A Naval Academy wrestler's diary paints a vivid and light-hearted picture of the VII Olympiad of modern times.
Berlin was to have been the venue for the 1916 Olympic Games, the quadrennial rite for young athletes around the world. With World War I tearing Europe apart, however, Olympic officials suspended the games. Two years later, the "War to End All Wars" was over, and the games were hurriedly reassigned to battle-ravaged Belgium and scheduled for August 1920. That year the American team consisted of three separate components—civilian, Army, and Navy squads—who traveled independently and marched as separate units under the American flag. It was an event that will forever remain part of U.S. Naval Academy athletic lore.
