The retired Army major will be honored during the coin toss when Texas Football hosts Maryland.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Ernie Banasau, Jr. volunteered to serve his country, especially when considering his family history.
His grandfather was a Chiricahua Apache, who served as a wrangler for the U.S. Cavalry and later as an artilleryman in the Pacific during World War II. His father built his career in the Air Force, mostly as a gunner defending the safety of America's oceans.
Ernie himself grew to be a combat veteran, who earned a Purple Heart after being wounded in action during Vietnam and surviving a nighttime extraction under fire.