A hero's parting message
The wars in Afghanistan, and especially in Iraq, come to the American public in the form of images, images that almost always reflect the violence of war, and particularly the violence of terrorism. So we see pictures of burned bodies, rioting mobs, and the handiwork of ruthless terrorists expressed in the form of cars and buildings blown up and innocents killed. And we viewers instinctively think, Who would want to fight in that war?
But, every now and then, there's a moment that gives a face and a name to those who are fighting and puts the patina of courage, and even heroism, on the everyday brutality we see on the TV screen.
Recently, it was the story of Pat Tillman, a former National Football League player who enlisted in the military after the 9/11 attacks and joined an elite group of soldiers known as Rangers, along with his brother Kevin. Pat Tillman's death, at 27, in a firefight in eastern Afghanistan against Taliban and al Qaeda assailants, has moved and even haunted the nation because he had everything to live for--a lucrative career, fame enough to satisfy anyone, a new marriage. He chose to risk it all in the service of his country, trading his NFL millions and his prime years as an athlete to enlist for three years, at a soldier's pay of $18,000 a year. Now even more famous in death than he ever was as an athlete, he came home to America in one of those flag-draped coffins. It brings to mind what the poet said: "In peacetime, children bury their parents. In wartime, parents bury their children."
In harm's way. Why did Pat Tillman give up so much? Why did he set aside the natural instinct for self-preservation and put such a storybook life at risk, to confront the dangers of combat so directly? The answers bring home the wonderful dimension not only of Pat Tillman but of all the American soldiers who are serving in dangerous places overseas, for they are prepared to put themselves in harm's way to stand up for the country they love and to fight the evil of our time, terrorism. They put their lives at risk in the belief that some things are worth dying for, including our nation and the freedoms it offers all of us.
Tillman's remarkable sense of duty to defend his country led to the ultimate sacrifice and has produced a national outpouring of both praise and grief. No one would have questioned him if he had not enlisted. But Pat Tillman just went to an Army recruiter's office far from his home so as not to attract local attention and volunteered for the Rangers--one of the toughest training programs in our military. Rangers train for about 20 hours a day, parachute at night under fire, sleep standing up, and subsist for days in the jungles or mountains without food. Tillman refused to talk about his service publicly and shunned every chance to use it as a platform to enhance his fame or fortune.
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