Pat Tillman
| Pat Tillman | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tillman in 2003, as a specialist
|
|||||||||||
| Birth name | Patrick Daniel Tillman | ||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Pat" | ||||||||||
| Born |
November 6, 1976 Fremont, California, U.S. |
||||||||||
| Died | April 22, 2004 (aged 27) Spera, Afghanistan |
||||||||||
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
||||||||||
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
||||||||||
| Years of service | 2002–04 | ||||||||||
| Rank |
 Corporal (posthumously) |
||||||||||
| Unit | |||||||||||
| Battles/wars | |||||||||||
| Awards |
Football career |
||||||||||
| No. 40 | |||||||||||
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | San Jose (CA) Leland | ||||||||||
| College: | Arizona State | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1998 / Round: 7 / Pick: 226 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Tackles: | 238 |
|---|---|
| Interceptions: | 3 |
| Sacks: | 2.5 |
| Forced fumbles: | 1 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Patrick Daniel Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was a professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who left his sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in June 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. His service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and subsequent death, were the subject of much media attention.
Tillman joined the Army Rangers and served several tours in combat before he died in the mountains of Afghanistan. At first, the Army reported that Tillman had been killed by enemy fire. Controversy ensued when a month later, on May 28, 2004, the Pentagon notified the Tillman family that he had died as a result of a friendly fire incident; the family and other critics allege that the Department of Defense delayed the disclosure for weeks after Tillman's memorial service out of a desire to protect the image of the U.S. military.
Tillman was the first professional football player to be killed in combat since Bob Kalsu, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970. Tillman was posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals.
Tillman was born on November 6, 1976, in Fremont, California, the son of Mary (Spalding) and Patrick Kevin Tillman. The eldest of three sons, with Kevin and Richard as the other two, Tillman excelled at football. He went to Bret Harte Middle School and helped lead Leland High School to the Central Coast Division I Football Championship. Tillman then went to Arizona State University on a football scholarship.
...
Wikipedia