My Memorial Day Reflections

It is 3 p.m. this Memorial Day.

And I am in a moment of remembrance.

I don't know much about the World Wars except through history books and can only relate to them in a distant way.

But I know of soldiers in Afghanistan, and other places.

I am thinking right now of the professional football player who was killed in combat in Afghanistan, about how honest and truthful he was.

He heard the call, that the country needed him and he silently left the ball game to respond to the call of his nation.

An honest, straight person, he did what he thought he must do.

Patrick Tillman is my hero. I always think of him.

This memorial day he has been on my mind since morning. Thank you President Obama for this moment of reflection on this Memorial Day.

I have shut down my TV and am thinking about him.

No, not the way his death came about, not the way it was reported or misreported.

None of that. I am thinking of his character. An honest person who scarified his career, his life.

Tillman, a 28-year-old young man with a bright future ahead of him, turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army.

That is a sense of duty. The sense of responsibility this Tillman had was unique.

How many of us can turn down money for a higher cause? How many of us will leave a life of comfort and go for some thing which has substantial risks and dangers?

Although I am neither a soldier nor a politician, somehow I always think of Tillman.

I am against war, but this soldier remains in my heart. I guess I feel a connection to him.

I just wish some brave talented people sacrifice their millions and take bold decisions to become honorable politicians who are willing to sacrifice for peace, strive to save lives instead of killing around just because we can.

Peace.