Everyone who dies gets to keep their bodies; it is the legacies of the dead that are left over for the living.
The more complex the person it is far harder to write the epilogue of their life. Many of us live relatively mundane lives that appear irrelevant to those who were not close to the person. It takes something either infamous or extraordinary or sometimes even extraordinarily infamous for the masses to remember their existence.
In the case of Patrick Daniel Tillman, his legacy is defined by his complex character. Tillman was a reported atheist who read every religious text from the Book of Mormon to the Qur'an. He was a transcendentalist that Ralph Waldo Emerson would have been proud of. Tillman was a friend, husband, and a brother to those who loved him, as well as a Sun Devil, a Cardinal, and a Corporal to the public.
Most notably, Pat Tillman was a man who denied fame, fortune, and personal security to protect the rights our forefathers fought and died for.
Tillman had to fight a lot during the limelight of his life. But with every fight, Tillman got stronger. He fought and got the very last scholarship at Arizona State University
A hair under six feet and a pair of cleats over 200 pounds Tillman was too small to be a linebacker, but his ability to track the ball carrier was on a different level. At safety, Tillman racked up 238 tackles, two and a half sacks, three interceptions, and three fumble recoveries in 60 career games with the Arizona Cardinals. Opponents could see his hair from the huddle, yet Tillman got his tackles anyway through effort and hard work.
Then 2001 brought that horrid September day that will never be forgotten. The twin towers were reduced to rubble and nearly 3,000 Americans were taken from their loved ones.
There were no words to comfort the suffering. Nobody could explain to the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, parents, and grandparents, who was responsible or why they attacked. The remorse for the victims was soon followed by national outrage towards the enemy. And what Pat Tillman did just eight months later left the football world in shock.
He turned down a 3.6 million dollar contract offer from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army.
Tillman was not the first football player to serve his country. He did not have the iconic influence on his sport like Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams when they went to fight in World War II. He did not shatter the color barrier in sports like Jackie Robinson after his service. Tillman did not even make the Hall of Fame after serving like 'Night Train' Lane.
But none of that mattered.
Even when Tillman became a part of the 2nd Battalion, he didn't turn back. When he and his brother invaded Iraq Afghanistan
Then on April 22nd, 2004 the grim reaper took Tillman's life by way of friendly fire.
It's hard to understand the mentality behind Tillman's decision. Why a man who had worked for his dream career would throw away his personal security to risk his life for people he didn't even know. How a sense of duty to the nation he lived in superseded his love for the game he spent his entire life playing.
Regardless of the reason, Tillman's sacrifice should be remembered as an act of valor.
Every team Tillman was a part of has honored his life in some way. Tillman's former high school renamed their field after him. The Sun Devils and Cardinals both retired his number. The Pacific 10 conference renamed its defensive player of the year award to the Pat Tillman defensive player of the year. And fellow ranger Roy Fanning began a walk across the country to try and raise 3.6 million dollars for the Pat Tillman Foundation.
Even with these honors and tributes there remains a gaping hole in the household of Tillman and every other family that has lost someone to war. The Silver Star that is somewhere in the Tillman family is not going to fill the void left by their departed son. No Purple Heart is going to reanimate a man or woman who died to protect the citizens of the United States
Dealing with the premature death of a loved one is far and away the hardest thing anyone would ever have to do in life. There is no pain that comes close to it. Nothing ever makes it fully better, humans just learn to deal with the loss rather than let it destroy us.
But like the legacies of the fallen, the awards are as much for the living as they are for the person who served. Even though the medals will not return the deceased, they represent symbols of honor that the recipient had. The families that remain get to keep a token of their soldier's bravery with them at all times, and keep them alive in their own memories.
So may Pat Tillman and the other 1,346,000+ men and women who gave their lives to protect their countrymen be remembered for their sacrifices, and may tomorrow bring the day where nobody dies.
