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once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

5.23.2005

Soldier of Misfortune

Pat Tillman's parents lashed out at the Army's investigation into Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan last year.

In interviews conducted by the Washington Post, Tillman's mother and father said they believe the military and the government created a heroic tale about how their son died to foster a patriotic response across the country.

"Pat had high ideals about the country; that's why he did what he did." Mary Tillman told the Washington Post. "The military let him down. The administration let him down. It was a sign of disrespect. "The fact that he was the ultimate team player and he watched his own men kill him is absolutely heartbreaking and tragic. The fact that they lied about it afterward is disgusting."

Pat Tillman gave up a career in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to join the U.S. Army Rangers with his brother.

In spring 2004, Pat Tillman's unit was sent to Afghanistan, where the Rangers were responsible for mopping up the remnants of Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. His unit worked in rugged circumstances, often fending off ambushes and avoiding road-side bombings.

But shortly after arriving in the mountains to fight, Pat Tillman was killed in a barrage of gunfire from his own men, mistaken for the enemy. He was 27.

The Army told Tillman's family and the public that he was killed by enemy fire while storming a hill. After a public memorial service, the Army told Tillman's family that he had been killed by his own men.

"After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this," Patrick Tillman Sr. told the Washington Post. "They purposely interfered with the investigation, they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a handbasket if the truth about the death got out. They blew up their poster boy."

General Vincent K. Brooks, an Army spokesman, admitted that "mistakes" were made surrounding the circumstances of Tillman's death.

"In the case of the death of Corporal Patrick Tillman, the Army made mistakes in reporting the circumstances of his death to the family," Brooks told the newspaper. "For these, we apologize. We cannot undo those early mistakes."

Patrick Tillman Sr. wants all Army officials who conducted the investigation to face discipline. "Maybe lying's not a big deal anymore," Tillman Sr. said. "Pat's dead, and this isn't going to bring him back. But these guys should have been held up to scrutiny, right up to the chain of command, and no one has."

http://news.google.com/news?q=pat+tillman&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-19,GGLG:en&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr
|| doug, 12:27

1 Comments:

Sickening.
Blogger timsamoff, at 23/5/05 14:59  

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