<p>Corky: Sahuaro grad, on way to war, humbles us</p>
<p>By Corky Simpson
Tucson Citizen
July 15, 2006 </p>
<p>"On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seed that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory." - Gen. Douglas MacArthur </p>
<p>Lt. Isaac Greenberg doesn't know it yet, so please don't tell him, but he's going to throw out the first pitch Monday night at the Los Angeles Dodgers-Arizona Diamondbacks game at Chase Field in Phoenix. </p>
<p>And if he throws wildly and bonks the guy in blue, that's the umpire. You can tell Isaac that. </p>
<p>The son of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Greenberg of Tucson will fly back to Fort Drum, N.Y., on Tuesday, and two days later, his 10th Mountain Division of the Army, made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down," will be deployed to Afghanistan. </p>
<p>Isaac was an outstanding football player and wrestler at Tucson's Sahuaro High School, graduating in 2001. He won all-star honors in both sports at Sahuaro. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point last year and completed the Military Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca on May 31. </p>
<p>Actually, Isaac knows who the umpire is, but that wasn't always so. </p>
<p>"He was sort of rough and gruff and built like a fireplug even as a kid," his proud father said Friday. So when they put a very young Isaac into his first ball game as a muppet, he was the catcher. </p>
<p>"Pitch after pitch after pitch got by him," Bruce said, "so Isaac was told, 'Hey, you've got to catch those balls.' And he replied, 'Well, the guy standing behind me - what's he supposed to do?' " </p>
<p>What an honor it will be to the Greenberg family, especially Isaac, when the Diamondbacks hand him that baseball and he walks to the mound Monday night. </p>
<p>But the real honor is ours, those of us for whom Isaac and his comrades will place themselves in harm's way. A lot of us talk a good game about being patriotic, but young guys and young women who serve in the armed forces are the ones who walk the walk. </p>
<p>Second Lt. Isaac Greenberg was the Sonoran Region's defensive football player of the year in the season of 2000. He had 48 solo tackles, three sacks and four fumble recoveries. </p>
<p>Even better, Isaac was a Top 10 scholar-athlete as recognized by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. </p>
<p>His football coach at Sahuaro was Nemer Hassey, now at Cienega High. He's quite proud of his former all-city linebacker. </p>
<p>"I coached Isaac two years," Hassey said. "He never missed a practice, always had a great attitude and, obviously, because of his U.S. Military Academy appointment, had great grades. </p>
<p>"Isaac had a complete investment into the program," Hassey added. "You knew he was going to get it done, and get it done right. He was just a very disciplined, tremendous young guy." </p>
<p>The Battle of Waterloo, Sir William Fraser remarked, was won on the playing fields of Eton. And the war on terror will be won, thanks to the efforts of young guys like Isaac, on fields playing fields such as Sahuaro High School's. </p>
<p>The Arizona Diamondbacks couldn't have made a better choice to throw out the first pitch than Lt. Isaac Greenberg.</p>