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On October 26, 2018, Veteran’s Day, Farmington Polo Club in Farmington, Connecticut, hosted the Admiral Chester W. Nimitz arena tournament to honor and recognize military service personnel. The tournament had four teams sign up, but an unexpected storm was forecast to arrive, causing the club to reschedule a day early with one team unable to attend. All teams had players with extensive military affiliation, either directly or through family members. Even with the rescheduling, the crowd gathered to support the players, honor veterans, and watch a battle in the saddle in Farmington’s state of the art regulation size arena.

Admiral Chester William Nimitz was Commander in Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas during WWII, taking over command of what remained of the U.S. naval fleet ten days after Pearl Harbor. Nimitz was the leading U.S. Navy authority on submarines. Qualified in submarines during his early years, he later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and then later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's first nuclear powered submarine, USS Nautilus, whose propulsion system later completely superseded diesel-powered submarines in the U.S. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. Along with his rank came President Harry S. Truman’s official designation of October 5, 1945 as "Nimitz Day." After his death, the USS Nimitz, one of the largest warships in the world, was commissioned in his honor. The Nimitz still sails the waters today.

The game was officiated by Mike Vander Werken, an active intercollegiate arena umpire, and announced by Julia Marrinan, a University of Connecticut women’s polo player. The crowd was loud and energetic, trying to stay warm in the unusually cold temperatures and gray skies. In the first two chukkers of the round-robin tournament, LaRosa Building Company faced Valenti Maserati with LaRosa winning 6-5. LaRosa continued play into the third and fourth chukkers against Valenti Alfa Romeo squeezing out another win by one goal 3-2. In the last two chukkers, the two Valenti auto companies battled it out with Nik Feldman finding his strength and scoring four goals for his team. His teammate and fellow Cornell grad polo player, Senter Johnson, scored the other three to win 7-3 for Alfa Romeo securing second place and Maserati coming in third. Most Valuable Player was awarded to Anton Hoffman as he played well above his handicap.

The following is a brief military bio for each player:

LaRosa Building Company – Green

Anton Hoffman #1
Anton was in the U.S. Marine Corps holding the rank of E-5/Sergeant. He served as Reconnaissance Man and Scout Sniper from 2006-2012. He participated in campaigns in Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2011.

Patrick Marinelli #3
Patrick’s family military history stems mostly from his mother’s side. His grandfather was an army engineer that served in the Pacific during World War II. One uncle was an Army engineer during the Vietnam War and two cousins served, one as a master chief in the Navy and the other a staff Sargent in the Army.

Team Valenti Alfa Romeo – Orange

Senter Johnson #2
His paternal grandfather (Charles Johnson) was in the Air Force and was one of the “six week wonders” that flew in World War II. His father (Charles Johnson Jr.) was in the Army during Vietnam, serving in Germany. His grandfather on his mother’s side (Allen Grover) was an engineer in the British Navy in World War II working on torpedoes.

Nik Feldman #3
Nik’s grandfather, Stanley Hanse, flew tactical surveillance in the U.S. Navy during the Pacific Campaign. Stanley left Brown University for war immediately after Pearl Harbor.His family has his flight logs, in which are written the many islands he mapped (mostly on solo missions), including Midway, Marshall Islands, Guam, and Iwo Jima. He was an extremely talented pilot, as chronicled in William Neufeld’s book, Slingshot Warbirds: World War II U.S. Navy Scout-Observation Airmen.

Team Valenti Maserati - Turquoise

John Wyatt #1
John was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the USMC in 1987 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington. After attending the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, in 1988 he was sent to Pensacola, Florida, to begin flight training. In 1990 he was designated a Naval Aviator and was assigned the UH-1N Huey as his fleet aircraft. He participated in the following operations: Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait with HMLA-169 (The Vipers), a major humanitarian effort, Operation Sea Angel in Bangladesh, after a catastrophic typhoon, and Operation Restore Hope in Mogadishu, Somalia to name a few. He left the USMC as a Captain. In 1994 he transferred to the reserves and shortly thereafter began his 22-year career as a Special Agent in the FBI, from which he just retired allowing him to play more polo and enjoy his fox hunter with his wife, Anne.

Jennifer Williams #3
Jennifer played to represent her father, and both grandfathers. Her father, Luke Williams, served three years as an officer in the United States Air Force attaining the rank of Captain in the Air Force Reserves. He was on Active Duty for three years beginning in 1956. His last position was as Procurement and Production Officer assigned to jet engines for the B-52 bomber, the KC-135 strato-tanker and the early century series fighters, F-100, F101 and F-102.

Jennifer’s paternal grandfather, Percival H. Williams attained the rank of Second Lieutenant during his service in World War I and II aboard submarines. Jennifer’s maternal grandfather, Dr. Neil L. Crone, retired from the Army after World War II as a full Colonel. He was in charge of the First Army Medical Corp. and all medical staff on the landing at Omaha Beach where 85% of U.S. soldiers were killed. Dr. Crone was awarded the rare Medal of Honor as well as Purple Heart.