Pat Tillman Memorial VFW Post 40 Avondale, AZ

09/29/2026

09/26/2026

This week, On September 22, our very own Major Fannie Griffin McClendon turned 106! 🎉💜🇺🇸

Major McClendon served with the legendary Six Triple Eight during World War II. The women of the 6888th worked through a massive backlog of mail, reconnecting service members with the loved ones waiting for them at home. She later continued her service in the Air Force, retiring as a major.

We are proud to call this trailblazer a member of VFW Post 40. Major McClendon, thank you for your service, your strength, and the path you helped make for generations to follow.

Please join us in wishing her a happy 106th birthday! ❤️

09/26/2026

Double duty for VFW Post 40 yesterday! 🇺🇸🏈

After welcoming our Honor Flight veterans home, we joined Verrado Girls Flag Football for Military Appreciation Night. Thank you to the players, coaches, and Verrado community for honoring those who serve and have served.

We loved seeing these young athletes on the field and being part of such a special night. Go, Vipers! 🙌🏽

09/26/2026

What an amazing time welcoming home our veterans the way they should be welcomed home and celebrated. Thank you Honor Flight Arizona for everything you do!

09/26/2026

Have you heard about Honor Flight????

Honor Flight Arizona takes veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials built in their honor, at no cost to them. It’s a journey of remembrance, gratitude, and recognition.

Yesterday, VFW Post 40 had the privilege of welcoming these veterans home. Seeing them return is the part that gets us every time. We can never fully repay them for what they gave, but we can show up, cheer loudly, and make sure they know their service has never been forgotten.🫡🇺🇸

09/21/2026

Pat Tillman was waving his arms and screaming “Cease fire! Friendlies!” when fellow Army Rangers opened fire on his position again.

The firing had already stopped once.

Then it started again.

Seconds later, Pat was d*ad.

He was 27.

A former Arizona Cardinals safety.

An Army Ranger with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

And two years earlier, the September 11 attacks had helped push him toward a decision that stunned professional football.

Pat walked away from the NFL.

The Cardinals had offered him a three-year deal worth $3.6 million.

He chose the Army instead.

Football suddenly felt small to him.

Pat talked about relatives who had served in wars.

He said he had never really put himself on the line like they had.

So in May 2002, Pat enlisted.

His younger brother Kevin went too.

Kevin walked away from professional baseball.

The brothers became Army Rangers.

Pat refused to turn it into publicity.

He avoided interviews.

He wanted to serve like everyone else.

Then came Iraq.

Then Afghanistan.

April 22, 2004.

Pat’s platoon was moving through a narrow canyon in eastern Afghanistan when one vehicle broke down.

The platoon was split into two groups.

Then one group came under enemy fire.

Confusion followed.

Vehicles moved through the canyon.

American Rangers began firing toward a ridge.

Pat was on that ridge.

So was Ranger Bryan O’Neal.

An Afghan allied fighter was there too.

The rounds were coming from their own men.

Pat tried to stop them.

He threw a smoke gr***de.

He waved his arms.

He shouted that they were friendlies.

The firing stopped.

For a moment, they thought it was over.

They stood up.

Then the American weapons opened fire again.

O’Neal dropped to the ground.

Pat kept yelling.

“Cease fire!”

“Friendlies!”

He shouted his own name so the Rangers firing at him would understand exactly who was standing on that ridge.

It did not stop them.

Pat was fatally struck.

The man who had left the NFL after 9/11 to fight beside American soldiers had just been k*lled by American fire.

Then another story reached home.

The Army initially reported that Pat had d*ed from enemy fire during combat.

He was awarded the Silver Star.

The citation presented his final fight as a heroic action against enemy forces.

America mourned the NFL star who had supposedly fallen fighting the enemy.

Pat’s family mourned that version too.

But Rangers at the scene already suspected the truth.

Friendly fire.

By the morning after Pat’s d*ath, officers knew friendly fire was suspected.

His family still was not told immediately.

More than a month passed before the Army publicly acknowledged that Pat had actually been k*lled by his own side.

Then his family started asking questions.

Why had they been told the wrong story?

Why had the Silver Star paperwork implied enemy fire?

Why had they learned the truth so late?

Investigations followed.

The Pentagon inspector general found serious failures in the handling and reporting of Pat’s d*ath.

The Silver Star paperwork contained inaccurate information.

The Army later punished or reprimanded several officers for failures connected to the aftermath.

But later Army reviews said investigators found no evidence of a conspiracy to deliberately invent a hero story or deceive Pat’s family.

What they did find was a disaster handled terribly.

Pat never wanted mythology anyway.

He had walked away from fame.

He had rejected the easy publicity.

He had chosen the Rangers knowing exactly what military service could cost.

After 9/11, he wanted to put himself on the line.

He did.

And on a ridge in Afghanistan, Pat Tillman spent his final seconds desperately trying to convince American soldiers of one terrifying fact.

They were firing at their own man.

09/11/2026

No matter where we go, VFW Post 40 will always find a way to be where veterans are. Today, one of our members attended a 9/11 remembrance ceremony in Troy, Michigan! 🇺🇸

Hey, Tom, heyyyyyy 🫡🫡

09/11/2026

Patriotism and support for troops were high after the 9/11 attacks. But over 25 years, a Marine veteran has seen Americans move on

09/11/2026

Luke AFB, Arizona-56th Fighter Wing honor guard and ADC honor guard

09/11/2026

🇺🇸 We Will Never Forget 🇺🇸

Today, members of VFW Post 40 joined staff, first responders, students and community partners at the Perryville prison complex for a moving 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.

Together, we honored the nearly 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001, recognized the bravery of our first responders and service members, and reflected on the unity that carried our nation through one of its darkest days.

Thank you to Perryville for hosting this meaningful tribute, with special appreciation to the Luke Air Force Base Honor Guard, Perryville Forestry Department, Goodyear Fire Department, West-MEC Law and Public Safety students, and everyone who participated.

May we always remember the lives lost, the heroes who answered the call and the families forever changed.

Never forget. 🇺🇸