Remembering Pat Tillman
Nov 01, 2022Posted by james
Pat Tillman was born on November 6 in Fremont, California. The oldest of three sons, he matured into a star athlete and a better person.
Pat was awarded a football scholarship to Arizona State University. He was selected 1997 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and ASU’s MVP. Pat graduated with a marketing degree in less than four years with a 3.85 GPA. The Arizona Cardinals drafted him and he became an All-Pro safety.
Pat, whose great-grandfather served at Pearl Harbor, was deeply affected by 9/11. During an interview, he said, “I play football, and it just seems so goddamn unimportant compared to everything that has taken place.”
Following the 2001 season, Pat declined a $3.6 million three-year contract with the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother, Kevin, who declined an offer to play baseball for the Cleveland Indians. Pat married his high school sweetheart, Marie, before exchanging his football jersey for a military uniform.
The brothers completed training as Army Rangers and Pat was deployed for the initial invasion of Iraq during September 2003. Both brothers later were deployed to Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004, Kevin was in a convoy behind his brother when Pat was killed by friendly fire while on patrol in Spera, Khost Province, Afghanistan.
Pat had prepared a “just in case” letter for Marie that included, in part, “Through the years, I’ve asked a great deal of you. Therefore it should surprise you little that I have another favor to ask. I ask that you live.’’ Pat Tillman was 27 years old. He would have celebrated his 45th birthday this month.
Marie eventually remarried and is a mother of five children. A decade following Pat’s death, she established the Pat Tillman Foundation that provides scholarships for veterans and their spouses.
“Loss is not just something that happens,” said Marie. “It really becomes a part of you and I feel like I have learned so much…and it really has made me more conscious of life and how I want to spend mine and really making the most of it.”
by james on Nov 01, 2022 |
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