Sgt Slaughter has always been one of my favorite wrestling personalities. As a military brat during the cold war I bled red white and blue. So a military personality standing toe to toe with monsters and flashy stars had me screaming. When he "joined" GI Joe I was overjoyed. He promoted the heck out of GI Joe and I ate it up. His USA intros are legendary.

Now imagine how it must have felt to watch one of my heroes turn heel. Let's face it, not just heel but one of the most hated turns ever made in the industry. Desert Storm was one of the most popular wars outside of Baghdad and was supported world wide. Yet in an infamous move Slaughter turned his back on his country and joined forces with Colonel Mustafa. I was so devastated that I played out a Fugitive type scenario with the toys where Cobra brainwashed Slaughter and he had to prove his innocence before Cobra or GI Joe caught up to him. Then in real life Sgt Slaughter came back and was himself again bringing my imaginary Fugitive story to a close.

Of course when I got older I learned about all the back stage stuff that made that event come to be. Then it really hit me how much guts it must have taken from Slaughter to pull it off. The guy has always given anything he is involved in 100% devotion from wrestling to GI Joe to fund raising for many charities. In my book, that makes Sgt Slaughter the realest Real American Hero.