Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan last week evoked the kind of attention that the remarkable young man had avoided in life. In his athletic prime, Tillman turned down a
multimillion-dollar contract with the NFL Arizona Cardinals to become a U.S. Army Ranger and fight in Iraq. It was the stuff that Hollywood movies are made of, but Tillman declined interviews or special treatment, feeling that it would demean his fellow soldiers who fight, and even die, in anonymity.
After duty in Iraq, Tillman moved on to Afghanistan, a lingering conflict all but forgotten by the American public. There, last week, Tillman's unit was ambushed and he was fatally wounded. Younger brother Kevin, an aspiring professional baseball player until he joined the same Rangers regiment, accompanied the body home.
An overachiever all his life, Pat Tillman was thought to be too small to star as a linebacker at Arizona State University. He went on to become the PAC-10 defensive player of the year, and to earn an honors degree in 31/2 years. As a pro with the Arizona Cardinals, he was switched to safety despite a lack of speed. In 2000, he led the team in tackles.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on American soil affected Tillman deeply. Afterward, he noted that while others had served their country, he hadn't "done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that." Offered a $3.6-million contract extension, Tillman chose instead to enlist in the Army. He made it through Ranger training, a grueling regimen even for younger recruits during which two-thirds wash out. And he stuck to the Ranger creed - no self-aggrandizement.
Tillman's death is no more tragic than any soldier's, nor less. Rather, he made a choice that few in his privileged status have made. His life, as Arizona Sen. John McCain said, should serve as "an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public-spiritedness of Americans that many of us . . . had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait."
At a time when spoiled athletes have become our heroes, Pat Tillman showed Americans that there are those more deserving of our admiration.
