Patrick Mahomes Uncovers the Truth About a Forgotten Soldier—What He Does Next Changes History
The city pulsed with its usual energy—cars honking, people hustling, the faint echo of a distant marching band practicing for the weekend’s big game. Patrick Mahomes, quarterback and local hero, walked with an easy stride, baseball cap pulled low, content to be just another face in the crowd for once. He loved these rare moments of anonymity, away from the stadium lights and roaring fans.
As Mahomes passed a small city park, a soulful harmonica melody floated through the air. It was raw, aching, and beautiful, cutting through the urban noise. Drawn in, Mahomes followed the music to a bench beneath an old oak tree, where an elderly man sat, eyes closed, harmonica in hand. His clothes were threadbare, his face lined by sun and sorrow, but his posture radiated quiet dignity.
Mahomes listened until the song ended, then offered a gentle clap. “That was beautiful, sir,” he said quietly.
The man looked up, surprised. “Thank you. Not many stop to listen these days,” he replied, voice gravelly but warm.
They struck up a conversation. The man introduced himself as Thomas Thompson, a Vietnam veteran. He spoke of jungles and rain, of friends lost and moments of courage and regret. Mahomes, used to hearing stories of gridiron glory, listened with rapt attention to tales of a different kind of battle. Thomas’s eyes lit up as he spoke of his squad, then dimmed as he described coming home to a country that had moved on, leaving him behind.
Moved by Thomas’s humility, Mahomes felt a responsibility he couldn’t explain. “Have you got a place to stay?” he asked. Thomas shrugged. “Shelter, sometimes. I get by.”
Mahomes offered to help. He called a friend who ran a local veterans’ shelter, arranging a room for Thomas that night. But more than anything, Mahomes offered his presence—returning the next day, and the next, sometimes just to talk, sometimes to sit in silence.
Over coffee one morning, Thomas opened up further. He shared stories not just of war, but of letters he’d written and never sent—letters to his mother, to friends, to a girl he once loved. “I wrote to keep sane,” Thomas admitted. “But the letters never made it out. I lost them after I got home. Maybe it’s better that way.”
Mahomes shook his head. “Those words matter. Your story matters.”
Quietly, Mahomes reached out to a local historian and a nonprofit that helped veterans recover lost records. Days later, a box was delivered to the shelter—old, battered, but marked with Thomas’s name. Inside were dozens of yellowed letters, bundled with a faded ribbon, and a folder of military records. Among them was a commendation for a Medal of Valor—never awarded, never even acknowledged.
Mahomes sat with Thomas as he opened the box. The old man’s hands trembled as he read the first letter, written to his mother after a firefight. “I’m alive, Mom. Tell Dad I did my best. I miss your Sunday dinners.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I thought these were gone forever.”
Mahomes placed a hand on his shoulder. “You deserve to be remembered, Thomas. This country owes you more than silence.”
With Thomas’s permission, Mahomes and the historian began a campaign to restore his honor. They contacted former squadmates, tracked down families who’d received letters, and pieced together the story of a soldier who had saved lives but never sought recognition. They discovered that Thomas had carried two wounded comrades through enemy fire, refusing evacuation until every man was safe.
Mahomes used his platform not for publicity, but to quietly advocate for Thomas. He wrote letters to Congress, spoke with veterans’ groups, and met with the Department of Defense. “This isn’t about football,” he said in one meeting. “It’s about dignity. About fixing something that should have been right all along.”
Word spread. Journalists picked up the story, but Mahomes deflected the spotlight, insisting the focus remain on Thomas and other forgotten heroes. Veterans reached out from across the country, sharing their own stories of lost medals, lost friends, lost years.
Months later, a letter arrived from Washington. The Medal of Valor was approved. The ceremony would take place on the steps of the Capitol, in full view of the nation.
On the day of the ceremony, Mahomes stood at Thomas’s side, both men dressed in suits, the old harmonica tucked in Thomas’s pocket. The crowd was small but reverent—veterans, families, a handful of reporters. As the medal was pinned to his chest, Thomas stood straighter than he had in years. When the applause faded, he spoke into the microphone, voice steady: “This isn’t just for me. It’s for all who served and were forgotten. May we remember them.”
Afterward, Thomas pressed the harmonica into Mahomes’s hand. “You gave me back my voice, son. Don’t ever stop listening.”
Mahomes smiled, eyes shining. “I promise.”
In the weeks that followed, Mahomes helped fund a new memorial: a simple stone bench beneath the cherry blossoms, inscribed with Thomas’s name and the words, “For those who served in silence.” Veterans and families came from all over, leaving letters, medals, and tokens of remembrance.
