In WWII, quite a few Hollywood celebrities and athletes put aside their careers and joined the military. More than a few of them saw combat. Since then, this sort of thing was almost completely unheard of.

Last year, Pat Tillman walked away from a multimillion dollar football contract to join the Army Rangers. He passed his Ranger training and is now in Iraq. I wish him and his brother well.

Tillman, 26, was a seventh-round pick from Arizona State in 1998. He made a team-record 224 tackles in 2000, and out of loyalty to the organization, refused to sign a five-year, $9.8 million offer sheet with the Rams after the season. A year ago, Arizona offered Tillman a three-year, $3.6 million deal. But football was not what he had on his mind. His agent, Frank Bauer, said the events of Sept. 11 deeply affected him.



"He said, 'I'm going to do something about it,' '' Bauer said. "That's just the way Pat thinks."

Tillman and his brother enlisted and, after training at Fort Benning, Ga., had been stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., until they were recently deployed.

"I wish him well, and he is where he wants to be," Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill said. "He's a very smart, intelligent, quick, earnest person. This is what he wanted to do and he's doing it."

Bauer said Tillman wants to resume his NFL career after his three-year commitment is up. He told Bauer he will make his money then. For now, his Army pay is between $1,022 and $1,433 per month.