... like OJ or Joe Namath or somebody like that.
Luckily, sports fans tell me he wasn't a big deal on the playing
field, so we don't need to be alarmed by this at all...
The Truth in the Tillman Matter was �Fragged�
Fragging was a term that came into being during my war - Vietnam. The
term came from the use of the fragmentation grenade to kill an
unpopular officer. The hand grenade was often used because it would
not leave any fingerprints, and because a ballistics test could not be
done (as it could to match a bullet with a firearm). A fragging victim
could also be� intentional killed by friendly fire during combat.
Either way, the death would be blamed on the enemy, and, due to the
dead man's unpopularity, it was assumed no one would contradict the
story.
Warnings were sometimes given by setting off a smoke or tear gas
grenade in the target's quarters, giving them a chance to change their
ways before a real grenade followed.
Chris Hedges in �What Every Person Should Know About War� states that
at least 230 American Officers were killed by their own troops and as
many as 1,400 other officer deaths were unexplained.
�In war,� Aeschylus, the Greek tragic dramatist, wrote some 2500 years
ago, �truth is the first casualty.�
In the case of the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan in
2004, the truth has been fragged.
The military initially told the public and the Tillman family that he
had been killed by enemy fire. Only weeks later did the Pentagon
acknowledge he was gunned down by fellow Rangers.
What made Tillman unique was that he was a successful professional
athlete who turned down a multi-million dollar contract to join the
army and� fight against those who attacked us. His idea of loyalty was
to pay back to his country for all the opportunities it had given him.
Only Nine days after Tillman died in Afghanistan at the White House
Correspondents' Association dinner, May 1, 2004, President Bush said
the death of Tillman "brought� home the sorrow that comes with every
loss and reminds us of the character of the men and women who serve on
our behalf." Tillman, the president said that night, "was modest
because he knew there were many like him making their own sacrifices."
The army awarded Tillman the Silver Star �for gallantry in action on
22 April 2004 against an armed enemy while serving as a Rifle Team
Leader in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Corporal Tillman put
himself in the line of devastating enemy fire as he maneuvered his
Fire Team to a covered position from which they could effectively
employ their weapons on known enemy positions. While mortally wounded,
his audacious leadership and courageous example under fire inspired
his men to fight with great risk to their own personal safety,
resulting in the enemy's withdrawal and his platoon's safe passage
from the ambush kill zone. Corporal Tillman's personal courage,
tactical expertise, and professional competence directly contributed
to this platoon's overall success and survival. Through his
distinctive accomplishments, Corporal Tillman reflected great credit
upon himself, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States� Army.�
The death of the football star who gave up a lucrative contract to
serve his country could not have come at a more opportune time for the
Administration.
A series of what at best must be called distressing public images that
were shaping a negative perception of the war in Iraq.
The remains of American contractors working in Iraq, strung up in
Fallujah, had appeared in photographs and on news reports three weeks
before.� Abu Ghraib was just about to make an appearance on "60
Minutes II" complete with� photos depicting abuse by U.S. soldiers
working as guards in the prison.
The news that American soldiers had gunned down Pat Tillman could have
been another negative headline if it had been reported that way at the
time.� Instead, Tillman was cast as a war hero.
It would take almost five more weeks -- after a flag-draped coffin
ceremony, a Silver Star award and a news release, and a public
memorial attended by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jake Plummer and
newswoman Maria Shriver -- for the Rangers or the Army to acknowledge
to his brother Kevin Tillman, his family or the public that Pat
Tillman had been killed by his own men.
Five weeks after his death, the family learned that it was the result
of friendly fire.
Even then in the fall of 2004, at a ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium in
which Tillman's Arizona Cardinals jersey was retired, the president
delivered a video message on the stadium's giant screen. "As much as
Pat Tillman loved competing on the football field, he loved America
even more," Bush said. "Courageous and humble, a loving husband and
son, a devoted brother and a fierce defender of liberty. Pat Tillman
will always be remembered and honored in our country."
Then in December we were told that dozens of witness statements,
e-mails, investigation findings, logbooks, maps and photographs
obtained by The Washington Post showed that Tillman died unnecessarily
after botched communications, a mistaken decision to split his platoon
over the objections of its leader, and negligent shooting by pumped-up
young Rangers -- some in their first firefight -- who failed to
identify their targets as they blasted their way out of a frightening
ambush.
At that point we were led to believe that� Tillman fought bravely and
honorably until his last breath. They also show that his superiors
exaggerated his actions and invented details as they burnished his
legend in public, at the same time suppressing details that might
tarnish Tillman's commanders.
The story did not end there. It might have were it not for the parents
of Pat Tillman who continued to press the Army for the truth about how
their son died.
Their search and the military reaction to their questions further
sullies the truth.
Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich during a November 2004 investigation, said
he'd learned Kevin� Tillman, Pat's brother and fellow Army Ranger who
was a part of the battle the night Pat Tillman died, objected to the
presence of a chaplain and the saying of prayers during a repatriation
ceremony in Germany before his brother's body was returned to the
United States.
Kauzlarich further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the
findings of past� investigations might be because of the absence of a
Christian faith in their lives.
