Pat Tillman: Leadership at the Tip of the Spear

On April 18, 1998, Pat Tillman was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. Just 2,196 days later, on April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was outside the Afghanistan village of Spera. He would not live to see another day. 

A lot happened between the dates of April 18, 1998, and April 22, 2004. Three events seem most pertinent to share in regards to this story.

On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by terrorists. Two collided into the side of the World Trade Center towers in New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed into a coal strip mining field in Pennsylvania. In 2002 the NFL All-Pro Safety Pat Tillman was offered a 3.6 million-dollar contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals. On May 31, 2002, Pat Tillman signed a contract – it was not with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League.

Sources:

Krakauer, Jon. Where Men Win Glory. Knopf Doubleday, 2009.