Athlete, Ranger Pat Tillman Killed in Afghanistan

[XNavyGunner]

A athlete who turned down an almost $4M contract, opting instead to fight the war on terror, is dead.

Pat Tillman, the tough, bright football player - former defensive back for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals - who gave up football to join the Army Rangers after the Sept. 11th terror attacks, has been killed in Afghanistan.

NBC Sports reports: "Tillman, who went through Special Forces training to become a Ranger, was first deployed to Iraq in March 2003 with the 75th Regiment Ranger Battalion."

His activities after enlisting were shrouded in mystery partly because he was in Special Forces, and because he just wanted to be one of the guys, but Tillman joined the Army Rangers with his little brother, Kevin, and had called home for the first time just recently.

ABC News reports, "Last year, the brothers were awarded an Arthur Ashe Courage Award meant for individuals whose contributions transcend sports. The award was accepted by their younger brother, Richard, while the brothers were away."

He is merely the most famous, but not the the only one missed, from those who have given their lives for America; 125 heroes in Afghanistan, and 700 heroes in Iraq.

NewsMax reported on Wednesday, July 10, 2002:


More (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/4/23/113228.shtml)


My heart goes out to his family. Pat Tillman was the embodiment of patriotism, putting the country ahead of his personal life. I pray that other celebrities would follow his example before spouting off what little they know about love of country and duty.

[AZJen]

I was shocked when I heard; I was talking to my brother who's up in CMH and he said "Wow - Tillman died".

Unlike a lot of the primadonnas that make up professional sports, Pat put action to his words. While limousine liberals prefer to spout their vitriol from their posh mansions or while dining at a $1000 a dinner restaurant, Tillman opted for being a real man.

He turned down a lucrative offer from the Super Bowl champs to play for his "hometown" team. He ran up and down the field at ASU with long hair flowing out of his helmet. He rode his bike to and from the Cards training facility rather than wrapping himself in a luxury car or SUV. Clearly, the man marched to the beat of a different drum; he didn't care if what he did was popular or en vogue - he did what he felt was right in his heart.

Thank God for men like Pat Tillman. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family.

I'll be stopping by the Cards Training Facility after work today (which is less than a mile away from my office) to sign the memorial. When I drove by at lunchtime, there were hoardes of news vans parked out front....I hope the vultures have cleared out by now.

[righton]

http://www.gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/flag17.gif This sad story had been on the radio all day.

They reported that when he enlisted (with his brother, I think) reporters tried to interview him (probably to put a negative spin on his giving up millions for the military) and they were refused. They also reported he had a friend who died in the World Trade attack.


This is quite a contrast to the two who felt the need to go to Canada. Decent human beings would feel ashamed. But, these two certainly don't fit in that category.

His family, along with all our military, will be in my prayers.


http://www.gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/flag17.gif

[AZJen]

I stopped by the memorial at the Cards Training facility Friday night; there were (still) lots of news vans there, even some national ones. A lot of people milling about. The Cards had Pat's jersey, which will hopefully be retired at the onset of the season, and some great photos. There was a huge roll of poster paper rolled with messages from people to the family, to Pat, to the team and to the Man Above. Also, lots of flowers, poems, stuffed animals, etc. I was fighting back tears as I waited my turn to sign. I wasn't a HUGE Cards fan i.e., I didn't often spend money to go to a game...though I always rooted for them. Tillman wasn't considered a very TALENTED player, but he had heart and he had conviction, which made him a tremendous asset to this beaten-down team.

In church yesterday, my pastor spent some time talking about Tillman. Admittedly, he didn't know if Tillman was a Godly man, but he was a man with tremendous morals and ethics. He then went on to say that he checked the NY Times website that morning and was surprised there was not one iota of news on Tillman...then he went on to say that didn't surprise him - slime resides at the New York Times...a racous applause erupted in the sanctuary after that. http://www.gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

It sounds as if a public memorial will be held - in San Jose, CA.

[Terri]

Jen, thanks for telling us what the Cardinals are doing.

Bobby wrote a good article about this. Lest We Forget (http://www.gopusa.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.pl?act=ST; f=22;t=11262;st=0;&#entry79108)

[AZJen]

Terri -

I read Bobby's article and - once again - had to fight back tears. Such a loss to this community and people are really feeling it. Despite what some of the poo-poo-ers are saying, Arizonans have taken ALL their losses hard - from PFC Lori Piestewa all the way to Pat Tillman.

I attended the funeral of one Fernando Padilla-Ramirez who was married to one of my best friend's neices. The City of San Luis, AZ as well as Yuma has memorialized him very well and for good reason.