that.

- Yeah, he just keeps running aw - You can do it, you can do it.

Yay!

- [Don] That has to be a long ru That has to be 60, 70 yards.

- [Nile] Regardless of the degree of our civilization, people still thrill to physical competition and admire the men who excels.

The great majority of people want to know such a man.

(audience applauds) (audience laughs) What that man does with such an opportunity to make friends depends on his common sense, his character, his temperament, and his sense of proportion.

While I have taken advantage of the football reputation, it was my good fortune to gain.

It's for others to judge.

But I personally am very thankful for the whole experienc and the fun in friends that has brought me.

- I think we have to be very car about who we put up on these pla and bow down before them, because most of them have feet o and that's okay.

I have feet of clay.

Most people have feet of clay.

But there are a few people who I think rise above that, and I think Nile Kinnick is one (melancholic music) - In summary about what I think about Nile as a human being, I believe that I probably would to the person that I was talking that there really is no limit to what each of us can do or what each of us can accomplis (melancholic music) So I think that Nile was much more than a football player.

I think he was a teacher for all (sniffs) Sorry.

(melancholic music) - [Producer] You have six people crying over here right now.

(laughs) - [Scott] If there are no other I have a final question.

- The answer is no.

(laughs) (end credit music) Funding for this program was provided by a Greenlight Grant from the Iowa Arts Council and produce Iowa State Office of Film and Media.

Both divisions of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.