Thomas, now a quiet legend, spent his mornings at the bench, greeting visitors, sharing stories, and sometimes playing his harmonica for the city to hear. Mahomes visited often, sitting beside him, listening, learning, and reminding everyone who passed that real heroes don’t always play under stadium lights.
One day, a young boy approached the bench, clutching a football. He looked up at Thomas and Mahomes and asked, “Can I sit with you?” Thomas smiled, making room. “Of course, son. There’s always space for someone willing to listen.”
And so, beneath the blossoms, the story continued—not just of a forgotten soldier, but of a nation learning, one quiet act at a time, to remember.
The forgotten hero who drafted Patrick Mahomes despite ridicule to lay foundation of Chiefs dynasty
The Kansas City Chiefs traded up to select Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft.
With the benefit of hindsight, we know that it was a stroke of genius as the superstar quarterback prepares to take the field in his fifth Super Bowl.
Mahomes was not regarded as a slam dunk with the No.10 pickCredit: Getty
But the move was surprisingly controversial at the time with analysts lining up to slate the pick.
“Patrick Mahomes, I don’t like it. I do not like this pick,” Shannon Sharpe said on FOX’s Undisputed.
Stephen A. Smith claimed Deshaun Watson, who went to the Houston Texans, two picks later was a safer bet.
“Just like I said to you [Mitchell] Trubisky doesn’t have the resume that tells me that he’s better than Deshaun Watson,” the ESPN First Take co-host said. “I sure ain’t gonna say that Patrick Mahomes does.”
To be fair to Smith, Watson had some good years before he became the $230million weight dragging down the Cleveland Browns franchise.
He was right about the Chicago Bears selecting Mitchell Trubisky second overall, though.
Hall of Fame ex-Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Cris Carter could be about to watch Mahomes beat his former franchise in the Super Bowl for the second time.
“If [Mahomes] is that good, you went over Deshaun Watson, you traded up, but you’ve still got to wait on the cookies – because the cookies ain’t ready yet,” he said on Undisputed in 2017.
The man in the firing line was former Chiefs general manager John Dorsey.
He was convinced Mahomes was the future and traded the 27th overall pick, a third-round selection in 2017 and a 2018 first-rounder to the Buffalo Bills to jump up to tenth.
Dorsey helped make the Chiefs what they are todayCredit: Getty
They mocked him. They ripped him.
He didn’t care.
John Dorsey had to have @PatrickMahomes. pic.twitter.com/5BBwsMNQC8
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) February 12, 2024\n\n\n”,”width”:550,”height”:550,”provider”:”twitter”,”attribs”:{“data-tweetid”:”1757183519619490111″}}” data-provider=”twitter” data-widget-name=”embed” data-widget-id=”embed-99628085″>
They mocked him. They ripped him.
He didn’t care.
John Dorsey had to have @PatrickMahomes. pic.twitter.com/5BBwsMNQC8
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) February 12, 2024
It is hard to judge exactly how much capital a team would have to make to trade for the three-time Super Bowl MVP, but it would involve more than two first-round picks.
“This is a really good football player,” Dorsey, who is now a senior executive on the Detroit Lions, said at the time. “And I think these types of guys don’t come around that often.
“I can see this guy developing into a really-good football player. I’m willing to invest in that type of player, because I believe in his skillset and what he is going to develop into.”
Mahomes sat for his first season in Kansas City but was thrown in against a talented Denver Broncos defense in Week 17 after starter Alex Smith had already secured a playoff spot.
His performance left no doubt that he was the future of the franchise and signaled the start of Dorsey’s victory lap.
By that time, he was already with the Cleveland Browns having left the Chiefs in June 2017 with a 43–21 record and three trips to the postseason in four years.
It meant the 64-year-old did not get to enjoy any of Mahomes’ three Super Bowl victories having laid the foundations with his bold trade.
Dorsey joined the Lions in 2021 as a senior personnel executive and has been around for Dan Campbell turning around the franchise.
In the time he has been there, Aidan Hutchinson, Penai Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brian Branch have all been huge Draft hits.
If Detroit continues on its upwards trajectory, he could end up facing the man he drafted in next year’s Super Bowl – is it too early to start talking about a four-peat?
The Bills, meanwhile, may well stop trading with the Chiefs during the Draft. After letting Mahomes fall into their AFC rivals’ laps, they traded back to allow head coach Andy Reid to pair speedy wideout Xavier Worthy with the dominant signal-caller in 2024.
Buffalo has now lost four times to Mahomes in the playoffs with Josh Allen on a trajectory to being discussed as one of the greatest players never to reach a Super Bowl.
