Almaden Resident
News
New Almaden to erect memorial honoring Pat Tillman's roots
By Eli Segall
Almaden Valley native Pat Tillman is known nationwide as the NFL football star turned Army Ranger who died in Afghanistan as the result of friendly fire. Congress is investigating the army's handling of the episode this week following an Army cover-up.
In his hometown, however, Tillman is remembered for more than that. He was a local boy who loved his family, his community and his country.
To commemorate Tillman's hometown roots, the New Almaden Community Club is planning to erect a granite slab taken from the historic Almaden Quicksilver Mines near the intersection of Almaden and Bertram roads, on a barren patch of land across the street from the entrance to Almaden Quicksilver County Park.
The club appeared before the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Commission on April 19 to ask for a $3,250 grant to help fund the $5,000 project. The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal on May 17.
Tillman's mother, Mary, said the memorial will show people her son was more than just a tragic football star.
"It's important that people realize Pat was a human being," Tillman said. "It's a reminder that he came from a humble place."
Tillman's neighbors agree.
"This is where he lived, and this is where he loved," said longtime family friend and neighbor Peggy Melbourne, who helped design the memorial. "Not only was he all that other stuff, but he grew up here."
Club members say they've wanted to build a memorial for Tillman ever since his death in April 2004 . Tillman was killed by friendly fire when other Rangers mistook him for an enemy fighter, the Army confirmed in a report released last month.
Mike Boulland, vice president of the New Almaden Community Club, takes schoolchildren on walking tours of New Almaden and often passes the proposed site of the memorial. For generations to come, Tillman's monument will illustrate the meanings of patriotism and community, he said.
"The memorial will be a place for people to realize that even today we have pioneers, and we need to honor them," Boulland said.
The memorial, which club members hope to have finished by September, will include a plaque dedicated to Tillman with logos of schools he attended--Graystone Elementary, Bret Harte Middle and Leland High schools and Arizona State University, as well as logos from the Arizona Cardinals and the Army Rangers. The memorial will have a viewing bench and be surrounded by wildflowers. In addition, there will be a plaque dedicated to the granite itself, which the club estimates was shipped to New Almaden in the 1860s from either Colorado or Vermont. The historical heritage commission will vote to fund certain aspects of the project, including transporting the granite, which sits in the back yard of a local resident; laying the foundation; building the bench; and crafting the plaque for the granite. The plaque dedicated to Tillman cannot be funded by the commission, as Tillman does not qualify as a historical person.
