"He Knew His Purpose in Life"
Pat
Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League to enlist in the Army in May 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed about 3,000
people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Tillman had played four seasons with the Cardinals, winning league-wide
respect as a smart and hard-hitting, if
somewhat small and slow, defensive safety before he enlisted with his younger brother Kevin.
The
brothers both successfully completed training for the Rangers, the Army’s elite infantry regiment. Pat Tillman was first deployed to Iraq in March 2003. Later, he was redeployed to Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
“Pat
knew his purpose in life,” said Dave McGinnis, Tillman’s former coach with the Cardinals. “He proudly walked away from a career in football to
a greater calling.”
