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A Personal Response To The Pat Tillman Story One Soldier’s Insight To Tillman Soldier Gives Insight Into Tillman’s
Tale
A sandstorm was building, not to mention the heavyheartedness that comes with 19 days of deployment in the Saudi Arabia desert. Joseph Bush, a 22-year-old Air Force staff sergeant from Goodyear, had no intention of leaving his spot in line. A Basic Exchange, the military’s version of a portable mini-mart, had arrived along with the promise of baby wipes, often a soldier’s equivalent of a shower.
Pat Tillman has been eulogized a million different ways since his death in Afghanistan four days ago. Sometimes a snapshot is more revealing than the entire photo album because it’s honest, singular and conclusive. Bush had two chance meetings with Tillman that lasted a combined three hours in the Middle East, and he walked away with a profound sense of why Tillman made the decision he did. Day 19. After a backbreaking day of work at the fallout, me and my buddy, Patterson, went to the new Basic-X . . . when out of nowhere strolls up, behind us, Pat Tillman. We’re waiting in line about two hours, just shooting the breeze, and we damn near told each other our life histories. That is really cool. He’s in Washington now but on a three-year enlistment. He said when we get out we’re gonna party together in Phoenix. Man I can’t believe this happened here. That dude was one of my favorite players. I gotta tell my old man about this one when I get home. Bush’s journal, Bush did the interview Tillman never gave the media.
Bush said he was floored by how “extremely intelligent” Tillman was and “how easy he was to talk to.” “He was so down to earth, never made me feel like I was less than what I was. He kept saying how he really loved what he was doing. He wanted to be there.” Ten days later the two met again in the desert. Day 29. I ran into Tillman and some of his buddies. They said they should be heading out about nightfall. I don’t envy what they do. I think Pat’s a standup guy for putting his ass on the line like that. Imagine passing up millions of dollars just to go fight for your country. This dude is a living legend. They are really cool cats. My prayers are with all of them. Bush took the memory home with him. He often wondered about Tillman and looked forward to the day the two would meet in Phoenix and share war stories. On Friday, just after he arrived at work, the phone rang. “Did you hear about Tillman?” he was asked. “What?” “He died in combat.” Bush said,“My heart just sank.” Tillman’s death has spurred a strange backlash from those who feel that honoring the player diminishes the death of other soldiers. That’s not true. Many of us wrote about Tillman’s rare decision to give up NFL millions, and we felt the story deserved an ending. People like Joseph Bush are helping us write it.
Dusty, Jim Henthorn 21st S.O.S. Nov. ‘67 -
May ‘69 In light of the on-going discussions about Pat Tillman, I thought that many would find this response interesting. I trust my source implicitly. . . . .
Subject: Response to Pat Tillman
Story Mike’s brother Jim was a Salt Lake City policeman and Marine reservist. Jim’s enlistment was up, so he did not have to go to Iraq. He said he felt responsible for the younger Marines in his unit and wanted to do the right thing, so he reenlisted and deployed with his unit for the initial war for Iraq. He was killed in a tragic accident, the only fatality in his unit. While he was sleeping, his head was run over by a humvee. I correspond regularly with Mike and had sent him the article at the bottom of this page about Pat Tillman. It mentioned that some families felt that Pat Tillman was getting too much attention. As you can see, Mike disagrees. Mike works at the Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center. I asked for his permission to share this response. . . . . “John, Thanks for sending that. I can tell you John, coming from someone who lost a brother that in no way whatsoever do I feel the attention that has surrounded the death of Pat Tillman has detracted attention from the “average” soldier or my brother. To the contrary. For me, it highlights in the best way possible, the type of people all of our serving soldiers are. My brother didn’t have millions, but he had a family which to him was worth millions and more. There was absolutely nothing in my brother’s life that he treasured more than his kids. He was torn at the very center of his heart over leaving. As I’ve told you before, Jim didn’t have to go. His enlistment was up in the last two weeks before he left. He also had a pretty bad back injury he was suffering pain from and also had a hernia. He reported neither condition to medical. A few days before he left, he also had some type of spider or bug bite and had an allergic reaction so bad he had hives and rashes all over his body. Believe me, I saw him with those hives and rashes and he did not look good at all. I kept urging him to go to the doctor but he didn’t want to. Didn’t want it to interfere with his mission. He eventually caved and got something for then, but he still had a pretty good case of them the day he left. People don’t understand what a sacrifice so many of these guys have made by leaving a wife and kids behind. That is the multimillion dollar contract they give up and leave behind to serve. Pat’s example just highlights what I already know about the characters of the rest of the men there. It gives the ordinary person something to scratch their head and think about and say “Why? What could possibly motivate someone to do something like that? That’s because money is something almost everyone puts a high emphasis on. It puts a dollar value to things and everyone can relate to that. I had no idea and had never heard anything about Pat Tillman until I heard of his death. And whe I heard the news, the first thing that went through my head was. “You see folks, that’s the kind of guy my brother was...” I felt instant kinship and instant pride in who Pat was and what he did. I never met him but to know him was to know my brother. I’m glad Pat got the attention he deserved and glad it gave people pause to think. He was a true hero...and a shining example that ALL people can look up to...I can’t begin to tell you how much his story touched me. Mike”
Barry Esham (Bear) Thanks for sending this along. This message does a lot of things, especially in closing loops and reminding me how we all are brothers in various degrees. From NKP to Salt Lake City, with many stops in between, the stories, contacts and friends, and yes - brothers, abound. The comments from Mike about his brother Jim are especially close. Jim was a police officer in Salt Lake City. I’m one of the citizens he protected and I work in the SLC Mayor’s Office. His death was a tough one for us, and for many of my police officer friends, just as other deaths of other friends who were police officers or military friends. Like Pat Tillman, Jim’s death received a lot of special attention in the media. Not because he was more important than any other GI, but because of his situation. He didn’t have to be there. He had a family and a job as a police officer. But his desire to serve guided his decision, as it did in the conduct of his life. Everyone is somebody’s brother, and many are in some way or another, brothers to us all. I appreciate the brotherhood in such organizations as the TLC, VVA, ANG and Air Force. Because of their dedication to the same service we share, these guys are our brothers and deserve our full respect. Both Pat Tillman and Jim, like all who give their life in service, are heroes. One does not outshine the other, nor do they necessarily outshine the service of any other military member in the history of our nation. But in our world it is the Pat Tillman’s who are given the special gift, even in death, of shouldering the responsibility of bringing service, "duty, honor, country" and sacrifice to the forefront. Granted, every death is tragic and a loss for us all. Everyone should be a front-page, leading story. But this is not reality. What we do get is to have people like Pat Tillman, who is not just getting special recognition, but like the “Unknown Soldier” he becomes a representative of all those who are lost in combat. And through that, we, and more importantly the general public, are reminded of the sacrifices being made by all. Press On!
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It
was March 27, 2003. In Phoenix, the city was abuzz about Army Pfc. Lori
Piestewa, who had just become the first Arizonan listed among the missing
since the war began. More than 8,000 miles away, Bush’s mind was
on the familiar face that had just come up behind him. He looked at
the soldier’s name: Tillman. “It was the highlight of my
entire deployment,” said Bush, a pharmacy technician at Luke Air
Force Base.