Where blood type addresses a biological, scientific fact, that last line on a dog tag communicates in a word or two what the soldier believes as a matter of eternal importance. While the first three are more or less pre-determined, religious preference is a matter of choice. ![]() Name, social security number, blood type, and religious preference. The limited space on a military dog tag is reserved for the most critical information needed for identification. That is not to say he wasn't interested in understanding the origins of man or questions of cosmic importance, just that he was not convinced that the answers could be found in a deity or the teachings of any established religion.īesides the official "snapshot" of soldiers - the paperwork contained in the Enlisted Record Brief and Officer Record Brief – there is an intimate reminder of religious preference that daily beats against the chest of every soldier – it’s inscribed right on their dog tags. We may never know what Pat Tillman actually believed in terms of theology, but it is generally understood that he was not a religious person. The reality of the man that existed is more complicated, and much more interesting than is widely known.Ĭoincidentally, this past week, which marked the ten-year anniversary of Pat's death, the Army announced that it would begin recognizing the secular moral philosophy of Humanism, as an official religious preference. ![]() ![]() The idea of Pat Tillman that initially captured the public's imagination - the ultra-male, hyper-American hero - has since been tempered by revelatory books and films about his life and service. Ten years ago, former NFL safety turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed by members of his own unit on a hill in Afghanistan.
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