Sports

Tom Brady Delivers Message Via Video At Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken's Funeral

/ CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady's respect for fallen service members extends beyond Instagram and Facebook posts.

According to Bill Speros of the Boston Herald, Brady delivered a message via video to the family of a Navy SEAL named Kyle Milliken who died in combat in Somalia in early May.

Brady had met Milliken in 2011, when some Navy SEALs completed a training exercise at Gillette Stadium.

Brady "thanked Milliken's family for its sacrifice and spoke of how Milliken was considered a 'glue guy' by his college track coach,'" according to Speros.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft told the Herald, "As Memorial Day weekend approaches, we are reminded of the sacrifices made by patriots like Kyle and so many others who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend and protect our rights as Americans. Our thoughts, prayers and heartfelt appreciation are extended to the Milliken family and the many families who will be remembering lives lost this Memorial Day weekend."

Milliken, who grew up in Maine, left behind a wife and two children.

On Monday, Brady shared a quote from Ronald Reagan to his social media accounts:

"We are gathered at the National Cemetery, which provides a final resting place for the heroes who have defended our country since the Civil War. This amphitheater, this place for speeches, is more central to this cemetery than it first might seem apparent, for all we can ever do for our heroes is remember them and remember what they did -- and memories are transmitted through words. Sometime back I received in the name of our country the bodies of four marines who had died while on active duty. I said then that there is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we're never quite good enough to them -- not really; we can't be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay. And so, when a serviceman dies, it's a tear in the fabric, a break in the whole, and all we can do is remember.

"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives -- the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember."

That speech was delivered by President Reagan in 1985 and has clearly struck a chord with Brady three decades later.

© 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.