There were two ceremonies last week that honored the memory of Pat Tillman or at least a portion of it. Both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars named posts after Tillman, lauding his decision following the 2001 terrorist attacks to give up a lucrative football career to join the military.

Had Tillman survived his military service, they would not be naming American Legion and VFW posts after him. Not only because the bylaws of those organizations forbid such an action for a living person but also because the veterans might not have agreed with what he had to say.

The Tillman honored in twin ceremonies last week was the strong patriot and warrior. There was little mention of Tillman the reluctant soldier in the Iraq war and critic of President Bush.

The veterans groups were honoring the icon, not the iconoclast.

The American Legion ceremony took place in the parking lot of its state headquarters. A large color photo of Tillman rested on a stand. It showed Tillman in his Arizona Cardinals uniform, helmet off, blond mane flying, his face in midscream.

At the podium, Larry Cox, the Legion's state commander, spoke of "a young man who chose to serve his country instead of a comfortable life he could have had as a professional athlete and an outstanding academic."

Cox introduced Alex Garwood, Tillman's brother-in-law and the executive director of the non-profit Pat Tillman Foundation. Garwood called the naming of the post "humbling."

"What a fine compliment for my friend Pat to be associated with the American Legion," Garwood said. After his speech, the assembled veterans, most wearing their organizations' two-cornered hats, broke into applause.

But Tillman held some beliefs that would not be too popular at a veterans' hall. A story in the San Francisco Chronicle quoted fellow soldiers and family members who said Tillman didn't believe invading Iraq was proper and that he supported Bush's opponent, John Kerry, in the 2004 election.

Tillman joined the Army expecting to help capture Osama bin Laden and fight al-Qaida. He didn't expect to help invade Baghdad. Tillman was sent there initially, close to a year before he ended up in Afghanistan.

Spc. Russell Baer, who served with Tillman for more than a year in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the Chronicle about a conversation he had with Tillman in March 2003 while the two Army Rangers watched a bombing attack on a southern Iraq town.

"I can see it like a movie screen," Baer said, describing the conversation at an old air base. "And Pat said, 'You know, this war is so (expletive) illegal.' And we all said, 'Yeah.' That's who he was. He totally was against Bush."

Tillman's mother, Mary, told the Chronicle that her son had arranged a meeting upon his return to the United States with Noam Chomsky, the linguistics professor and anti-war author who has called this country a "leading terrorist state."

Tillman's parents have also been critical of the government's handling of their son's death, arguing that the military intentionally withheld details of his friendly-fire death for political gain.

After the Legion ceremony, as members milled the hall snacking on refreshments, I asked Garwood about these other aspects of Tillman's views and how they might play in front of this audience of veterans. At first, Garwood, the head of Tillman's namesake foundation, seemed eager to sidestep the issue.

"As I speak for the foundation, I'm going to give you a sound-bite answer," he said. "As the foundation, it is an honor and privilege to be here. . . . We're focused on carrying forward his positive legacy. We're focused on his tremendous life."

Garwood did go on to say that some of Tillman's views might not square with some people's images of him but that Tillman's life was rich enough to speak to different people in different ways.

"Maybe you respect him because he played football," he said, "or you respect him because he always spoke his mind and he was well-read. Or you respect him because he served his nation."

While Tillman felt the pull of duty after seeing the nation under attack from terrorists, he told family and friends he did not expect to be in Iraq. His journal, a habit he started as a teenager and continued on the battlefield, and which might illuminate his evolving thoughts on the wars, has not been found, according to the Chronicle.

But those later details might have come too late to matter. In many minds, Tillman is simply a patriotic symbol, one whose death does not challenge support for the war on terror or the administration's conduct.

Vincent Rigo, a Vietnam vet who was behind the name change at the Avondale VFW post, said Tillman's opposition to the Iraq war "don't make me feel any different."

Rigo did seem puzzled, though, by what he saw as Tillman's change of heart. "All of sudden he changed his mind, after he just volunteered." Told that Tillman supported the war against Al-Qaida but not against Iraq, Rigo said, "I don't know how to say anything about that because they're both the same because Al-Qaida is involved in Iraq."

Similarly, Cox, the Legion's Arizona commander, said Tillman's viewpoint on Iraq was immaterial, particularly because he ended up dying in Afghanistan.

"You don't have to agree with the president to be there," said Cox, who wore a flag-inspired necktie with his suit.

Told that Tillman, given his beliefs, might have joined the anti-war protestors, Cox said: "There's a possibility that he would have been. It's kind of hard to think he would have been.

"He might have been against the U.S. being there, but he damn sure would have been behind the guys that were there."

By extension, Cox said, that would have meant not bad-mouthing the president.

Tillman, never at a loss for words himself, is now silent. Of the many tragic aspects surrounding his death, one is that he cannot define his own legacy.



Reach Ruelas at (602) 444-8473 or richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com.