Is it possible for a champion to walk away from the mat for three full years and return to compete at the same high level?

Buddy Arndt did just that and became the only wrestler to win National Collegiate championships on both sides of World War II.

His only coach in wrestling, Hall of Famer Art Griffith, was a man who hated to lose. With that leadership in both high school and college, and his own exceptional ability, Arndt never met defeat.

He won every match in three years at Tulsa Central High School and two state championships, missing one state meet because of illness. As a sophomore at Oklahoma State, he captured his first NCAA title at 145 pounds and won all six bouts in the National AAU tournament, only to settle for second place under the international scoring rules.

But as a junior, in 1942, Arndt was clearly the nation's best wrestler, sweeping National Collegiate and AAU honors and earning the outstanding wrestler trophy in both tournaments. Both seasons he competed a full class above his normal weight to make room in the Aggie lineup for another national champion.

But athletics then were overshadowed by the war and Arndt spent the next three years as a P-38 fighter pilot, flying more than 100 combat missions over Italy with the 15th Air Corps. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with four clusters and also collected six Bronze Battle Stars for action in major battles.

He returned to college after the war, this time competing at his natural weight of 136 pounds, won his third NCAA championship and, for the third time, led the Aggies to the team trophy.

As a man who excelled in the battles of sport, and in the far greater struggles of real life, David B. Arndt is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.