In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean,
there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist
and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to?
Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and
now he is no more � that is pretty hard to get your head around that.
So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that
would be pretty tough."
Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans' religious beliefs are a factor
in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, "I think so. There is
not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the
Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know."
Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, "You
know what? I don't think anything will make them happy, quite
honestly. I don't know. Maybe they want to see somebody's head on a
platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can't
bring their son back."
Kauzlarich,� was the Ranger regiment executive officer in Afghanistan
who played a role in writing the recommendation for Tillman's
posthumous Silver Star.
What would have made the family happy, was the truth. They deserve nothing less.
From time to time since Tillman�s death, information has continued to
surface that indicates that althoughTillman strongly supported the
hunt for Osama bin laden, he was equally critical of the war in Iraq.
According to a September 25, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle report his
mother said that he had planned to meet privately with anti war writer
and activist Noam Chomsky and that "Pat was very critical of the whole
Iraq war." We were told he was going to vote for John Kerry, was
against the war in Iraq," According the Chronicle, Tillman had set up
a meeting with Chomsky to take place when he returned from
Afghanistan, where he eventually wound up after serving his tour in
Iraq. This image of a Chomsky-loving, anti-Bush, anti-Iraq-war hero
(at a time when most of the U.S. population supported the
administration's foreign policy), flew in the face of the official
Bush administration portrait of Tillman
The Chronicle also quoted Spc. Russell Baer, who recalled a
conversation he� had with Tillman during the March 2003 invasion of
Iraq. Baer told the� Chronicle, "We were talking. And Pat said, 'You
know, this war is so f------� illegal.' And we all said, 'Yeah.'
That's who he was. He totally was against Bush." Additionally, the
Chronicle quoted Senior Chief Petty Officer Stephen White, who "said
Pat 'wasn't very fired up about being in Iraq' and instead� wanted to
go fight al Qaeda in Afghanistan."
In an April 24th, 2007 congressional hearing Spc. Bryan O�Neal
testified that he was �the last soldier to see Army Ranger Pat Tillman
alive.� He told lawmakers that he �was warned by superiors not to
divulge � especially to the Tillman family � that a fellow soldier
killed� Tillman.�
We also know that Army medical examiners were suspicious about the
close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead
and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether
the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to
documents obtained this week by The Associated Press.
"The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as
described," a doctor who examined Tillman's body after he was killed
on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.The
doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes
were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down
by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.
We now know that no evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the
scene - no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment
struck.
We know that a soldier who on April 23 burned Tillman�s bullet riddled
body armor � which� would have been evidence in a friendly-fire
investigation � testified that he did so because there was no doubt it
was friendly fire that killed Tillman. Two days later, Tillman�s
uniform and vest also were burned because they were soaked in blood
and considered a biohazard. Tillman�s uniform also was burned.
Although there was ample testimony that Tillman died immediately, an
Army report � dated April 22, 2004, from the field hospital in
Salerno, Afghanistan, where his body was taken � suggested otherwise.
While it stated that he had no blood pressure or pulse �on arrival,�
it stated that cardio pulmonary resuscitation had been conducted and
that he was transferred to the intensive care unit for further CPR.
On April 23, all top Ranger commanders were told of the suspected
fratricide. That same day, an Army press release said he was killed
�when his patrol vehicle came under attack.�
On April 30, the Army awarded Tillman a Silver Star medal for bravery,
saying that �through the firing Tillman�s voice was heard issuing fire
commands to take the fight to the enemy on the dominating high
ground.�
On May 2, the acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee was told of the fratricide.
On May 7, the Army�s official casualty report stated incorrectly that
Tillman was killed by �enemy forces� and �died in a medical treatment
facility.�
On May 28, the Army finally admitted to Tillman�s family that he had
been killed by friendly fire.
�In testimony on Nov. 14, the officer who conducted the first
investigation said that he thought some Rangers could have been
charged with �criminal intent,� and that some Rangers committed �gross
negligence.� The legal difference between the two terms is roughly
similar to the distinction between murder and involuntary
manslaughter.
On April 24, 2007, his brother Kevin Tillman, testifying at a
congressional hearing, stated, "The deception surrounding this case
was an insult to the family: but more importantly, its primary purpose
was to deceive a whole nation. We say these things with disappointment
and sadness for our country. Once again, we have been used as props in
a Pentagon public relations exercise."
So, Tuesday, a retired three-star general is censured for the chain of
�errors� that followed the friendly-fire death in 2004 of Army Ranger
Pat Tillman.
The Army referred to a special panel whether retired Army Lt. Gen.
Philip Kensinger should also have his rank reduced.
Army Secretary Pete Geren told a Pentagon news conference that
Kensinger was "guilty of deception" and had deceived investigators.
"It's a perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of
leadership," said Geren in announcing his decision after an
investigation into the death of the former pro football player.
The perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and the failure of
leadership has become too much of a common place and continues with
the most recent actions.
The truth in this case has been fragged. Pure and simple. There are
some who believe that was the fate of Pat Tillman. If he was murdered
that is not acceptable, neither is the public not knowing.
