Army Master Sgt. Miguel Chacon, left, and Spc. Travis Crook flank Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes at Fenway Park on Sept. 15, after Chacon gave Gomes the helmet he had worn in Iraq. Chacon and Crook are with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine at Natick Soldier Systems Center, Mass. (Army)
The writer of this entry is a Red Sox fan, so he’s paying close attention to the World Series. He’s also been fascinated with the source of the helmet worn by outfielder Jonny Gomes during playoff-related celebrations, something about which Gomes has been elusive, other than mentioning it’s been “battle tested.”
Jonny Gomes wears the helmet while celebrating the Red Sox’s ALCS victory. (Charles Krupa/AP)
Well, Gomes is correct — it’s been battle tested, alright, and it’s also appeared in a war zone.
Army Master Sgt. Miguel Chacon’s relationship with Gomes dates back to earlier this season, when Gomes saw the soldier in the crowd and tossed him a pair of batting gloves.
Chacon, senior enlisted adviser at U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine at Natick Soldier Systems Center, Mass., later got tickets to a September game, where he brought his Advanced Combat Helmet he’d worn in Iraq.
He presented it to Gomes. “He was just taken by that helmet,” Chacon said in an Army news release. “He loved it. He lit up.”
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