Bringing them home alive is his biggest victory

Matt Uremovich, who would leave the U.S. Army as a captain, calls headquarters to report a suicide bomb attack in the city of Rawah, Iraq. Uremovich considers his biggest victory that all his soldiers came back alive.
(James J. Lee/Army Times)

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At Providence Catholic High School, he played on four state championship teams.

At Georgia Tech, Matt Uremovich first cracked the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in the fall of '98. He was an inside linebacker and called defensive signals on a team that tied for the ACC championship and beat Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.

Just before the bowl game, Uremovich suffered the first in a string of personal setbacks -- he was suspended. Ultimately, his football career was cut short by a spinal chord injury.

After graduating with a degree in business management, his plans for the future were nothing if not undecided until terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

Uremovich, 30, a resident of Crest Hill, was moved to enlist in the Army by the events of 9/11. He served as an infantry platoon leader during two tours of duty in Iraq, one with the 3rd Ranger Battalion. Twice, he was wounded in combat, once as the result of an explosion following an attack from a suicide bomber.

In recognition of his service, United States military officials presented Uremovich with two Purple Heart medallions and the Bronze Star with a "V" device for valor. Stashed somewhere, he has more medals and trophies, awards bestowed upon him for his athletic triumphs.

And he has a collection of old snapshots that serve to remind him of the good times he experienced rolling around on the wrestling mats and roaming across football playing fields from Chicago's suburbs to the deep South.

In one sequence of photos, he is pictured breaking loose down the sideline on a 56-yard run for a touchdown. He scored after recovering a fumble in a game against Duke. In another image, Uremovich is pictured pushing himself up from his hands and knees after putting a hit on running back LaMont Jordan, the ex-Maryland standout who recently signed a two-year deal worth $2.5 million with the Denver Broncos.

Uremovich looks back at the collection with a sense of perspective that he draws from his single greatest victory. Where once he wouldn't have thought twice about propping up a big game as if it were like going to war, he now prefers to steer clear of the allegorical references so commonly and so casually thrown around in today's sports world. He'll let others call college basketball coaching legend Bob Knight "The General" and he'll let others decide whether the title of Michael Rosenberg's book is appropriate, "War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest."

"I've heard people say those kinds of things," Uremovich said. "But, now, since I've been in -- and out -- of the Army, it's not even close. One's a game. And the other one is totally, totally different. I never had any of my guys that I was directly responsible for killed.

"I'm extremely lucky in that way. I'm very proud that I brought all my guys home alive. That's probably the biggest accomplishment of my life, much bigger than winning a game or being presented with a service medal.

"I had guys wounded, a couple seriously wounded, but they're home and they're alive with their families."

Uremovich returned to his roots when he was discharged from the Army in January of 2007.

He went to work for his father Mike, CEO at STARCON, a Manhattan, Illinois full-service mechanical contractor. Matt's job often takes him on the road for two or three weeks at a time. When he is home, he kicks back with his wife, Melissa, a former collegiate swimming standout and the daughter of an Arabic-speaking Army officer. The two enjoy what they've come to know as the good life.

Uremovich keeps in touch with many of his old friends and regularly talks with ex-Providence football coach and athletic director Matt Senffner, one of the men he says most influenced him during his teen years.

"Oh, yeah, when you talk about a kid who might intercept a pass or something, he's a high school football hero," Senffner said. "It's totally different to make the transition from what Matt did in high school playing football to what he did in Iraq. It's a whole different kind of game. It might take the same kind of personality to succeed. But it's a whole different set of circumstances.

"High school football is instantaneous opportunity. You react to what's going on around you. This kind of thing he did -- it takes months and months and months to prepare yourself for what he had to do to protect us. Those guys -- I call every one of them heroes. I put them on the same pedestal as police officers and firefighters. They put their lives on the line every day.

"I admire those guys. I admire him. He knows that. We've talked. I e-mailed him back-and-forth when he was over there. It's real life-and-death stuff 24/7. One of things he learned playing sports was that concept of loyalty. He's a very loyal guy, a team guy. Every kid is not that way. But you could tell he was different. He was mentally tougher than the average kid."

Uremovich played on state championship football teams at Providence in 1994, '95 and '96. He was credited with four tackles in a 28-21 victory over Metamora in '96. The game, played in a driving rainstorm, turned on a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Robert Cruz with 11:54 remaining.

A few months later, Uremovich moved up to the heavyweight class and helped Providence beat Marist 26-20 to capture the Class AA state wrestling crown. He edged 40-match winner John Salvino 4-1.

"I was really fortunate to go to Providence," Uremovich said. "My parents sacrificed to send me and my brother there. I was so fortunate to have those coaches -- Coach 'Seff' and Coach (Keith) Healy. They had a positive impact on my life. They care about you. I could feel it back then when I was kid. It wasn't just about sports or winning.

"They wanted to win, obviously. They were great competitors. But they really did care about developing young men."

This is part one of a three-part series that will continue on Friday and end Saturday.