June 13, 1935 – Madison Square Garden, New York City: More than 30,000 people packed into The Garden that evening. In living rooms across America, millions more sat glued to their radios. James J. “Jimmy” Braddock was fighting reigning heavyweight boxing champion Max...
1965 – Yale University: He submitted his term paper in his economics class on what he thought was a brilliant idea. In the paper, he outlined an idea for a company that would guarantee overnight delivery of packages to major U.S. cities. The company would function...
April 1, 1982 – Boston, Massachusetts: The phone call, the one the family had dreaded, came late afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard called to inform the parents of Steven Callahan that the search in the North Atlantic Ocean for their son’s missing sailboat had been...
Sunday, February 24, 1991 – Saudi Arabia – Al Khanjar Military Base: As he did every morning, U.S. Marine General Charles Krulak knelt in the chapel to pray. He prayed for a miracle. In one of the driest deserts on earth, Krulak needed a well that would produce...
November 1996 – Ann Arbor, Michigan: Tom called his mother in California. He was ready to quit the University of Michigan football team. He had been seventh on the quarterback depth chart as a freshman and received a red-shirt. Now his sophomore season had been a big...
June 1994 – New York City: Deogratias “Deo” Niyizonkiza left his empty shopping cart on the sidewalk. He slipped into St. Thomas More’s Church on East 89thStreet to pray. He was alone and out of place in a strange new world. Deo knew no one, spoke no English, and had...