Corporal Patrick D. Tillman Va Clinic

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation to rename the San Jose veterans affairs clinic for U.S. Army Corporal Patrick D. Tillman.

Mr. Speaker, this is more than about just a naming of a VA clinic. This is about patriotism. It is about passion, and it is about progression as a nation.

Now, there is no doubt, as you have heard, Mr. Speaker, that Pat was a patriot. After 9/11, he gave up a $3.6 million contract playing professional football to enlist in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Speaker, Pat had a storied football career, be it as a beast on the gridiron for the Chargers of Leland High School in Almaden Valley, San Jose; at Arizona State University as an Academic All-American who graduated summa cum laude in 3\1/2\ years; as an All-American who helped the Sun Devils to an undefeated season and a Rose Bowl berth in 1997; and then, of course, as a professional football player in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals, where he set a franchise record for tackles in the year 2000.

Mr. Speaker, despite all of that, he felt he hadn't done a dang thing for this great country.

Pat grew up in a family of service who had gone and fought wars. He grew up knowing that his great-grandfather served at Pearl Harbor during the attack in 1941. He grew up realizing that in our democracy, we have an obligation to give back to our country that gives a guy like Pat Tillman the opportunity to play professional football.

He felt that he could fulfill that responsibility by joining the U.S. Army and becoming a U.S. Ranger.

Mr. Speaker, I admit that I did not know Pat Tillman, but when we know about Pat Tillman, all of us--all of us--feel his passion.

He did nothing half baked. He did everything with a full heart: academics, athletics, and of course, the service to our Nation.

He said: ``You should be passionate about everything you do; if not, why do it?'' That was his attitude about life, a passion that is demonstrated by that iconic photo of Pat on the football field that became the foundation for the statue of Pat outside Arizona State Sun Devil Stadium at the entrance of Tillman Tunnel that depicts Pat running, yelling, and hair flying.

That was the passion that drove his success on the football field. That passion drove his determination to do something after our Nation was attacked on 9/11. That passion led him to be all that he could be as an Army Ranger alongside his brother, Kevin, where they were subsequently assigned to the 2nd battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Now, as an Army Ranger, Pat deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and then to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004.

Mr. Speaker, it was on April 22 of that year that Pat was in Khost province in the southeast Afghanistan border region, and on that day he was part of two convoys on patrol in a narrow valley.

As they were going down this valley, they came to a fork in the road where the first convoy was supposed to turn left and the second convoy was supposed to turn right. That was Pat's convoy.

When Pat got to that fork in the road, they realized that it was impassable, and so they followed behind the first convoy to the left unbeknownst to the first convoy.

A while later, the enemies started to ambush the first convoy. Pat's convoy behind a hill heard it, knew what they had to do, and responded. Pat and two other members of that convoy immediately exited their Humvees, got up to a ridge where they could see the first convoy, and then started firing at the enemies up on the hill.

The first convoy, unfortunately, did not know that up on that ridge it was Pat Tillman. Pat's last words were: Cease fire. I am Pat f'ing Tillman.

Now, at first, Mr. Speaker, the Army put out a standard statement saying that Pat Tillman was killed by enemy fire, but after four military investigations and numerous independent investigations, including one by his own mother, Dannie, the truth came out that Pat was killed by friendly fire.

It was not just Pat's death that hurt. It was the sense of deception that made this story difficult. That is why the legacy of Pat Tillman should also be about progress, what we can do better as an Army, as a military, as a Congress, and as a country to ensure that this never happens again.

Mr. Speaker, Pat was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart and was posthumously promoted to corporal, but something tells me, Mr. Speaker, he wouldn't want it. Similar to this legislation, something tells me that Pat Tillman wouldn't want this recognition.

Well, Pat Tillman may not want this, but as a community and as a country, we want it, and, yes, we need it.

In this day of division and dysfunction, we must always, always be reminded of the sacrifice of the service and the ultimate sacrifice of someone like Pat Tillman. We must always be reminded of his patriotism, of his passion. Mr. Speaker, yes, we must always be reminded that we must always progress as a nation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation renaming the San Jose VA Clinic the Corporal Patrick D. Tillman VA Clinic.

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