Joe Delaney: A Real American Hero

Don't know why, but I woke up this morning thinking about Joe Delaney. And it occurred to me, that many of you probably don't know his story. So I thought I'd share it.

Joe Alton Delaney was a football player who played two seasons in the National Football League. In his two seasons with the Chiefs, Delaney set four franchise records that would stand for over 20 years.He was a two-time All-American athlete for the Northwestern State Demons football team, as well as a track and field star. Delaney played two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was chosen as the AFC Rookie of the Year in 1981 by United Press International.

Delaney had a lifelong history of helping others, and once paid for the funeral of a former teacher whose family could not afford a proper service. Delaney, who was at the time living in nearby Ruston, Louisiana, went to Critter's Creeks, an amusement park at Chennault Park in Monroe, Louisiana, with friends on June 29, 1983 and had encouraged children that were swimming not to go far out in the pond. The amusement park has since been closed to the public. Delaney dived into a pond and tried to save three children who were screaming for help. The children were floundering in a water hole left by recent construction work. The water hole, which covered two acres and was 20 feet deep, was not intended to be a swimming pond but instead to be used to add aesthetics. Despite his inexperience in swimming, Delaney tried to rescue the children.

"Can you swim?" a little boy asked Joe. "I can't swim good but I've got to save those kids. If I don't come up, get somebody." Unfortunate for the rest of the world and the Kansas City Chiefs, those were the last words of Joe Delaney as he died while trying to save the kids. One of the boys was able to find his way to the shore. The two others and Delaney did not.

Three thousand people attended Delaney's burial and memorial service on July 4 which was held in Haughton High School's gymnasium. President Ronald Reagan honored Delaney with the Presidential Citizens Medal on July 15, and it was presented to Delaney's family by Vice President George H. W. Bush. Reagan's words were:

“ He made the ultimate sacrifice by placing the lives of three children above regard for his own safety. By the supreme example of courage and compassion, this brilliantly gifted young man left a spiritual legacy for his fellow Americans."