Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American football player who, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, abruptly left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army. He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

Controversy

A report released on May 4, 2005 (prepared upon the request of Tillman's family) by Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones revealed that in the days immediately following Tillman's death, U.S. Army investigators were aware that Tillman was killed by friendly fire. Jones reported that senior Army commenders, including Gen. John Abizaid, knew of this fact within days of the shooting, but approved the awarding of the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and posthumous promotion - which were awarded on the basis of a citation report that said that Tillman was killed by enemy forces and containing a detailed account of the alleged battle (which the Army knew had never taken place).

Related Topics:
May 4 - 2005 - U.S. Army - John Abizaid - Silver Star - Purple Heart

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Jones' report contended that members of Tillman's unit burned his body armor and uniform in an attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire. Several soldiers were subsequently punished for their actions by being removed from their Ranger unit. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301502.html?sub=AR

Related Topics:
Body armor - Ranger

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Jones believed that Tillman should retain his medals and promotion, since he intended to engage the enemy, and behaved heroically. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301502.html?sub=AR

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Tillman's family was not informed of the finding that he was killed by friendly fire until weeks after his memorial service, despite the Army's knowledge of that fact within days of his death. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301502.html?sub=AR Tillman's parents have sharply criticized the Army's handling of the incident; they charge that the Army was more concerned about protecting its image and its recruiting

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efforts than about telling the truth. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7946201/

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His mother, Mary Tillman, told the Washington Post:

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: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.

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Tillman's father Patrick Tillman Sr., was incensed by the coverup of the cause of his son's death, which he attributed to a conscious decision by the leadership of the U.S. Army to protect the Army's image:

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:After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this. 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 his death got out. They blew up their poster boy," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/22/AR2005052200865.html

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He also blamed high-ranking Army officers for presenting "outright lies" to the family and to the public.

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http://ambivablog.typepad.com/ambivablog/2005/05/pat_tillman_its.html

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Later, Tillman's father suggested in a letter to the Washington Post that the Army hierarchy's purported mistakes were part of a pattern of conscious misconduct:

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:With respect to the Army's reference to 'mistakes in reporting the circumstances of death': those 'mistakes' were deliberate, calculated, ordered (repeatedly) and disgraceful -- conduct well beneath the standard to which every soldier in the field is held." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701265_pf.html

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He also alleged that the soldiers who had burned Tillman's body armor had done so on the direct orders of their superiors. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/27/AR2005052701265_pf.html

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