Pat Tillman - Biography

Last Editor: Mbrennem				Pat Tillman Biography -   Name : Pat Tillman Date of birth : 6 November 1976 Place of birth : San Jose, California, USA Date of death : 22 April 2004 Place of death : Khost, Afghanistan. (killed in combat) Birth name : Patrick Daniel Tillman Height : 5' 11

Pat Tillman Trivia -

Wore jersey # 40 with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. In 2002, he gave up his professional football career to become a U.S. Army Ranger and went on to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pat Tillman Detailed Biography -

Born in San Jose, California, Tillman started his college career at the linebacker position for Arizona State University in 1994, when he secured the last remaining scholarship for the team. Tillman excelled as a linebacker at Arizona State, despite being relatively small for the position at 5-feet 11-inches (1.80 m) tall. As a senior he was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Academically, Tillman majored in marketing and graduated in three and a half years with a 3.84 GPA. In the 1998 NFL Draft, Tillman was selected as the 226th pick by the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman moved over to play the safety position in the NFL, and started 10 of 16 games in his rookie season. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army along with his brother Kevin, who had played minor league baseball professionally in the Cleveland Indians organization. Tillman and his brother completed training for the elite Army Ranger school in late 2002, and were assigned to the second battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. Both Pat and Kevin were deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tillman was specifically pointed out in Bill Maher's book When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden, as being "the kind of hero that Americans needed to become." Tillman was later redeployed to Afghanistan, where he was killed in action by friendly fire while on patrol when his unit was attacked in an ambush on April 22, 2004, on a road outside of the village of Sperah about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Khost, near the Pakistan border. He was the only Ranger killed in the attack, although two other Rangers were injured and an Afghan militia soldier was killed as well. The United States Department of Defense has concluded that Pat Tillman's death was likely due to friendly fire aggravated by the intensity of the firefight. So-called 'blue-on-blue' fatalities account for a significant percentage of all battlefield deaths. According to some reports no hostile forces were involved in the firefight, and two allied groups fired on each other in confusion over an exploded mine or remote controlled bomb. Army Special Operations Command, however, claims an exchange with hostile forces. Tillman was the first professional football player to be killed in combat since the death of Bob Kalsu of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970. Tillman is survived by his wife, Marie. A report released on May 4, 2005 (prepared upon the request of Tillman's family) by Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones revealed that in the days immediately following Tillman's death, U.S. Army investigators were aware that Tillman was killed by friendly fire. Jones reported that Senior Army commenders, including Gen. John Abizaid, knew of this fact within days of the shooting, but approved the awarding of the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and posthumous promotion - which were awarded on the basis of a citation report that said that Tillman was killed by enemy forces and containing a detailed account of the alleged battle (which the Army knew had never taken place.) Tillman's family was not informed of the finding that he was killed by friendly fire until weeks after his memorial service, despite the U.S. Army's knowledge of that fact within days of his death. Jones believes that Tillman should retain his medals and promotion, since he intended to engage the enemy, and behaved heroically. Tillman and his brother Kevin won the Arthur Ashe Courage award at the 11th annual ESPY Awards in 2003. For his service, the U.S. Army posthumously promoted Tillman from Specialist to Corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. The Cardinals retired his number 40 and Arizona State did the same for the number 42 he wore with the Sun Devils. It should be noted that his #42 was placed up on the West Press Box to be remembered by everyone who enters Sun Devil Stadium. The Cardinals will also name the plaza surrounding their new stadium, currently under construction in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, "Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza." Tillman has been the subject of isolated criticisms after his death. University of Massachusetts graduate student Rene Gonzalez published a column in the school's student newspaper on April 28, 2004 attacking Tillman for being a "macho man" who got what he deserved. Gonzalez later apologized after a barrage of adverse national media coverage. On May 3, 2004, a cartoon by Ted Rall distributed by Universal Press Syndicate received heavy criticism for portraying Tillman as a misled "idiot" who had enlisted to "kill Arabs". MSNBC.com, one of many organizations subscribed to Universal Press Syndicate, briefly posted the cartoon but pulled it when "MSNBC.com Editor in chief Dean Wright concluded [the] Rall item did not meet MSNBC.com standards of fairness and taste." The Pat Tillman Foundation has been established to carry forward Tillman's legacy by inspiring and supporting those striving for positive change in themselves and the world around them. A highway bypass around the Hoover Dam will have a bridge bearing Tillman's name. When completed in 2008, the Mike O�Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge will span the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.