America's Finest

Donal Neil “Mike” O'Callaghan and Patrick Daniel "Pat" Tillman were celebrated as two of America's finest for their military service and public example. O'Callaghan, born in 1929, grew up poor, joined the Marines in 1946 at age 16, later enlisted in the Air Force, then accepted a demotion to private so he could transfer to the Army and fight in the Korean War, returning home a decorated hero. He earned a college degree, became a history teacher and boxing coach in Henderson, founded the local boys' club, worked with blind children, served in state and federal posts, and was elected Governor of Nevada in 1970. As governor, he championed ordinary people and the disadvantaged by pushing through an open-housing law, creating a consumer affairs office, increasing education funding, and fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment; after two terms he became a founding editor of the Las Vegas Sun and died in 2004. Tillman, born in 1976, grew up in California, attended Arizona State University on a football scholarship, was named PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1997, graduated early with academic honors, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 1998, where he excelled after being moved to safety. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he turned down a contract worth more than a million dollars a year to enlist in the Army, served in Iraq, graduated from Ranger School in 2003, returned to duty in Afghanistan, and died in combat there in April 2004, later known to have been killed by friendly fire. Both men received the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

Nevada · United States