By Eric Bugby, Swimming World Contributor
It’s never easy to tell someone else’s story. You want to be objective, but at the same time, portray the person’s life through their passions and friends. This is a story about Byron Plapp- United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point Class of 2012, Army West Point swimmer, Army Aviation Corps officer, husband, teammate, and friend. Byron lost his life in the spring of 2015 to T-Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (T-LBL) at the age of 25.
Plapp’s Impression
Army West Point head swimming and diving coach Mickey Wender describes Plapp as “a swimmer, role model and friend. He was tough, stoic and very positive.”
Plapp was more than what is listed above. Current USMA Cadet and soon-to-be Class of 2015 graduate, Joon Chung, describes Plapp as the “the epitome of true leadership” and “an inspiration to me.”
Chung recounts a moment with Plapp from his freshmen year:
After a long practice, Byron asked me to stay behind to talk and he took me to the bleachers and asked how I was doing. This was the first time I opened myself up to anyone and I poured my complaints and negativity to him. Afterwards I couldn’t help but feel ashamed for my attitude, but instead of belittling what I said, Byron gave me a piece of advice that changed my perspective on many things, “Joon, patience is the virtue of success.”
2nd Lieutenant Brendan Lorton, Army Infantry Corps officer and USMA Class of 2014, describes Plapp as “a quiet leader who encompassed the attributes that made the underclass men on the team work hard day in and day out. Most important, Byron was a warrior who took every problem, endeavor, or hardship head on.”
All For Byron
Plapp’s last hardship was his fight with T-LBL. T-LBL is a “rare subtype of adult non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with an incidence of approximately two percent” according to a study by Hoelzer et al. T-LBL is male dominant and targets the bone marrow.
After rounds of chemotherapy, Plapp’s last chance to overcome T-LBL was a bone marrow transplant. United States Department of Health and Human Services has found T-LBL to be one of the rarest forms of lymphoma and a subsequent bone marrow transplant has a 97.4 percent survival probability 100 days after transplant.
Chung remembered the next moment vividly.
“When Coach Wender told the team what Byron was going through, we immediately felt a sense of urgency to find a way to help,” Chung said.
The team jumped into action and initiated a campus-wide bone marrow drive for Plapp, lead by Lorton. In conjunction with the USMA senior leadership and the Department of Defense (DoD), the team ran a two-day drive on December 2-3, 2015.
Swab stations were set up across campus. According to Lorton, the entire team, athletes and staff, took time out of their school day and practice to man stations where the buccal swab tests occurred. The team invested hours into this operation. They did it all for Byron. Without the team’s support, the two-day drive would not have been possible.
The entire Corps of Cadets and USMA staff and faculty pitched in to support their own. Approximately 2,000 donor samples were collected and added to the DoD’s bone marrow database in support of Plapp and countless others in need of a transplant.
Remembering the Team Player
Byron Plapp passed away on March 27, 2015 after his body rejected the transplant.
When asked what emotions the team felt when they learned what happened, Chung could only respond with the words “shock, sorry, [and] despair.”
I’ll always remember Plapp as the guy who was willing to do anything to help the team win. He came to USMA from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida with a strong distance background. Wender recruited him to swim the 200, 500, and mile. After three years of enduring shoulder injury after shoulder injury, he found his way into the sprint group with me, where I had the pleasure of coaching him for one year.
Plapp’s injuries marred his potential and swimming career, but his final goal was to break 47.00 in the 100 free at the 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Swimming & Diving Championship meet and get a second swim for his team. On Sunday morning, February 26, 2012, Plapp swam a 46.96, placed 16th, and ensured at least one point for his team.
Wender remembers that meet as one of Plapp’s best.
“Our senior leadership has been tremendous all season long, and it continued this weekend,” Wender said. “I thought Byron Plapp did an amazing job of setting the tone and leading by example. His team and brothers meant everything to him.”
Throughout the 2014-2015 season, the team donned a bold “BP” in permanent marker on their skin in support and memory of Plapp. His brothers were always with him. Plapp’s leadership, passion, and do-anything-for-anyone attitude lives on through his teammates and the entire Army West Point Swimming & Diving family.
Photo Courtesy: Army Athletic Association
Go, Army.
Earlier this year I attended the UF vs UT swim meet with Byron. I was happy to see the joy in his face when he spotted Bret Lundgaard, one of the Tennessee coaches, and one of his former AMS coaches, across the pool. I watched their interaction and the obvious affection that existed in their coach/swimmer relationship. I know that Byron presented a challenge to the coaching staff throughout his time at West Point as he was recruited as a distance swimmer and backstroker but had to be converted to a sprinter because of his shoulder injuries. Just as he never quit trying to compete and to help the team, the coaches never quit trying to help him recover and be the best that he could be. I hope that other swim parents can take some comfort in knowing that such caring relationships develop between the coaches and swimmers while their children are away from home and they are in the care of others.
Thank you coach Bugby for the article and the care that you took of Byron.