Veterans Honored During Game 2 Ceremony
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Major League Baseball held a ceremony before Game 2 of the World Series honoring World War II-era veterans who also played in the majors as part of its Welcome Back Veterans program.
Nicholas Kimmel, a corporal in the Marines, was scheduled to throw out the first pitch with Giants Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who missed most of 1952 and all of the 1953 season to serve in the Army in Korea. Kimmel was injured on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan on Dec. 1, 2011. He was building a patrol base for the Georgian Army when he stepped on an improvised explosive device, losing both legs and his left arm.
Kimmel, from Moses Lake, Wash., also was a guest of Game 1 winner Barry Zito during spring training. The Giants lefty annually hosts a group of soldiers from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego for the weekend.
Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda and Hall of Fame broadcasters Bob Wolff and Jerry Coleman - also a former All-Star - and former All-Star Lou Brissie also were among those honored.
(Copyright 2012 CBS San Francisco. Wire services contributed to this report.)
