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Pat Tillman: Remembering The NFL Player Turned Army Ranger Killed By Friendly Fire 12 Years Ago Today

By Pam Wright
Published on: 06:55 PST, Apr 22, 2016

Pat Tillman, the beloved NFL player turned Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire 12 years ago today, is being remembered as “a hero who died in service to our country.”

Tillman famously walked away from a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals and his new wife in 2002 to fight for his country after the attacks of 9/11. His death on April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan was initially attributed to enemy fire as he courageously charged a hill to protect his fellow rangers.

At least, that’s what the Army told his family and America came to believe.

Tillman’s family was told that he was killed by the enemy, which was reinforced when the Army awarded him a Silver Star for his “gallantry in action against an armed enemy.”

It was later revealed that he had been accidentally shot by his fellow soldiers, which Army commanders and members of the Bush administration allegedly covered up.

Tillman’s family eventually learned that the Army was investigating his death and determined that Tillman was killed by his own men.

Tillman’s wife, Marie Tillman, told Katie Couric in a 60 Minutes piece in 2008 that the Army knew all along that her husband had been killed by friendly fire.

“Oh, they knew immediately. It was pretty evident right away. All the other soldiers on the ridge line suspected that that’s exactly what happened.”

Documents that surfaced years after Tillman’s death also proved that those involved in the incident were aware that Tillman had died from friendly fire within 24 hours of his death, including General Stanley McChrystal, who had approved the Silver Star honor.

Born to Mary and Patrick Tillman on November 6, 1976, in San Jose, California, Tillman excelled as a student and football player at Arizona State University before being drafted in 1998 by the Arizona Cardinals as a linebacker, where he set a new team record for the number of tackles in 2000, according to Biography.

When the United States’ invaded Afghanistan, Tillman decided to hang up his cleats and don an Army uniform. He explained his decision in a interview for the New York Times in 2002.

“Sports embodied many of the qualities I deem meaningful. However, these last few years, and especially after recent events, I’ve come to appreciate just how shallow and insignificant my role is… It’s no longer important.”

It would be one of his last statements about his new life in the Army. When he enlisted, Tillman shied away from publicity, not wanting to prove a point, and he shunned all media requests, refusing to be used as a recruitment tool.

However, Tillman did not shy away from being outspoken with his fellow soldiers about his opposition to the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, as the Bleacher Report‘s lead NFL writer, Ty Schalter, recalled in a piece he wrote last year, in which he called Tillman “NFL’s greatest American.”

“Not because he believed so strongly in the principles of freedom, liberty and democracy that he walked away from his lucrative career and loving wife to defend them.

“Not because he subverted America’s mass obsession with fame and material success to protect those so vainly, vapidly obsessed.

“Pat Tillman was the NFL’s greatest American because when he believed his superiors, his Commander-in-Chief, were no longer serving the interests of the country, he encouraged his fellow soldiers to exercise their right to vote that president out of office.

“That is faith in democracy. That is belief that America is great. That is patriotism.”

There are still mysteries surrounding the events on that hill in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.

The Pentagon reopened the investigation into Tillman’s death in 2005, but the more than 2,000 pages of testimony only revealed more contradictions and inaccuracies, according to Biography.com.

According to many reports, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Tillman’s last words were “I’m Pat f***ing Tillman!”

Tillman wanted to be remembered for more than a soldier who gave up a lucrative career to fight for his beliefs, something that is often quoted in pieces about the American hero.

The New York Times reported that Tillman told an Army buddy that his only real fear in life was that he would be used to further other people’s causes, especially if he died in battle.

“I don’t want them to parade me through the streets.”

Tillman is being remembered today for a life well lived. His jersey number is retired by both Arizona State (42) and the Cardinals (40), and a statue depicting him sits outside the University of Phoenix Stadium.

On Saturday, thousands will participate in Pat’s Run in Phoenix, Arizona — an event sponsored by the Pat Tillman Foundation, which supports military veterans through scholarships.

[Image via AP Images]

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