Posted on 04/22/2009 9:25:18 AM PDT by PurpleMan
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former NFL player Pat Tillman was killed Thursday while serving as an Army Rangers soldier on a mission in southeastern Afghanistan, Pentagon officials have told CNN. He was 27.
Pentagon sources confirmed that a soldier killed during an ambush on a coalition combat patrol, reported in a U.S. Central Command release, was Tillman.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
A Dying Soldier (by Joseph T. Renaldi)
A soldier was ordered into battle to face the foe,
His mind devoid of sensation - his body numb,
And his rifle fixed with a bayonet in front of him,
Charged the rampart hoping the conflict is won.
His fate is dependent upon the success of the mission,
The mark of death had been cast upon his head,
Severely wounded by an unrelenting hostility
On the battlefield where his body profusely bled
No more transitory orders - no more fighting,
No longer can be heard the eerie sound of artillery,
Only a mumbling of words - crying out in pain,
Hallucinating of love ones vague and dreary.
Shortly he will succumb from his ghastly wounds
In a hostile and foreign land across the vast sea.
Though he is dead - his spirit will live on forever,
His body to be buried in his hometown’s cemetery.
The sound of TAPS on a bugle is heard nearby,
Symbolic of death for his country with the highest laud.
The Chaplain says a final prayer- many tears are shed
As the soldier’s body is laid to rest beneath the sod.
His number should still be on every NFL football helmet.
They can remember the other NFL players’ memories in different ways.
They ought to name a stadium after him.
Wait until his book comes out about his notes on Tuesday, written by Krakauer. Then the tune may change just a bit. He still will be remembered as a millionaire soldier, but maybe his political views and how his large ego effected others in the military may make people rethink.
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