It's The 20-Year Anniversary Of Pat Tillman's Tragic Death. Remember A True American Hero

It's been 20 years since Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan.

The former Arizona Cardinals safety turned Army Ranger was killed April 22, 2004 at the age of 27 in a friendly fire incident during the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

He walked away from earning millions of dollars in the NFL to serve his country after 9/11, and the talented football player ended up paying the ultimate price.

Pat Tillman died 20 years ago in Afghanistan.

I understand there was a lot of controversy surrounding Tillman's death, the friendly fire incident and how the government handled all of it.

That's not what I want to talk about today. That can be discussed at another time. What I want to discuss today is the fact Tillman was a hero, and there's no doubt about that.

Unlike the morons who hate America and refuse to stand for our national anthem after getting rich here, Tillman did what very few people would ever do:

Put the country ahead of himself and walked away from fortune and fame.

Pat Tillman was killed April 22, 2004 in Afghanistan. (Credit: Getty Images and U.S. Army/Public Domain/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman#/media/File:Corporal_Patrick_Tillman.jpg)

Pat Tillman was a very solid NFL player. He was a hell of a hard-hitting safety, and he could have remained in the NFL and gotten very rich.

Instead, he turned down millions of dollars to enlist in the Army and join the Rangers. It's almost hard to fathom in 2024 a star athlete turning down life-changing money to earn an Army salary. Yet, that's what Tillman did after terrorists attacked America on 9/11.

He paid for that decision with his life in a situation that can only be described as absolutely tragic. As hard as it might be to fathom, friendly fire incidents do occur in war. Combat is chaos and carnage. Mistakes happen, and a mistake on April 22, 2004, cost Tillman his life.

Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army. He was killed April 22, 2004. (Photo by Gene Lower/Getty Images)

As painful as that is, it doesn't change the fact Tillman was a hero and a great reminder of what America can be at its best. Instead of being selfish and only focusing on himself, Tillman put others ahead of him. It's a lesson we desperately need to learn from in 2024. RIP to a true American icon and legend. Let me know your thoughts on Tillman at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.