Who’s Packing Your Chute?
Mar 16, 2026 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
On his 75th mission, just five days before the end of his tour in 1967, Charlie Plumb was shot down over Hanoi, forcing him to eject and parachute into enemy territory, where he was taken prisoner, tortured, and spent the next 2,103 days in North Vietnamese Prisoner of War camps.
Plumb's story is riveting and powerful, and now as a notable speaker and author, the 83-year-old native of Gary, Indiana, travels the United States to deliver motivational talks on motivation, faith, and gratitude.
One story that Plumb likes to share is easy to find at Kansas State University. The words are emblazoned upon a large sheet of metal that is screwed into a wall of the hallway in the K-State baseball offices at Tointon Family Stadium.
The story is called, "The Parachute Packer."
K-State head coach Pete Hughes first heard "The Parachute Packer" while serving as head coach at Boston College in 1999-2006. As a husband, father and coach, its message hit home for the native of Brockton, Massachusetts, who played third base at Davidson College, and who scratched and clawed to get into the baseball business, first as top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Hamilton College in 1990-91 and then at Northeastern University in Boston from 1991-1996, before he earned his first job as a head coach at Division III Trinity University in 1996.
"'The Parachute Packer' was sent to me when I was coaching at Boston College, and I took time to read it, and it resonated with me, so I shared it with our chaplain in the athletic department, who in turn shared 'The Parachute Packer' with our entire athletic department," Hughes says. "Everywhere I've coached, I get up and read the story in front of our team. 'The Parachute Packer' offers a great lesson to us all on how important all our support groups are in contributing to our own little mission in life.
"Whether it's as a baseball coach or baseball players, or being sons and husbands, we have people packing our chutes all the time in life."
"The Parachute Packer" reads as follows:
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and survived six years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft Kitty Hawk! You were shot down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.
"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat; a bib on the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.
"Who is packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day and sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone when something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.
As we go through this week, this month, this year, we recognize the people who pack our parachutes.
Hughes, who is in the midst of his eighth season at K-State, sits inside the Manhattan Regional Airport on Friday morning as he discusses "The Parachute Packers" and the Wildcats await their flight to Houston for their Big 12 Conference-opening three games series against the Cougars.
Hughes continues.
"This speech, when I came to K-State, I wanted to establish a culture," he says. "There was a need to get rid of the top-to-bottom ownership of the team. Everyone has ownership in our program. With our culture, I immediately wanted everyone in our program, from student managers to bullpen catchers to athletic trainers to strength coaches to our No. 1 pitcher to our pitching coach to have ownership. When everyone has ownership with one common goal, great things can happen.
"It's a great lesson for our players to check themselves — and for me, too. Who's packing your chute? Listen, we have a group of guys who don't get the headlines. The players are our fighter pilots, and we don't have success without those student managers and graduate assistants setting up the field, breaking down the field, staying late to do laundry so we look presentable in a first-class manner. These guys pack the buses, unload the buses, and they do absolutely everything. They take everything off our plate so we can focus on what we need to do. Everyone is a part of our team."
K-State baseball's parachute packers are all around. They feature, student managers Carson Hasenbank, Matt Hook, Cade Zavala, and Simon Wmunder, and graduate assistants Luke Beckstein, David Bishop, Cayden Phillips and Michael Quevedo. And they are headed by 34-year-old Colin Greaser, who is in his 10th season with K-State baseball and his seventh season as Director of Player and Program Development after two seasons as Director of Baseball Operations. In Greaser's role, he is responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of the team's equipment needs, consisting of Nike, Easton, and Rawlings, and he oversees the budget, student-athlete services, baseball alumni relations, and, of course, he oversees Tointon Family Stadium.
"'The Parachute Packers' is cool because it comes from the military, but it transitions into our world identically," Greaser says. "There are guys who do all the things behind the scenes that nobody sees, and it makes the ship go. Once Coach told us we were parachute packers, it stuck. We were all onboard with it. It's literally guys packing parachutes for the fighter jet pilots. We're packing uniforms, balls and equipment that nobody sees but it's very important for our players so they can succeed on the field."
Greaser, a native of Troy, Kansas, was a pitcher for two years at Highland Community College before he came to K-State in 2011. Basically, every year since, Greaser has had his hand in equipment at K-State, starting with two years as assistant equipment manager for the K-State football program — overseeing all aspects of equipment, apparel and laundry along with helping manage the student managers. After two seasons with football, Greaser moved onto the baseball program.
Things were very different then.
"Under the old baseball staff, we had one student manager, and I was director of operations, so technically we had two people on staff who handled equipment — the student manager and myself," Greaser says. "When Coach Hughes came to K-State, we grew the staff. Now I have four students, and they are the absolute backbone of what we do. Our motto is, 'We do more so the players and coaches can do less.'
"We do a pretty good job with four students and me. I think the players greatly appreciate that. Each year, the transfer players and new players always say, 'Man, you guys do a lot for us. Why do you do that?' I tell them, 'This is our job. It's fun.'"
Carson Hasenbank and Cade Zavala
Greaser holds deep admiration and gratitude for Hughes, who is nearing 900 career victories, and has recruited 145 players who were drafted and/or played professionally, including eight first-rounders in the Major League Baseball Draft. Hughes served as head coach at Boston College (1999-2006), Virginia Tech (2007-2013) and Oklahoma (2015-2017) prior to bringing "The Parachute Packers" to Manhattan.
"First time I met Coach Hughes, I knew K-State had the right guy," Greaser says. "He cared about me, about us, about the baseball program, about the university, and about the community. He cares about me and my family. He cares about the parachute packers, for sure. There are some places where the head coach doesn't even know the names of the equipment guys on staff. At K-State, everyone knows our four student managers like they were players. That makes me feel good, makes us feel appreciated to know our players and coaches care about us, and that Coach Hughes has our back, and that he understands our commitment day in and day out."
Matt Hook and Simon Wunder
Hughes remembers his first days at K-State shortly after his hiring on June 8, 2018. He also remembers Greaser was there every step of the way.
"I inherited Colin from the previous staff, and you absolutely need a guy who knows the school and the system you're walking into," Hughes says. "He was a tremendous resource for transition, a resource we couldn't have done without. He does a phenomenal job overseeing these important members of our team. Every single player knows every single parachute packer, where they're from, what they're studying, what grade they're in, because they're team members, and none of them will go underappreciated in our program. Our players treat these guys like teammates, as they should. These are the behind-the-scenes guys who are packing our parachutes. If they don't do their prep work, we're going to crash.
"'The Parachute Packers' just resonates throughout our entire program, and that's how I wanted to start and build our culture. I wanted an all-inclusive organization. It's the only way I've done it and the only way I'll do it."
Plumb would be so proud.
On his 75th mission, just five days before the end of his tour in 1967, Charlie Plumb was shot down over Hanoi, forcing him to eject and parachute into enemy territory, where he was taken prisoner, tortured, and spent the next 2,103 days in North Vietnamese Prisoner of War camps.
Plumb's story is riveting and powerful, and now as a notable speaker and author, the 83-year-old native of Gary, Indiana, travels the United States to deliver motivational talks on motivation, faith, and gratitude.
One story that Plumb likes to share is easy to find at Kansas State University. The words are emblazoned upon a large sheet of metal that is screwed into a wall of the hallway in the K-State baseball offices at Tointon Family Stadium.
The story is called, "The Parachute Packer."
K-State head coach Pete Hughes first heard "The Parachute Packer" while serving as head coach at Boston College in 1999-2006. As a husband, father and coach, its message hit home for the native of Brockton, Massachusetts, who played third base at Davidson College, and who scratched and clawed to get into the baseball business, first as top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Hamilton College in 1990-91 and then at Northeastern University in Boston from 1991-1996, before he earned his first job as a head coach at Division III Trinity University in 1996.
"'The Parachute Packer' was sent to me when I was coaching at Boston College, and I took time to read it, and it resonated with me, so I shared it with our chaplain in the athletic department, who in turn shared 'The Parachute Packer' with our entire athletic department," Hughes says. "Everywhere I've coached, I get up and read the story in front of our team. 'The Parachute Packer' offers a great lesson to us all on how important all our support groups are in contributing to our own little mission in life.
"Whether it's as a baseball coach or baseball players, or being sons and husbands, we have people packing our chutes all the time in life."
"The Parachute Packer" reads as follows:
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and survived six years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft Kitty Hawk! You were shot down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.
"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat; a bib on the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.
"Who is packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day and sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone when something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.
As we go through this week, this month, this year, we recognize the people who pack our parachutes.
Hughes, who is in the midst of his eighth season at K-State, sits inside the Manhattan Regional Airport on Friday morning as he discusses "The Parachute Packers" and the Wildcats await their flight to Houston for their Big 12 Conference-opening three games series against the Cougars.
Hughes continues.
"This speech, when I came to K-State, I wanted to establish a culture," he says. "There was a need to get rid of the top-to-bottom ownership of the team. Everyone has ownership in our program. With our culture, I immediately wanted everyone in our program, from student managers to bullpen catchers to athletic trainers to strength coaches to our No. 1 pitcher to our pitching coach to have ownership. When everyone has ownership with one common goal, great things can happen.
"It's a great lesson for our players to check themselves — and for me, too. Who's packing your chute? Listen, we have a group of guys who don't get the headlines. The players are our fighter pilots, and we don't have success without those student managers and graduate assistants setting up the field, breaking down the field, staying late to do laundry so we look presentable in a first-class manner. These guys pack the buses, unload the buses, and they do absolutely everything. They take everything off our plate so we can focus on what we need to do. Everyone is a part of our team."
K-State baseball's parachute packers are all around. They feature, student managers Carson Hasenbank, Matt Hook, Cade Zavala, and Simon Wmunder, and graduate assistants Luke Beckstein, David Bishop, Cayden Phillips and Michael Quevedo. And they are headed by 34-year-old Colin Greaser, who is in his 10th season with K-State baseball and his seventh season as Director of Player and Program Development after two seasons as Director of Baseball Operations. In Greaser's role, he is responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of the team's equipment needs, consisting of Nike, Easton, and Rawlings, and he oversees the budget, student-athlete services, baseball alumni relations, and, of course, he oversees Tointon Family Stadium.
"'The Parachute Packers' is cool because it comes from the military, but it transitions into our world identically," Greaser says. "There are guys who do all the things behind the scenes that nobody sees, and it makes the ship go. Once Coach told us we were parachute packers, it stuck. We were all onboard with it. It's literally guys packing parachutes for the fighter jet pilots. We're packing uniforms, balls and equipment that nobody sees but it's very important for our players so they can succeed on the field."
Greaser, a native of Troy, Kansas, was a pitcher for two years at Highland Community College before he came to K-State in 2011. Basically, every year since, Greaser has had his hand in equipment at K-State, starting with two years as assistant equipment manager for the K-State football program — overseeing all aspects of equipment, apparel and laundry along with helping manage the student managers. After two seasons with football, Greaser moved onto the baseball program.
Things were very different then.
"Under the old baseball staff, we had one student manager, and I was director of operations, so technically we had two people on staff who handled equipment — the student manager and myself," Greaser says. "When Coach Hughes came to K-State, we grew the staff. Now I have four students, and they are the absolute backbone of what we do. Our motto is, 'We do more so the players and coaches can do less.'
"We do a pretty good job with four students and me. I think the players greatly appreciate that. Each year, the transfer players and new players always say, 'Man, you guys do a lot for us. Why do you do that?' I tell them, 'This is our job. It's fun.'"
Carson Hasenbank and Cade Zavala
Greaser holds deep admiration and gratitude for Hughes, who is nearing 900 career victories, and has recruited 145 players who were drafted and/or played professionally, including eight first-rounders in the Major League Baseball Draft. Hughes served as head coach at Boston College (1999-2006), Virginia Tech (2007-2013) and Oklahoma (2015-2017) prior to bringing "The Parachute Packers" to Manhattan.
"First time I met Coach Hughes, I knew K-State had the right guy," Greaser says. "He cared about me, about us, about the baseball program, about the university, and about the community. He cares about me and my family. He cares about the parachute packers, for sure. There are some places where the head coach doesn't even know the names of the equipment guys on staff. At K-State, everyone knows our four student managers like they were players. That makes me feel good, makes us feel appreciated to know our players and coaches care about us, and that Coach Hughes has our back, and that he understands our commitment day in and day out."
Matt Hook and Simon Wunder
Hughes remembers his first days at K-State shortly after his hiring on June 8, 2018. He also remembers Greaser was there every step of the way.
"I inherited Colin from the previous staff, and you absolutely need a guy who knows the school and the system you're walking into," Hughes says. "He was a tremendous resource for transition, a resource we couldn't have done without. He does a phenomenal job overseeing these important members of our team. Every single player knows every single parachute packer, where they're from, what they're studying, what grade they're in, because they're team members, and none of them will go underappreciated in our program. Our players treat these guys like teammates, as they should. These are the behind-the-scenes guys who are packing our parachutes. If they don't do their prep work, we're going to crash.
"'The Parachute Packers' just resonates throughout our entire program, and that's how I wanted to start and build our culture. I wanted an all-inclusive organization. It's the only way I've done it and the only way I'll do it."
Plumb would be so proud.
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