Tribute to Pat Tillman - Soldier and Triathlete

Triathlon Forum
1

I couldn’t let the news of Pat Tillman’s passing go by without posting a tribute to him. Pat did Eagleman the first year I attempted the race. I remember being fascinated by his participation, since I figured a guy like him had plenty of other things he could be doing with his free time before NFL training camps and the season to follow. Of course, like a lot of folks, I learned later not to be surprised by the incredible things we kept learning about Pat, in spite of his strong desire not to be treated differently from other folks simply because of his status as an ex-NFL player. If you want to see the tribute or pass it along, it is up on the T4C website at:

http://www.novafca.org/Triathletes.html

Stan Smith

2

Rangers Lead The Way. All The Way.

3

I don’t really think he was an ‘ex’ football player. I believe Arizona wanted him back and offered him a contract. He turned it down to enlist in the Army. Incredible guy.

4

You’re right, “ex” football player isn’t totally accurate. In fact, I read over the weekend (Washington Post) that his agent was still getting inquiries as to Pat’s availability/interest in coming back to play in the NFL:

“When he came back from Baghdad after this thing ended, he called me and said he was on leave,” Frank Bauer, Tillman’s agent, said in a telephone interview. "I told him a lot of clubs were calling about him. He said he knew he could probably put his papers in to get out because he’d been in combat but he said, ‘I made a commitment for three years and I’ll fulfill it.’ "

I also read in another piece (also in the Post) that when Tillman was in Ft. Lewis, Washington earlier this month on a short leave prior to heading for Afghanistan, his friends learned that Tillman “was thinking seriously of reenlisting and of making the military his career. He aspired to be an officer. He wanted, he said, to lead Rangers.”

He wanted to be in the thick of it, and he got his wish. Still, it is a big loss.

Stan

5

I admire his courage and patriotism, but damn the media for giving him so much attention and absolutely neglecting the other 200,000+ troops that are serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia and other nations. What about them? The poor guy is not at fault obviously, but the media is a greedy money-making sucking machine. Cheerio!