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BeliefNet chooses soldier Tillman as inspiration of the year
By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY
Pat Tillman seemed to have it all: celebrity, a multimillion-dollar NFL career and a supportive family.

Yet he walked away from it all to join the Army Rangers after 9/11. He paid with his life when he was killed in April by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

His example has prompted the editors at the multifaith online community BeliefNet to name him the most inspiring person of the year.

BeliefNet is announcing the winner today. Tillman was selected from a list of 10 nominees, including former first lady Nancy Reagan, actor Christopher Reeve and Smarty Jones, dubbed the "people's racehorse."

BeliefNet editors selected the winner. They also polled readers; about 15,000 site visitors voted. Choosing the winner was difficult, because people tended to vote their politics, says BeliefNet's Steven Waldman. "The process revealed just how polarizing this whole year was," he says.

Those opposed to the war in Iraq favored Army Spc. Joseph Darby, who blew the whistle on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Waldman says, or Margaret Hassan, the director of CARE in Iraq who devoted her life not to killing but healing. She was kidnapped in October and is believed to have been murdered about four weeks later.

Those who supported the war, Waldman says, were more likely to choose Cpl. Jason Dunham, a 22-year-old Marine nominated for the Medal of Honor. Dunham died in April after he threw his body over a hand grenade to protect his unit.

Continue story here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2004-12-21-tillman-beliefnet_x.htm