On August 20, 1969, Rocky Bleier and his platoon were sent to set up a secured landing position needed for helicopters to fly out casualties from an earlier battle in the Vietnam War. The platoon, almost immediately, fell under heavy hostile fire. Rocky was first hit by enemy rifle fire and later by grenade blasts, seriously injuring both legs.
Bleier, who was told he would never play football again, returned to the Steelers in 1970 determined to make the team. In 1972, after three operations and nearly two years of exhaustive rehabilitation, he fought his way back into the lineup, and in 1974, became a starter. A thousand-yard rusher in 1976, he started on all four of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl winning teams, before retiring in 1980 as the Steelers fourth all-time leading rusher.
Rocky has generously donated this stainless steel and quartz 42 mm 'Vietnam Veteran' Aviator watch.
The Brian LaViolette Foundation was formed by the LaViolette family to honor the memory of their son, Brian, who passed away in a swimming accident in Green Bay, Wisconsin when he was just fifteen years old in 1992. Brian was not only an excellent student, athlete, and musician, but he loved watches, starting his own collection when he was four years of age.
Since 1992, the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation has presented 1,058 scholarships to deserving college-bound students in Northeastern Wisconsin, the United States, and other parts of the world. The Foundation continues Brian's legacy by helping high school seniors financially to achieve their educational dreams and, at the same time, providing them with encouragement and inspiration.
