USA Hockey Magazine

24 // NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM t was an international g oodwill t o u r n a m e n t i n D e n m a r k a l l about brotherhood, hockey and World War II history. It involved three Danish and four American t e a m s c o n s i s t i n g o f b o t h w o u n d e d w a r r i o r s a n d a c t i v e duty military members. The 27 hockey players that com- prised the American Red, White and Blue teams were assembled from the 50 squads in the Warrior discipline of USA Hockey 's disabled program. The fourth team — from Tampa — included 10 Special Operations personnel, both active duty and service veterans, that participated in the six-day tournament in late August. T a m p a p l a y e r M a r k R o s e n g u a r d , a r e t i r e d A r m y R a n g e r a n d G r e e n B e r e t colonel, came home with enough stories to fill a hockey bag along with a key to a historic building in Auberge, a picturesque port city in northern Denmark. The Christian IV Guild Hall, named after the popular monarch from the 15th and 16th centuries, was a crucial meeting place for Danes during the Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II. "They had a big dinner in our honor there and initiated us into their fra- ternal organiza- tion," Rosenguard said. "They gave us keys to the secret back door that was used by the Danes during the war. The Germans allowed the Danes to have their own little collective in the basement of this important building next to the city hall." T h e Ta m p a s q u a d , w h o s e m e m b e r s i n c l u d e t h r e e a c t i v e a n d s e v e n r e t i r e d Special Operations personnel, have a special bond with their Danish counterparts after serving together as part of a NATO Special Operations task force fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. "We were going t o w a r, a n d w e loved the opportu- nity to serve with t h e m , " R o s e n - guard explained. "It was a special friendship, a life- long friendship." The Denmark t o u r n a m e n t wa s n 't t h e fi r st reunion between t h e D a n e s a n d the Tampa players. They met for a series of games in Florida in 2018. Another tournament was scheduled for 2020, but was postponed because of the pandemic. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Mike Vaccaro; John Neal By Author name J O H N L I N D H U R S T I HAVE PLAYED IN A LOT OF [WARRIOR] TOURNAMENTS STATESIDE, BUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY INTERNATIONALLY DOESN'T COMPARE. By Tom Worgo Good times on and off the ice highlighted the goodwill games between U.S. and Danish military members.

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