Tillman was killed saving comrades

New York Daily News ^ | 5/01/04 | MAKI BECKER

[kattracks]

He truly died an American hero.

Pat Tillman, the NFL-star-turned-G.I., was awarded a Silver Star yesterday for saving fellow Special Operations soldiers last month from a sneak attack by heavily armed militants in Afghanistan, the military disclosed yesterday.

As a team of Army Rangers was trapped in cavernous terrain and warding off incoming mortars and gunfire, Tillman, 27, led a team up a hill close to a position held by enemy fighters, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said.

Tillman's team had already made it out of the area but returned when an Army squad trailing them was ambushed.

"As they crested the hill, Tillman directed his team into firing positions and personally provided suppressive fire" with a machine gun to help the other unit, command officials said.

As the battle ensued, "Tillman's voice was heard issuing commands to take the fight to the enemy forces."

The firing soon stopped and the second Ranger team moved to safety - but Tillman was fatally wounded.

The medal for valor in combat honored Tillman's final act of selfless bravery. On Thursday, the Army announced Tillman had been posthumously promoted to corporal from specialist.

In keeping with Tillman's humble ways - he consistently turned down interviews about his decision to leave the Arizona Cardinals for the Army - his family has decided against holding a funeral with military honors. Instead, his widow, Marie, will be presented with a folded American flag, an Army official said. A public memorial service is planned Monday in Tillman's hometown of San Jose, Calif. Another public ceremony is set for next Saturday in Arizona.

Originally published on May 1, 2004

[eastforker]

May his God bless his family.I have nothing but the greatest respect for this American.

[Travis McGee]

What an officer he would have made. What a loss, on so many levels.

[wretchard]

So Tillman had the machinegun and the that's what the enemy would have fired everything at. I remember reading that 9 enemy died in this engagement.

[Keith in Iowa]

Kind of makes that Editorial by the snot-nosed whazoo-aperture college kid look even more foolish, doesn't it?

[kcvl]

bttt

[ColdSteelTalon]

He died with his hands on the enemy's throat...

[SkyPilot]

He definitely deserves the Distinguished Service Cross---possibly the Medal of Honor itself.

[kcvl]

Pat Tillman placed more emphasis on the whole of his country than on himself.

Tillman is the epitome of a hero

By Gregg Easterbrook
Special to NFL.com

I looked up some newspaper accounts of the Khowst area where Tillman died. One dispatch called it "a dusty town set on a rocky plain ringed by baked and blasted mountains." The mountain border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan does seem "baked and blasted" -- I've been there -- but the magnificence of creation is also palpable in that part of the world where impressive mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, and the night skies, clear and unspoiled by city lights, seems to reveal the entire universe. Pat Tillman sacrificed a glamorous, highly paid lifestyle to journey to a remote place and fight for the ideal of freedom. The sky of Afghanistan may have been the last thing he ever saw, and it is a glorious sight, fit for a hero.

[kcvl]

In Memory of Pat Tillman

Click on his picture...


http://www.azcardinals.com/


Cpl. Pat Tillman Memorial Service


San Jose, California— On Monday, May 3, the Tillman family will hold a public memorial service for Cpl. Pat Tillman, who was killed in action on Thursday, April 22, 2004. The service will take place at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden in San Jose, California at 3:00 p.m.

[kcvl]

Watch a video of an interview with Pat Tillman following the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. These attacks inspired Pat and his brother Kevin to eventually join the United States Army.


http://www.azcardinals.com/press/pressdetails.php?sid=1876

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I read that he turned down OCS. No idea why, the articles don't say. I can only guess that it would have possibly took him away from the Rangers.

[samtheman]

"As they crested the hill, Tillman directed his team into firing positions and personally provided suppressive fire" with a machine gun to help the other unit, command officials said.

Heroic Patriot.

[nkycincinnatikid]

You know the imagery of your post magnificent, you are a writer pure and simple. A hundred years ago when I was an adolescent before the millions of daily compromises had erased the very concept of nobility and glorious endeavor from my mind, this was quite literally the way I had hoped to end.

[metesky]

I'm a 60 yo adult male and I'm sitting here with tears running down my face.

If I live another 60 years I still won't be half the man Pat Tillman was.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

That was beautiful.

[Bahbah]

That is beautiful, kcvl. I hope the Tillman family sees it.

[RAY]

67 here and echo your feelings! If they would take me, I would go now!

Some, including Pat Tillman, know we must carry the fight to the enemy!

[Lakeside]

Yes, it's easier to get into special forces as an enlisted person rather than as an officer. Officers usually come up through the ranks within the special forces.