{"id":1380,"date":"2026-04-04T02:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendacoulsonauthor.com\/?page_id=1380"},"modified":"2026-04-04T02:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:09:00","slug":"pat-tillman-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brendacoulsonauthor.com\/en_us\/pat-tillman-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat Tillman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/brendacoulsonauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/E8A1115B-10A3-4B49-BC0E-FCD4CADF4928.jpeg&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Pat Tillman&#8221; width=&#8221;100%&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; align=&#8221;center&#8221; height=&#8221;402px&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.6&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; header_font=&#8221;Georgia||||||||&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;23px&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; text_font=&#8221;Georgia||||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;20px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.6em&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1 data-pm-slice=\"1 2 []\"><strong>CPL Pat Tillman<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>U.S. Army Rangers<\/strong><br \/><strong>1976\u202f\u2013\u202f2004<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Patrick Daniel Tillman was born on <strong>November\u202f6,\u202f1976<\/strong>, in <strong>San\u202fJose,\u202fCalifornia<\/strong>, the eldest of three brothers. A natural leader and fierce competitor, he carried his sense of loyalty from the football field to the battlefield.<\/p>\n<p>Tillman earned a scholarship to <strong>Arizona\u202fState\u202fUniversity<\/strong>, where he excelled both academically and athletically \u2014 graduating <strong>summa\u202fcum\u202flaude<\/strong> in marketing while leading the Sun\u202fDevils to the <strong>1997\u202fRose\u202fBowl<\/strong>. Drafted by the <strong>Arizona\u202fCardinals<\/strong> in\u202f1998, he quickly became a starting safety and set franchise records for tackles.<\/p>\n<p>After the attacks of <strong>September\u202f11,\u202f2001<\/strong>, Tillman turned down a multimillion\u2011dollar NFL contract to enlist in the <strong>U.S.\u202fArmy<\/strong> alongside his brother\u202fKevin. He completed infantry and airborne training at <strong>Fort\u202fBenning,\u202fGeorgia<\/strong>, and earned his <strong>Ranger\u202fTab<\/strong> in\u202f2003. Assigned to <strong>Company\u202fA,\u202f2nd\u202fBattalion,\u202f75th\u202fRanger\u202fRegiment<\/strong>, he served tours in both <strong>Iraq<\/strong> and <strong>Afghanistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On <strong>April\u202f22,\u202f2004<\/strong>, during operations near <strong>Sperah,\u202fAfghanistan<\/strong>, Tillman was killed in a friendly\u2011fire incident. He was posthumously promoted to <strong>Corporal<\/strong> and awarded the <strong>Silver\u202fStar<\/strong>, <strong>Purple\u202fHeart<\/strong>, and <strong>Meritorious\u202fService\u202fMedal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>His legacy endures through the <strong>Pat\u202fTillman\u202fFoundation<\/strong>, which supports scholars and leaders committed to service beyond self.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cSomewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become.\u201d \u2014\u202fPat\u202fTillman<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CPL Pat Tillman U.S. Army Rangers1976\u202f\u2013\u202f2004 Patrick Daniel Tillman was born on November\u202f6,\u202f1976, in San\u202fJose,\u202fCalifornia, the eldest of three brothers. A natural leader and fierce competitor, he carried his sense of loyalty from the football field to the battlefield. Tillman earned a scholarship to Arizona\u202fState\u202fUniversity, where he excelled both academically and athletically \u2014 graduating summa\u202fcum\u202flaude [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1380","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pat Tillman - Fire Line<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/brendacoulsonauthor.com\/en_us\/pat-tillman-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pat Tillman - Fire Line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CPL Pat Tillman U.S. Army Rangers1976\u202f\u2013\u202f2004 Patrick Daniel Tillman was born on November\u202f6,\u202f1976, in San\u202fJose,\u202fCalifornia, the eldest of three brothers. 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