If I wasn’t already sure the government was full of crooks, liars and all around shitty people, The Tillman Story would have sold me a thousand times over.
Pat Tillman was a safety for the Arizona Cardinals and walked away from a million dollar contract to join the army after September 11. A little more than halfway through his service, Tillman was killed in combat. Only he wasn’t killed during the Silver Star worthy heroics that the Army initially said. Tillman was killed by confused and overly excited American soldiers determined to remain in a firefight with an “enemy” that none of them actually saw.
Watching the story of how Tillman’s family was repeatedly lied to in an attempt to turn his death into a national recruiting tool is infuriating. Watching Tillman’s younger brother take the stage at his funeral and crush the spirit of the “it’s all in God’s plan” speeches of the political leaders with a simple line like “Pat wasn’t religious. He’s fucking dead,” is priceless.
More on that, I wish they had used the original title for the movie I'm Pat _______ Tillman. According the soldier that was next to Tillman when he died, his last words were yelling out "I'm Pat Fucking Tillman! Why are you shooting at us?"
More on that, I wish they had used the original title for the movie I'm Pat _______ Tillman. According the soldier that was next to Tillman when he died, his last words were yelling out "I'm Pat Fucking Tillman! Why are you shooting at us?"
3.5/4
No surprises here for those who have closely followed the Tillman story over the past five years.
ReplyDeleteThe single best introduction to the story is Sports Illustrated's 9-11-06 cover story "Remember My Name"
I've placed a link to that article & others in my document "Remember the Iconoclast, Not the Icon" at
http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com
In his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer blamed the Bush administration and the Army for the whitewash of Pat Tillman's death. However, the cover-up has actually been a thoroughly bipartisan affair.
In particular, the Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency have protected GeneralStanley McChrystal from scrutiny and punishment for his central role in the handling of the aftermath of Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death.
I've posted several documents at my blog that focus especially on the actions taken by Senator James Webb, the New York Times Pentagon Reporter Thom Shanker, and the think-tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Fellow Andrew Exum to protect General Stanley McChrystal.