RIP Pat Tillman

[sdelmonte]

Once, Pat Tillman was a pro football player, with the Arizona Cardinals. Apparently, he was a pretty good player. But then the world changed in September 2001, and Tillman changed his job. He turned down a large contract, and enlisted. He did this because he thought it was the right thing to do.

He wanted to be a Ranger, among the elite of the US Army. He didn't want to be a celebrity, however, and made sure that the media didn't follow him all over the place during his training period. Becoming a Ranger, he was sent in harm's way to battle against Taliban and Al Qaeda holdouts in Afghanistan. Doing that job, he was killed in an ambush today.

Pat Tillman didn't have to put his life in danger. He could have stayed playing football, a piece of cake compared to war. He could have been a reservist. But he put his nation ahead of everything. I admire that. And he shunned glory. I admire that, too.

Sadly, I fear that the media circus he avoided will blossom in the wake of his death. This is unfair to the hundreds of other fine American servicepeople who have been killed in these current wars. But I wonder if perhaps having a face and name to remember will serve to remind us that these wars are accompanied by death.

I suuport the efforts in Afghanistan, even if I question the methods and the focus. I oppose the war in Iraq, even if I think we have to stay and fix the mess we made. But in both cases, I support and salute those who serve our nation, whose sacrifices should be remembered daily instead of being censored. War brings death. Any society where we do not keep that in mind gets involved in too many wars, and any society that does think about such things should fight its wars more wisely.

I offer my condolences, at a distance, to the Tillman family, which worries still about Pat's two brothers, also Rangers. I hope that these other sons return home safely.

Here's a story about Pat Tillman from ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1788232

Comments

[dotsomething.livejournal.com]

But I wonder if perhaps having a face and name to remember will serve to remind us that these wars are accompanied by death.

I think so. Although I agree celebrities get a disproportionate amount of attention doing the same thing regular folks do, a celebrity can draw a lot of awareness--Michael J. Fox for M.S., Kate Jackson for breast cancer, Magic Johnson for AIDS. So if this sport star's death as a soldier draws attention to the fact that U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq...I think the celebrity death will draw a line to the deaths of the non-famous soldiers.

And meanwhile, there are 2 photographers who got fired for taking a picture of the coffin of a dead soldier--as if we're not supposed to see or know that there are deaths. Because it would be bad P.R. for this administration to show americans are dying over there. So Pat Tillman's death could also draw the needed attention to the reality.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Amen.