No Satire Today-- To Honor Pat Tillman, an American Hero and the Other Heroes He Represents; Condolences and Honor to Kevin Tillman and the Tillman family, to the Rest of America's Heroes and Their Families; How to Help.

April 23, 2004: #01 Political Satire/Commentary where satire is always commentary but commentary isn't always satire™
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No Satire Today-- To Honor Pat Tillman, an American Hero and the Other Heroes He Represents; Condolences and Honor to Kevin Tillman and the Tillman family, to the Rest of America's Heroes and Their Families; How to Help.·

Today the Defense Department announced that Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who turned down a multi-million-dollar NFL contract to become an Army Ranger, was killed in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was serving with his brother, Kevin Tillman, who had given up a highly promising professional baseball career to become an Army Ranger. Certainly Pat Tillman's sacrifice of his life is no greater than such sacrifices by others serving in our military, but his sacrifice also honors them because, as an active NFL player, he had viewed those who were already serving as "real" heroes, and his admiration of them and his patriotism motivated him (and his brother) to turn down lucrative careers in professional sports to join the non-famous Americans he (and his brother) considered heroes serving their country.

We express our sympathy and gratitude to the Tillman's for their sacrifices and to all others who have made, and are willing to make, such sacrifices. To honor Tillman's sacrifice is to also honor, rather than diminish, the equally heroic sacrifices of the hundreds of others who have died, the thousands who have sustained injures, and the hundreds of thousands now risking their lives for us.

Here's the text of a Defense Department profile of Pat Tillman and his brother, Kevin Tillman, written in July, 2003, on the occasion of their receipt of 2003 ESPY Awards on ESPN.

U.S. Army Spc.'s Kevin & Pat Tillman
Ranger Brothers Get ESPY Award

WASHINGTON -- Brothers Kevin and Pat Tillman, both Army specialists with the 75th Ranger Regiment, were presented with a distinctive award July 16 during the 2003 ESPY Awards on ESPN.

The brothers were chosen as the recipients of the 11th annual Arthur Ashe Courage Award. This award is given to those who serve a greater good outside the sporting arena, officials said.

The two are known for trading in their team uniforms for BDUs. Both had flourishing sporting careers. Pat played football for four seasons as a safety for the Arizona Cardinals. Kevin played baseball for the Cleveland Indians' minor league team.

The brothers were deeply impacted by the Sept. 11 attacks, according to family and friends. It was the catalyst for pushing them to enlist. Pat turned down a $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals to join the Army. Kevin ended his baseball career for the same reason.

Pat and Kevin both signed up for three years with the Army. They soon earned their place with the elite Army Rangers. There they were able to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, from where they recently returned.

They maintained a low profile while they served, said Lt. Col. Don Sondo, deputy commander of Infantry Trainning Brigade. They did not want special treatment for their celebrity status. The difference between sports and combat is the cost of being wrong, said Sondo. In a sport, you lose a game, Sondo said, adding that in combat you lose lives.

Sondo said the Tillman brothers fully integrated themselves to the Ranger team.

Younger brother Richard Tillman was not shocked when he heard of Kevin and Pat's decision. They had talked about it for a long time, he said. He pointed out that they would look up at pilots flying over the stadium during their games and think, "this is a game, what am I doing...I'm playing a sport."

Throughout their enlistment and service, the brothers have refused to give interviews.

"Pat and Kevin don't think they are better than anyone else," said Richard.

They do not feel that the soldiers fighting alongside them are giving any less than they themselves are, he said.

Family and friends said the brothers are no strangers to obstacles. "No one could be harder on them than them," Richard said. Pat for one attended Arizona State, being the last chosen scholarship recipient.

Actor Keifer Sutherland presented the Espy award to Richard. He said that he proudly accepted the award on behalf of his brothers. The ceremony was the first public discussion by family and friends about Pat and Kevin.

A video presentation showed clips of the Tillmans from youth to enlistment. Family and friends spoke highly in the video.

"You'll spot a Tillman from a mile away," said high school coach Scott Gillis, mentioning how they stuck out in crowd.

"Pat and Kevin always try to save the day," said Richard.

The three brothers were very close growing up and never had jealousy issues, said their father Patrick Tillman. "They believed family was more important than everything," added Richard.

Richard concluded by thanking the Ashe family, his parents, and his sister-in-law. He then thanked the men and women of, "special operations for the freedoms we've become accustomed to."

Author of article: By Alfonso Lopez / Army News Service.
Source: http://www.defendamerica.mil/profiles/jul2003/pr071803a.html.

For information about others who've made the supreme sacrifice, go to http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html or http://www.defendamerica.mil/fallen.html. For information on how to contribute to support the families of our military personnel killed in our war against terror, go to http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/foundation_heroesfund.html. To view the yet-to-be-recorded lyrics of a song expressing thanks to our troops, go to Thanks in Our Name for Deeds in Our Name.

--Jim Wrenn, Editor@PoliSat.Com.

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