Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman was an American football player who left his sports career to enlist in the Army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; he was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Pat Tillman was a bright, extremely active, and adventurous young man who grew up in a nonreligious family in northern California. Tillman learned early that to compensate for his stature, he had to be especially intense and intimidating on the field, even if he was emotionally sensitive. He earned the reputation of being alpha in the packs with which he ran.

In high school, Tillman was involved in numerous fights but was never considered a bully. However, after he lost control of himself in a serious fist fight, Tillman spent time in juvenile jail. This was a formative experience that instilled a deeper maturity in him, as well as a love for reading. Tillman was relentlessly self-improving and deeply devoted to honesty, integrity, and bravery. Challenging himself to the extreme both physically and mentally, he was also humble and championed for the underdog. He married his high school sweetheart, Marie, and lived modestly despite the means to do otherwise as a successful NFL player.

Part of Tillman’s later decision to trade the NFL for the Army stemmed from a family tradition of military service: Tillman’s great-grandfather served at Pearl Harbor. Tillman’s younger brother Kevin also enlisted to join the Rangers alongside Tillman. He also started to view his football career as shallow and unimportant, and believed that serving in the military was both his duty and the way to a more meaningful life. However, he soon grew disillusioned after he enlisted and began basic training, disgusted by the young, immature recruits and the archaic practices of the military.

Even so, when he received an opportunity to leave the Army—in the form of offers from NFL teams eager to sign Tillman for the 2004 season—he refused. Tillman was flattered by the offers, but breaking his commitment to his Army contract would have compromised his integrity, despite his desire to play football again and his growing distaste for the Army. He was subsequently deployed to Iraq and then Afghanistan, where he was shot and killed by a fellow Ranger in a friendly fire mishap. Though Tillman strived toward a life of integrity, his commanders and high-up officials in the Bush administration did the opposite when they suppressed the truth about Tillman’s death.