The Vegas Voice 9-20

Pat Tillman Left a Legacy
By: Kathy Manney / Around Our World
October 2020 marks the anniversary of
former Arizona Cardinals player Pat
Tillman’s death in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was
a star football linebacker with the Arizona
State Sun Devils before graduating in 1998
and signing a multi-million dollar contract to
play NFL ball for the Cardinals.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the
United States in 2001, Pat and his older brother
Kevin, a professional baseball player with the
Cleveland Indians felt it important to serve on
behalf of their country. Their grandfather had
been at Pearl Harbor.
Leaving fame and fortune, the brothers
joined the army and were serving together
in Afghanistan at the time of Pat’s death by
“friendly fire” on April 22, 2004.
In the years since, Pat Tillman has become
an NFL legend with many posthumous honors.
In August 2017, Arizona State University dedicated a bronze statue of
him at Sun Devil Stadium.
They also named their football locker room entryway to Sun Devil
Stadium the “Pat Tillman Memorial Tunnel.” In November 2011, the
Arizona Cardinals unveiled a statue of Pat Tillman and named the
plaza at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona after him.
Tillman’s family and friends started the Pat Tillman Foundation,
a nonprofit that awards scholarships, with a recent focus on veteran
assistance. The Foundation sponsors an
annual 4.2 mile race ending at the 42-yard
line of Sun Devil Stadium. Tillman wore 42 at
Arizona State.
Spanning Black Canyon and 1,500-foot
downstream of Hoover Dam sits the Mike
O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, part of
the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. The bridge,
crossing the Colorado River connecting
Arizona and Nevada, was completed in 2010.
The name honors not only Pat Tillman, but
Mike O’Callaghan, a Korean War veteran and
Nevada’s governor from 1971-1978.
A Navy SEAL serving with Tillman in Iraq
said, “He was one of the most remarkable
human beings I’ve ever met. He wasn’t
looking for the easy thing to do, just the right thing.”
Undeniably, Pat Tillman was a remarkable man who left a legacy.
Kathy Manney enjoys visiting interesting places and being an
Adventure Diva. Her “Must See” travel journeys continue - always
with enthusiasm.
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