HONORING SACRIFICE

By LAURA INCALCATERRA
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: January 13, 2005)

The way brothers Jim and Billy Fortescue see it, some wrongs cry out for righting.

So on Jan. 27, they'll be hosting a celebration of the life and sacrifice of Pat Tillman, the Arizona Cardinal player who quit the football team, joined the Army and went to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 27-year-old Tillman was killed by friendly fire on April 22 while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.

When Sports Illustrated declared the Boston Red Sox's World Series victory to be the top sports story of 2004, the Fortescues started e-mailing each other and their friends. To the Fortescues and their friend, Robert Philbin, Tillman was the top sports story. The magazine had Tillman at No. 4.

"Even though I'm a Yankees fan and it could be construed as sour grapes, I thought this was totally ludicrous," the 31-year-old Billy Fortescue said.

"What he stood for meant more than what the Boston Red Sox did," the West Nyack man said. "Putting your country first in front of accolades or money is the greatest sacrifice."

As they were e-mailing, the brothers and their friends decided they should have their own "athlete of the year" award. It was part bravado, part anger, part wanting to right what they considered a big wrong.

Philbin ran in the New York City marathon in November and raised $20,000 for the Pat Tillman Foundation, which sponsors a leadership program for college students. He forwarded some of the e-mails to the foundation's executive director, Alex Garwood, who was Tillman's friend and brother-in-law.

Garwood responded that he would attend any event held to honor his friend. "He kind of called my bluff," Jim Fortescue said.

The Fortescues have spent several weeks organizing the celebration to be held at the Town Tavern in Manhattan. The 34-year-old Jim Fortescue is part owner of the pub with Aidan Kiernan of Nanuet and Sean Barrett of Bronxville. The proprietors will supply the food and beverages at their cost.

You can't get a ticket to the event. The men e-mailed their friends and business associates and sold out 300 tickets at $100 each in just a few days; the brothers said they could have easily sold 1,000 tickets, but had no idea that so many would be interested in attending.

The $30,000 that has been raised will be donated to the Tillman Foundation, although the Fortescues said sponsoring a fund-raiser wasn't the real aim. The mission, they said, was to honor Tillman not only for his individual accomplishment, but as a representative of the sacrifices made daily by military service personnel, especially those in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jim Fortescue said one look at the 2004 sporting world made it clear that Tillman was the real sportsman of the year.

The Pearl River man cited several blunders, including the "basketbrawl" fight between fans and NBA players in Detroit; the National Hockey League strike; and prevalent steroid use by baseball players.

"It's about what sports has become today and who kids' role models should be," Fortescue said.

In any other year, Fortescue said, the Boston Red Sox would have deserved the top accolade. But this was not the year for it, he said, because that honor belonged to a "real-life hero and American idol."

Tillman forfeited a $3.6 million football contract when he quit the team. He never gave a media interview to explain his decision.

"He just unselfishly did it, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice because he loved his country, and wanted to fight next to his brother, and wanted to stand up for freedom and protect this country after 9/11," Fortescue said. "Who does that? How can you not admire him?"

Garwood said that no matter a person's feelings about Tillman's decision, the effort by the Fortescues was admirable because they saw something they didn't like and were taking steps to correct it.

That behavior is in keeping with Tillman's, Garwood said, and with the spirit the foundation tries to keep alive.

"Pat wasn't arrogant enough to tell you what to do," Garwood said. "He just wanted you to pick something and go do it, and do it passionately."

Tillman is also remembered by his Cardinal teammates, who wear his number on their helmets, and when the team moves to new quarters in 2006, it will be surrounded by the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza, according to published reports. Last month, the Corporal Pat Tillman USO Center was dedicated at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, reports said.

Philbin said the celebration was a good way to educate people about Tillman and others serving their country.

"I think people forget about sacrifice, not only Pat Tillman's but everyone else in the services whose mind-set goes beyond what they are doing at the moment," the Manhattan man said.

Jim Fortescue agreed.

"This isn't about us," Fortescue said. "Pat Tillman is one of the thousands of troops who are heroes in our minds. 9/11 affected him, and everyone we knew lost someone and it's something that still weighs heavy in our hearts. His unselfishness is just unprecedented, to just give up an NFL career and go and fight for his country."