Pat Tillman lived a short but intense life. 10 years into the war in Afghanistan, Tillman's "friendly-fire" death in the mountains of Afghanistan 2004 is still the most high profile individual casualty of the U.S.' interventions in the Middle East over the last decade.
Though he's been gone for more than 7 years, he surely has not been forgotten. Last year an outstanding documentary, titled The Tillman Story, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and was released throughout the country.
There have also been books, one written by Pat's mother Mary, as well another narrative written by best-selling author Jon Krakauer. Like the documentary, they all delved into the coverup that the U.S. military engaged in after his death – a coverup that led to multiple investigations.
A foundation that was set up after his death is run Marie Tillman, Pat Tillman's wife, and she will be at USF Friday night in a discussion entitled Finding Purpose in the Face of Adversity.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.