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Pat Tillman

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Pat Tillman
Pat Tillman
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service2002–2004
RankCorporal
Unit2nd Ranger Battalion
Battles / wars2003 Invasion of Iraq
Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan (OEF-A)
AwardsSilver Star
Purple Heart

Template:NFLretired Patrick Daniel Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American football player who left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. He joined the United States Army Rangers and served multiple tours in combat before he was killed by friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan. Details about the circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of controversy and military investigations.

He is the second recently active professional football player to be killed in combat; the first was Bob Kalsu of the Buffalo Bills, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970.

Biography

Religious and political beliefs

According to speakers at his funeral, he was very well-read, having read a number of religious texts including the Bible, Qur’an and Book of Mormon as well as transcendentalist authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau; his younger brother Rich stated that he "is not with God... He was not religious." Another article quotes him as having told then-general manager of the Seattle Seahawks Bob Ferguson in December 2003 that "you know I'm not religious".

The September 25, 2005, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reported that Tillman held views which were critical of the Iraq war. According to Tillman's mother, a friend of Tillman had arranged a meeting with author Noam Chomsky, a prominent critic of American foreign and military policy, to take place after his return from Afghanistan. Chomsky has confirmed this.

Reactions to Tillman's death

See also

References

  1. "True hero athlete". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. "Fallen Ranger Tillman turned down NFL overtures for 2004 season". USA Today.
  3. "Pat Tillman, Our Hero". The Nation.

Books

  • Krakauer, Jon (2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Doubleday (September 15, 2009). ISBN 978-0385522267.
  • Tillman, Mary (2008). Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. Modern Times. ISBN 1594868808. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Arizona Cardinals retired numbers

(*) number was unretired during J. J. Watt's time with the Cardinals

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