NBC, msnbc.com and news services "Ex-NFL star Tillman makes 'ultimate scarifice'" NBC News, 26 April 2004

"'My great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, and a lot of my family has ... gone and fought in wars, and I really haven’t done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that,' Tillman told NBC News in an interview the day after the attacks."

"'Pat knew his purpose in life,' said Dave McGinnis, Tillman’s former coach with the Cardinals. 'He proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling.'”

“'He is a hero,' said Michael Bidwill, vice president of the Cardinals. 'He was a brave man. There are very few people who have the courage to do what he did, the courage to walk away from a professional sports career and make the ultimate sacrifice.'”