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May 25, 2026, 4:35 PM CUT

Remembering Major Don Steinbrunner: The Ex-Browns OT & Vietnam Veteran

Major Don Steinbrunner wasn’t just an offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns back in the day. His story is much bigger than football. He actually left his football career behind to serve in the military during the Vietnam War.

Looking at his sports career, Steinbrunner was a serious athlete. At Washington State, he captained both the football and basketball teams. His frame was huge at six feet three inches tall, eventually getting drafted by the Browns in the sixth round back in 1953.

During his 1953 rookie season, he shared the field with absolute legends like Otto Graham. Looking at his official career stats, he played exactly eight regular-season games, mostly on special teams, and logged a single kick return for twenty-three total yards before injuring his knee.

His teammates remembered him as a gentlemanly, composed player.

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After that short NFL stint, his Reserve Officers' Training Corps [ROTC] background called him into active duty with the Air Force, where he trained as a fully dedicated military navigator.

Before heading overseas, he actually spent about four seasons as an assistant football coach for the Air Force Academy, starting in 1960. He also recruited top football talent for them. But in 1966, he received strict orders, sending him straight to Vietnam during the conflict.

Major Don Steinbrunner's Service in Vietnam

During the Vietnam War, the former Browns player was drafted into the 12th Air Commando Squadron. Despite being hurt in an aerial mission early on, he refused to take up a safer assignment.

He went from the gridiron to choosing to stay and fly missions over the dense tropical jungles of Vietnam.

Tragically, on July 20, 1967, his plane went down in Kon Tum province. There were no survivors among the five crewmen on board. Don Steinbrunner became one of only two NFL players, alongside Bob Kalsu, to lose their lives serving overseas in Vietnam.

For his ultimate sacrifice, Major Steinbrunner was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor.

He also received the Air Medal and several other major military commendations. Decades later, the Pro Football Hall of Fame officially recognized his heroic legacy by inviting his family to its inaugural Veterans Day ceremony in November 2001.

Written by

Nisarga Aseem Barkule

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote