Since the inception of the Victorian Football League in 1897, many of its players have served in the armed services, including the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War (in which Melbourne's Geoff Collins served as a fighter pilot), and the Vietnam War (in which Geelong's Wayne Closter served). A number of the VFL players who served also lost their lives on active service; they were either killed in action, or died as a consequence of the wounds, injuries, and/or illnesses they had suffered in their active service.