Man Up

There is a special on Showtime, The Pat Tillman Story, that I’ve watched twice. The first time through, I was taken aback by the apparent (political) chasm between what was made public and what was known privately. The second time I watched the documentary, I became angry because the simplest truth is that telling the truth is never worse than selling the lie. Pat Tillman was killed by “friendly” fire, not by enemy combatants in Afghanistan, but there was nothing “friendly” about his death, nor about the aftermath.

The Tillman family has pushed relentlessly for the truth to be as well-known as the lies because they believe that the lies, especially awarding a medal for valor posthumously, defame the memory of their beloved son/brother/spouse. Tillman may have been heroic, but he was not a hero who died valiantly during battle: he was ruthlessly murdered by a band of brothers wearing the same uniform he wore, soldiers who evidently had come looking for enemy kills – but, instead, fired on their own ranks.

It strains credulity to think that the men firing on Tillman and the other soldiers with him did not know they were shooting at their own because Tillman reportedly threw a smoke grenade to attract their attention, then stood tall in front of them and shouted “I’m fucking Pat Tillman” repeatedly to let the shooters know they were aiming their weapons at members of their own patrol. The killers’ response, however, was to move their vehicles closer to their targets and continue firing.

Not only did the cover-up begin on the battlefield, but it continued into the halls of Congress as the highest military officers averred that they did not remember or could not recall exactly who knew what and when it was known. A soldier standing with Tillman provided those details from the moment of Tillman’s death, but he was ignored, his military career threatened if he told the truth. Both the military and the politicians determined that Tillman’s death could be used to re-ignite American patriotism and support for a war that far too many, including Pat Tillman himself, had come to realize was horribly wrong. That decision made, rather than doing the right thing, the military and the government spun Tillman’s death for their own benefit. When the truth began to seep through the cracks, both the military and the government disavowed it and continued to spin the lies they had created.

The Tillmans are disgusted by their experience with the military, and I stand with them: there is no excuse for the conduct unbecoming that occurred following Pat Tillman’s death. The very soldiers/ officers/ politicians who attended Tillman’s military funeral were the same ones who covered up the cause of his death and lied face-to-face to the Tillman family in the process. The direct statements of the men involved in the incident provided enough factual evidence to charge those responsible for it, but the officers who made a series of poor decisions were simply the recipients of letters of reprimand, rather than a military court martial. The military justification, that a letter of reprimand effectively ends an officer’s career, is little comfort to a family whose son died because the officers did not do their jobs.

Friendly fire deaths do occur, but these tragic incidents deserve to be acknowledged with honesty, the facts ferreted out regardless of who has to accept responsibility, and the victim laid to rest with dignity. There is no honor in the public presentation of a medal that shines on a cover-up, rather than the truth.