Dalton, who won four NCAA individual national titles as a Sooner from 2010-2012, has always been drawn to the armed forces. Whether it was playing "Call of Duty" or watching action movies featuring American troops, he was uniquely interested in U.S. military culture. After his graduation from the University of Oklahoma, Dalton continued to train as a world-class gymnast, but without a class load to go along with that, he found himself with time on his hands. Books like "American Sniper" and "Seal Team Six" helped turn his interest into deeply held gratitude.

"After graduating I had more time on my hands, but I didn't have time to get a job or anything like that with training," Dalton remembered. "I figured I'd pick up some reading and found out that I really enjoyed military books. I just read one after another and that was part of my process of learning about the sacrifices that they make. From there on I just continued to read and learn more."

The more Dalton learned about veterans and military service, the more his admiration and esteem for those who represent the United States of America in uniform grew. It developed into more than a passing nod to patriotism. For Dalton, it is a core value.

"I just started to realize all the sacrifices they make and none of it is for them," Dalton explained. "It's for all of us, our whole country. The simple things we get to enjoy every day, that's why we can enjoy those things, because people like that are not just thinking about themselves. The older I've gotten the more I've realized and appreciated that."

Dalton first met Leete at the Sam Viersen Center, OU's on campus training facility. Dalton and the Sooners held an open scrimmage in the week leading up to Olympic Trials and Leete, a father of two boys, one a gymnast himself, brought his family to watch OU's Olympic hopefuls up close and personal. "That was so cool how that happened," said Leete. "My son is a gymnast and we followed OU gymnastics for years because he wants to be an OU gymnast. He is 11 now and he has a ways to go but that is his goal-well now it's to be like Jake Dalton. We got there and were just amazed by everything that gymnastics is. We were just in awe of it, and then there was this one guy who just, you could almost feel or see his personality without even hearing him talk, just by the way he was walking around and talking to guys and conducting himself. Sure enough that was Jake. We had no idea who he was at the time."

Leete and his family watched Dalton go through his events and were drawn to his exceptional athletic ability and magnetic personality. After the met the athletes mingled with the Sooner faithful, greeting fans and signing autographs. It was then that the tables turned, and it was Dalton who was drawn to Leete.

Military service runs in the family for Leete. His father served the United States in Vietnam and his grandfather fought in World War II. He initially started a path toward a law degree, but a calling to do something greater steered his fate back toward his genealogical heritage.

"Toward the end I just wanted to do something that was more important, and that's where I decided to join up with the military," Leete recalled. "That happened in September of 2000, so one year later it became very real."

Leete served in the Air Force for 15 years, first with an ROTC unit before receiving his officer's commission in May of 2002. In 2008 he was deployed to Iraq where he served as the Airfield Operations Flight Commander at Tallil Air Base. In that role he was responsible for anything and everything dealing with the movement of aircraft, designing airspace and running air traffic control. It was his responsibility to ensure that all aircraft were able to successfully complete their missions.

During his time in Iraq, Leete was medically evacuated to Kuwait. He returned to Tallil just a month later to finish his tour of duty. Leete, now a Wounded Warrior, retired from the Air Force in July 2015. He now uses a service dog, a fantastically loyal and obedient 2-year-old German shepherd named Millie, to help him cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Millie accompanies Leete wherever he goes; including gymnastics scrimmages.

"It was after one of our open intrasquad scrimmages that we had before Olympic Trials, and I just saw Millie sitting over there with Josh and I thought 'oh cool'," Dalton described. "Obviously a dog stands out in a crowd a little bit and once I noticed it was a service dog I assumed that he was military or a veteran so I wanted to go say thank you. I just went over and introduced myself and thanked him for his service and things went from there."

"At the end the athletes were kind enough to sign some autographs and he signed one for my son," said Leete. "As we were walking away he noticed Millie and he asked, 'Are you in the military?' I said I was and there weren't too many words exchanged, but he said something to the effect of, 'I really appreciate and admire the military,' and he thanked me for my service and shook my hand. There are a lot of people that will thank you for your service and it's awesome. My dad was in Vietnam and he obviously didn't come back to the kind of reception we get now. A lot of people will thank you for your service, but there is something different about a select few. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices. They get it. They just get it. When Jake looked at me and shook my hand it was obvious that he was different, and he is one of the ones that gets it."

The Leete family left that scrimmage with a new favorite Olympian. Josh's oldest son, Landon, the aspiring gymnast, as well as the rest of the family, sat glued to the TV all throughout the U.S. Olympic Trials, pulling for Dalton.

"It was so cool because we met this guy," Leete said. "About a day into it I started kind of feeling led to do something. I was looking at the way he was inspiring my kid and was like 'I know he appreciates the military.' He was so authentic. The flag came to mind."

