Ex-NFL Player Tillman Killed in Firefight

[Plan 9]

Updated: 03:44 PM EDT

Ex-NFL Player Tillman Killed in Afghanistan Firefight

Had Joined Army Rangers Following Sept. 11 Attacks

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, AP SPORTS

WASHINGTON (April 23) -- Former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan after walking away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army Rangers, U.S. officials said Friday.

A U.S. official told Reuters that Tillman, who was 27, died in a firefight.

Although the military had not officially confirmed his death, the White House put out a statement of sympathy that praised Tillman as "an inspiration both on and off the football field."

(I'll try to find a link to the full article which doesn't require that you be an AOL member to read it; the AP doesn't allow complte articles to be posted, as you probably know).

I was hoping that you would join me in prayer for the family and friends of this true sports hero. *bows head in sorrow*

[Henaynei]

a very real and sorrowful loss.....indeed....

However, I was brought shamefully back to reality by the statement of a talkshow host:"This courageous and honorable young man is no less, and truly, no more of a hero than every man and woman, alive and dead, in our armed forces" -- all of whom have agreed to place their lives on the line to defend and protect you and me for an average of less than $20,000/year and no guranteed health or scholastic benefits for themselves or their families.

May G-d surround each one, and their loved ones - tonight and every day! Give them deliverance, give them wisdom, give them strength, give them an early and decisive victory over our enemies! B'shen Yeshua.......

[Plan 9]

a very real and sorrowful loss.....indeed....

However, I was brought shamefully back to reality by the statement of a talkshow host:"This courageous and honorable young man is no less, and truly, no more of a hero than every man and woman, alive and dead, in our armed forces" -- all of whom have agreed to place their lives on the line to defend and protect you and me for an average of less than $20,000/year and no guranteed health or scholastic benefits for themselves or their families.

May G-d surround each one, and their loved ones - tonight and every day! Give them deliverance, give them wisdom, give them strength, give them an early and decisive victory over our enemies! B'shen Yeshua.......


When I was growing up, every night on the six o'clock news, I saw our soldiers on the front lines in Vietnam. When I close my eyes today, I can still see their faces However, this war is being covered differently, so his is one of the few faces I've had an opportunity to know in that intimate way.
Years from now, I'll remember Pat Tillman's face, and he is who I'll have to serve as a symbol for all the others; the opportunities they turned down to join up because they felt so strongly that it was the right thing to do, their hardship they suffer, their deaths, and the emotional scars they will bear after they return home. When other American soldiers die, all I hear is an impersonal body count. To me, he represents that reality of which you speak; in my mind he stands for all.
This was also in the nature of a personal request for other reasons which must seem trivial; we may have had some mutual friends, and he was one of the Cardinals, who were a Missouri team first, and so well-liked here that they were forced to leave for Arizona in the middle of the night when the team was sold.