Tillman’s Legacy
Pat Tillman’s story is well known. He was a professional football player who gave up millions of dollars and a football career to join the Army Rangers. Tillman played defense back for the Arizona Cardinals. He turned down a $1.2 million contract to serve his country instead. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 when he was killed by friendly fire. His death and the story of his willingness to answer the call to serve his country became an inspiring tale of patriotism and heroism. Now three years after his death, one of Tillman’s former teammates is heading to Iraq. Â
Jeremy Staat is a former NFL defensive lineman. He played for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams. He was playing for the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League before joining the United States Marine Corps. Staat was also Pat Tillman’s roommate at Arizona State University. Staat says that he was motivated to join the service after the September 11th attacks, but Tillman advised him to stay in the NFL until he was eligible for retirement benefits.
In 2006, Staat, now 29, enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to boot camp at the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego. He is now a part of the 1st Batallion, 3rd Marine Regiment out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The unit just deployed for a seven month tour in Iraq. When interviewed by local news before leaving, Staat had this to say, “the way I look at it, we’re spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war. You can’t just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you’re basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We’re one team.”
That simple statement brings to light what members of our armed forces have always known. That the war for them and their families is personal. Partisan discussions of international diplomacy and foreign policy may be what the politicians and media pundits want to focus on, but for our troops war at its most basic level is about the guy sitting to you, the friend who is willing to fight beside you, the buddy who won’t come home. The politics of the war may be popular on the news, but on the battlefield loyalty is what counts. Â
March 29th, 2007 at 1:08 am
With all the attention being paid to how he died and the government cover-up…which was a stupid thing to do…its good to remember that here’s more to the story than just the way he died.
March 31st, 2007 at 3:52 am
I certainly don’t want to downplay the significance of Mr. Tillman’s death but a large part of this is the media again, playing on the emotions of the American Public. Ok, I’ll say it, “Damn the Media”. There should be some kind of law…..Because he was a public figure (or in the eyes of American sports fans) and he certainly sacrificed what he was doing for the American Public, he made a very strong statement when he made the decision to defend his country. However, there are alot of other American men and women who sacrificed their lives and family life, and are still making that sacrifice, believing they are/were doing what was right. I don’t necessarily “blame” the United State’s government. I think alot of it has to do with the leaders of the military. And I again don’t want to point fingers. But I’m sure there are alot of young men and women trying to lead others without the tenured and trained experience of what we know as “corporate America”. And I re-iterate, I’m not pointing fingers or blaming, but have you ever heard of “cya”. God Bless Our Troops and the young leaders of our military. I pray they continue to have the power and support to keep our country free.