As is fairly common for U.S. troops deployed overseas, Leete carried an American flag with him for the duration of his tour in Iraq. Wherever he went, the flag went too.

"It stayed in my backpack the whole time," Leete explained. "Everywhere I went it went. Of course it was in a combat zone. It has been shot at. It has been mortared and it has been rocketed. It has seen it all. It's been through Tallil, Baghdad, Balad, Mosul. I thought, 'What if I tried to give him that flag? Would that be a cool thing, would that be a motivator for him'? So I just tried on Twitter and sent a message to Jake."

Just a couple days later, when the dust of Olympic Trials had settled, Dalton was scanning his Twitter notifications and saw Leete's message. He immediately followed him back and sent him a direct message. He told Leete that of course he remembered him and that he would be honored to receive the flag. They made plans to meet up for lunch at Jason's Deli in Norman, where they would chat and get to know each other better. It was at that lunch that Leete presented Dalton with the flag. He also included a heart-felt letter of encouragement.

"When he first gave it to me it was in a box and that's probably a good thing because these things choke me up," Dalton remembered. "So I waited until I got home to open it because I knew I would be emotional, especially after the letter he wrote. I know how big and how important something like that is not only to me but to him and to anyone who carries one in Iraq. For him to pass that on to us inspires not only me but the entire team. When I opened it, it was hard to fight back tears because it's so emotional when you talk about your country and what they do to keep everyone safe and free."

If the flag had Dalton feeling emotional, Leete's letter must have been overwhelming. In it he congratulated Dalton on making the team and explained the sacred meaning that the Stars and Stripes have for our service men and women. He also told the story of his friend, United States Air Force Maj. Walter David Gray, who was killed by a suicide bomber while on a mission in Afghanistan. Leete's ultimate message was one of inspiration. A message that means just a little bit more to someone like Dalton.

"Shortly after deciding to give him the flag I decided to write him a letter," said Leete. "It almost felt inspired because I wrote it through that one time and that was it. In the military when we lose a friend in combat we wear these, the hero bracelet, to remember them. I wear it every single day. Dave's motto was always 'finish strong.' Finish strong. No matter how bad you felt, just finish strong. He had a personality similar to Jake's. Just an infectious smile. He brightened up a room when he came in as well."

Three other men were killed in the same attack that took Gray's life. Army Capt. Florent "Flo" Groberg was wounded in the attack and received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.

"I told the story of Dave in Afghanistan and the mission he was on," explained Leete. "The lead for that mission, Capt. Flo, received the medal of honor for that mission. So the end of the letter actually says 'remember to always, always finish strong.' I just wanted it to be an inspiration for him."

Those words are something that Dalton will not soon forget. Thanks to Leete, Dalton is now armed with his own hero bracelet memorializing Maj. Gray. A constant reminder of the sacrifices that so many American heroes have laid upon the altar of freedom.

"There is so much there," Dalton said. "It is just hard to describe. We care so much about our country and competing, but when it comes down to it you have guys like Josh and his family who make sacrifices for us to be able to do that. These guys go out and sacrifice everything for you to be able to represent your country. You just want to do them the honor of representing well. I want to show all the guys on the team once we get there and share this experience with them."

Dalton will carry the flag with him wherever he goes in Rio, just as Leete did in Iraq. It will accompany him to the Olympic Village, it will be there for training sessions and it will be with him on the floor during competition.

The Olympic dream began at 8 years old for Dalton. He has trained since that time to be among the nation's elite in hopes of standing on the Olympic podium with a medal around his neck. He had that opportunity in 2012 in London, but the team came up short of the stand, finishing fifth. The 2016 Games offer Dalton another chance. Once again he will represent his country on his sport's biggest stage, donning the red, white and blue with the letters U.S.A. displayed on his chest. But in his mind he is thinking of those who don the khaki and green, with patches on their arms and far less attention paid to their actions.

"I just want to do everyone justice and make them proud and represent our country the way they did," Dalton said. "Obviously what they do is much quieter. They don't have their names on banners, or the publicity or sponsorships and things like that. I just want to make them proud and go out and represent our country."

Dalton heads to Rio carrying hopes of Olympic success. Hopes of medals won and goals achieved. He also carries with him the memory of Maj. Gray, of his friend Maj. Leete and his family.

"It's not about me," Leete said. "When I decided to give Jake the flag it became his. It is a source of inspiration, I hope, for him. It sounds like it will be a source of inspiration for the team. That is a neat feeling, but it's not about me. It's about them. For us the excitement will be watching Jake Dalton, this guy we had lunch with. It is really neat knowing the flag will be there and will be a source of inspiration for not only him but the whole team."