Weiland shares medal with strangers

To the editor:

As a career naval officer, I have often publicly spoke and justifiably bragged about the great young service men and women I have met throughout my career.

On a recent flight to Anchorage, I encountered another inspiring young American — your own Women’s hockey Olympic silver medalist, Kerry Weiland. As she boarded the plane in Seattle, I heard several people congratulate her. In response, she flashed a smile and offered a sincere “thank you.”

She was wearing an Olympic vest and sat in the row behind me. Clearly, she was an Olympic athlete, but I was not sure who she was or of what sport. Shortly before pushing back from the gate, a flight crew member announced her presence on board and stated we were all honored to be with her. Kerry stood up, smiled broadly and waved as the plane broke out in extended applause. As she sat down, she again smiled and said, “I have my medal and can pass it around if anyone would like to see it.”

Then, as the astonished group of people closest to her (myself included) watched in amazement, she produced a beautiful, giant silver medal on a bright blue ribbon and, without hesitation, handed it to the people in the row behind her, simply asking, “would you like to see it?”

As the medal was being passed around the entire plane and studied by all, Kerry chatted with the retired couple sitting next to her about her experiences with the team, travels and summer plans. She then said she was exhausted and needed a nap, and asked them if they would hold on to the medal when it was returned to her. The couple said “sure,” clearly surprised and honored by her request. They told Kerry they could not believe how readily she handed her Olympic medal to a plane load of strangers. Kerry responded, “It really belongs to everyone, and I want to share it.”

She promptly went to sleep for the majority of the flight as her medal was passed around and eventually returned to the ecstatic retired couple.

Several people came back to thank Kerry for sharing her medal, but when they saw “their” exhausted athlete fast asleep, they just smiled and returned to their seats. Later, she signed autographs for some children and received several more “thank yous” from passengers and crew.

Everyone on the flight was clearly in awe, not as much of the medal, but more of the gifted, bright young woman who was willing to share the symbol of her years of hard work with us. All on the plane got the experience of seeing an Olympic medal up close, and I got yet another story to tell about a great, young American.

Since Kerry was so kind in sharing her medal, I felt obliged to share my story about her.

Mark J. Olson

Bremerton, Wash.