When U.S. Marine Capt. Brandon Tole stood on the ice before a Chicago Blackhawks game in his dress blues as Jim Cornelison sang the National Anthem, it was a homecoming of sorts.
As an active duty service member who served in Afghanistan, Tole said it was an incredible honor to be there on Nov. 10, especially coming on the eve of Veteran’s Day.
As a lifelong Blackhawks fan who can recount in detail the first game he went to in the old Chicago Stadium, Tole said, standing on the ice was an exciting thrill.
And as a devoted husband and father, standing before the crowd while his family watched from the stands was in some ways symbolic of the way hockey helped him feel connected to his family while he was far away, Tole said.
FaceTime, Skype and other video chat applications have made it easier for deployed service members to stay connected to family, to sit in at the dinner table or read bedtime stories to their kids. For the Tole family, it also was a way to watch the Blackhawks.
Tole, 29, grew up in McHenry, Ill., and graduated from Northern Illinois University, where he met his wife, Becca, he said. They’ve lived in Florida and North Carolina, but Tole is now stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station and they recently purchased a house in downtown Mundelein, where his wife has opened a spray tanning business.
Tole was in Afghanistan in 2013 when the Blackhawks were in the playoffs. Not willing to miss a single game, Tole said, he’d set his alarm clock for 4 a.m. so he could watch the games via FaceTime with Becca, who was back home with their two daughters, Zoe and Jewel.
“It was a way to stay connected,” said Tole.
“I would prop the iPad on a stool in our living room,” Becca said. “I would have FaceTime on and the game on and it would be just like he was sitting in our living room.”
Before or after the game, depending on the time, Tole would watch a cartoon with his older daughter, Zoe, he said. She’d sit next to the iPad holding her “Daddy” doll — a canvas figure imprinted with a photo of Tole in his fatigues on one side and a photo of him in his Blackhawks jersey on the other.
Since 2009, the Blackhawks organization has been honoring active duty and retired service members on the ice during the National Anthem as part of the Service Salute partnership with the USO of Illinois and Boeing. The USO of Illinois handles the nominating and vetting process, while Boeing underwrites tickets for the service members and their guests.
Boeing spokesman David Jenks said the program is an opportunity to “to turn the spotlight on the troops, to give them the honor and thanks they deserve.”
Hundreds of active duty and retired service members have been honored since the program started, said Alison Ruble, president and CEO of USO of Illinois.
Ruble said the Service Salute program “brings the American public closer to the military.”
“When they’re on the ice that day (the service members) represent anyone who has ever served,” said Ruble. “While they’re in their uniform for their branch of service they’re representing anyone that’s deployed, who has gone overseas.”
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It’s an honor for anyone selected, but standing on the ice at the United Center as Jim Cornelison sang the National Anthem was a dream come true for Tole, who was nominated by his colleagues at Great Lakes.
His buddies knew how excited he would be with the nomination, but they underplayed it when they delivered the news to him in slow-play fashion.
“My chief actually came up and said ‘Something’s coming up in the next couple of weeks. It’s on a Sunday, not sure if you’d be interested, you’d have to wear your uniform,'” Tole said with a smile. “I had an ear-to-ear grin for at least two days.”
The experience Sunday night was indescribable, Tole said.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “I’m just completely humbled and grateful for the opportunity.”