Be Like Tike

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[Ed.  For some reason, this post disappeared for a couple of minutes.  Sorry for any inconvenience.]

For a while, I was sick of hearing about Pat Tillman, the Arizona Cardinal who turned down a contract to join the military. Every news source labeled him a hero for putting his life on the line instead of taking the relatively safe career of an NFL player. It was annoying to see him glorified, as though he was unlike the several thousand others who died in recent years. Recent developments, however, have changed my perspective.

Shortly after his death, Tillman was posthumously presented with several awards, including the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and a promotion. The awards were inscribed with details of the battle and that he had been killed by enemy fire. However, Tillman’s family was never satisfied by the military’s explanation of their loved one’s death.

Then, more than a month after his death, it was revealed that Tillman had not been killed by members of the Taliban, as it was initially announced. He was, in fact, gunned down by friendly fire. The problems grew when it was discovered that the military knew what had happened from the very beginning. They went on to announce that evidence had been destroyed, and that several soldiers would be demoted for their actions. This has since stretched on to a number of lawsuits filed by the Tillman family.

The majority of these events took place over three years ago. Yet, today the story has been brought back to the headlines. The AP reports that “The medical evidence did not match up with the, (sic) with the scenario as described.” Apparently, the three bullets to Tillman’s forehead were fired from no more than 10 yards, leading many to speculate that Tillman was murdered in cold blood.

Other information taken from the documents (via the AP Wire):

• In his last words moments before he was killed, Tillman snapped at a panicky comrade under fire to shut up and stop “sniveling.”
• Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments.
• The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman’s death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and couldn’t recall details of his actions.
• 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.

Meanwhile, one of Tillman’s platoon mates has denied this evidence vehemently. Stay tuned for upcoming developments.

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