Panthers proud of military bonds on Veterans Day

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- When the Florida Panthers host the New Jersey Devils at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, TVAS), Korean War veteran Harold Capell will be honored on the ice by the franchise during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Capell will also be honored in the arena during a TV timeout.

It will be emotional scene, one that brings a rousing ovation at every home game and that has played out since 2013.

That’s when Vincent Viola, a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy here, purchased the team and began the Heroes Among Us program, which honors local servicemen and servicewomen before each home game.

Since the program’s inception, the Panthers have honored over 450 veterans, including more than 100 from World War II, over 50 from the Vietnam War and more than 20 from the Korean War.

It’s an incredibly uplifting way to start each home game, and something that has even more meaning this week with Monday being Veterans Day. In fact, the Panthers will honor Capell as part of their second Military Appreciation Night within a week, the first one being held this past Saturday.

“Our Heroes Among Us program is one of the best in pro sports, if not the best,” Panthers chief operating officer Bryce Hollweg said last month. “And, of course, with our military background, you know the places that we’ve served, and the experiences that we’ve had, I think that we put a little more energy and resources into it.

“It’s a special thing for us to be able to tell the story for those individuals, who, sometimes would not be able to tell that story themselves.”

Nov. 11, 1918, is regarded as the end of World War I. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, in November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. On May 13, 1938, Armistice Day was declared a national holiday to honor veterans of World War I, but on June 1, 1954, following World War II and the Korean War, and after an act by the U.S. Congress, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

It's a responsibility the Panthers take very seriously and hold dear because the team has a special bond with the military.

Viola is one of four Panthers executives and U.S. Army veterans who graduated from West Point. Team president and CEO Matt Caldwell is a member of the Class of 2002; Hollweg and Keith Fine, vice president, programming and development, graduated in 2008. The Panthers also have several other veterans, including some from the U.S. Navy, in their full-time and part-time work force.

“I hold Veterans Day and Memorial Day near and dear to my heart because those were hundreds of young men and women that I had the pleasure to lead all throughout the world,” Hollweg said.

That pride for and respect of the military has been passed down to the team and the entire organization, with members of both seeing it firsthand when they toured West Point on Oct. 25.

“The military to me and my family is so important, and it's close to home for us,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said on a picture-perfect fall afternoon at West Point, “so I think it's an incredible thing that we do at home games, honoring a military member and then giving them a round of applause and a standing ‘O’ midway through the game.

“I think it's so incredibly important to recognize what they've done for us, because at the end of the day, we could not do what we do, and I could not do what I do every single day if it wasn't for the brave military here in the United States. [We’re] so thankful for them.”

When Viola took the entire team and members of the organization to the academy on the Hudson River, not only did the players show off the Stanley Cup, which they won in June, but they also toured the campus, checked out some training areas and sat with cadets in the mess hall during lunch.

Later that night, Viola, Caldwell, Hollweg and Fine took the Cup to the Army hockey team’s home opener.

“West Point's obviously close to home with our organization, and it starts with Vinnie,” Tkachuk said. “I know we wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn't for him. And it's really cool to see how excited he is for us to come see it here. And we're so lucky to have him as an owner.

“He does so many incredible things for us, and I think that you know him and his history, being able to, at games, show his appreciation and our organization's appreciation for the military. It's super important for us, and I know that we look forward to that each and every game for honoring (a veteran).”

Caldwell said when Viola first raised the idea of recognizing a veteran from South Florida at every home game, he wasn’t sure it would be possible to find enough to make it last. But it has, thanks in part to John Colombo, vice president, Florida Panthers foundation and community relations; Matt Janusz, director, amateur hockey; and Matt Smith director, community relations.

“Vinnie said it from Day 1, ‘We’re going to honor a veteran every single game,’ and I was like, ‘How can we find all of those veterans?’ I mean, there are a lot of games,” Caldwell said. “And it’s been 10 years now. John Colombo, Matt Smith, Matthew Janusz -- civilians, by the way, who I feel like have become veterans because of everything they do for the Heroes program -- they have just taken that to another level that we never imagined.

“And all of those Heroes talk. It’s like word of mouth now that all these families, we have so many inbounds that we have no problem getting veterans out and honoring them every game and it’s just wonderful. We always come across a 100-year-old WWII veteran. I don’t know how many more 100-year-old veterans are out there, but we keep finding them and we keep honoring.”

Whomever is honored this week, the ceremonies will have special meaning to the Panthers organization, especially Viola, Caldwell, Hollweg and Fine.

“It’s very moving every time on Veterans Day, both Veterans Day and Memorial Day,” Caldwell said. “You know, Veterans Day is more celebrating anyone who served and Memorial Day is for those who have passed. Both of those days, it’s a time to reflect. It’s been over 20 years since I went to West Point, over 15 years since I got out of the military. And you know, life can pass you by and you forgot all about those experiences. So I always take those days to go have a beer with another veteran or just go talk about the good old days because if you don’t, you’ll forget about them and you won’t appreciate what people do for us every day.”

Tkachuk said seeing West Point in person, especially close to Veterans Day, reinforced his appreciation of the military.

“I've had an incredible appreciation my whole life, but I think coming here and seeing it firsthand, and seeing how they honor veterans as well, they do an incredible job here, and [it’s] something that really opened my eyes,” Tkachuk said. “And I think it's just important for everybody, whether they've been to here or anywhere else in the country, it's very important for them to realize that's a very important day to a lot of people, so they should really honor them.”