A Friday night tradition in Fort Worth carries a lot of meaning for a North Texas father whose son was killed overseas.
Billy Brown's old high school team, the Fort Worth Brewer Fightin' Bears, carries a flag in his memory every time they take the field.
"I feel like they're taking my son Billy out onto the field with them," Brown's father, David Roberts, said.
Brown graduated from Brewer high school in 1994, and enlisted in the army, eventually serving as a green beret.
"He did one tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan," Roberts said. "He always made sure everyone came home safe."
In Afghanistan in November of 2006, Brown lost his life while serving his country.
"When they hit the I.E.D. it killed Bill," Roberts said. "It really affected the guys quite a bit because he kept their promise to them and they feel like they let him down."
Brown's father carries on his son's legacy in many ways, including on the side of the truck he drives every day, and with a gift he gives to the Brewer football team every year.
"Obviously it's very touching," Brewer football coach Todd Peterman said. "We wanted to make sure we honored Bill very appropriately along with the rest of our armed forces."
While brown's unit continues to carry a Brewer high school flag in his honor wherever they are stationed around the world, the unit gives the Bears their flag, which the team carries while running onto the football field before games.
"There are just no words," Roberts said. "Doing what they're doing, taking the flag onto the field, it means a lot."
"They see what true brotherhood is, what true commitment is, and what true integrity is," Peterman said. "Those are all things we strive for."
It's a way for the Fightin' Bears to honor one of the greatest heroes in Brewer high school history, with a gift from a grieving father, a flag that represents a legacy the football team carries on by carrying it onto the field on Friday nights.
"I didn't want Billy to be just another soldier that passed," Roberts said. "Hopefully they know they have angels watching over them."
