Who Killed Pat Tillman?

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/53827

Who Killed Pat Tillman?

By Michael Shapiro, Metroactive. Posted June 13, 2007.

The Bush administration's poster boy for the war on terror was felled by U.S. bullets in Afghanistan. Three years later the Tillmans still don't know the truth about Pat's death and they aren't the only family who has been deceived about a loved one's death.

"Cease fire. Friendlies! I am Pat fucking Tillman, dammit," shouted former pro football player turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman as a hail of bullets pierced the darkening Afghani sky. "CEASE FIRE! FRIENDLIES! I AM PAT FUCKING TILLMAN! I AM PAT FUCKING TILLMAN!"

On patrol in eastern Afghanistan at dusk on April 22, 2004, Tillman and his men hit the dirt, trying to escape swarms of artillery fire coming from the valley below. Tillman reached into his pocket and detonated a smoke bomb, a signal to his comrades that they were shooting at U.S. troops, known in military parlance as "friendlies." The firing stopped.

After a moment, Tillman, relieved and assuming he'd been recognized, stood up. Another barrage of bullets rocketed across the dusty canyon. Three of those bullets shattered Tillman's skull, ending his life. An Afghani soldier allied with U.S. forces was also killed and two other soldiers were injured.

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1. from the article -- military says Tillman family "can't let go" b/c they're "atheists"

The family from hell

Perhaps the most revealing statements about the heartlessness of Tillman's military superiors came from Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, who directed the first official inquiry into Tillman's death. Kauzlarich said the Army did ballistics work for its first investigation and may know who shot Pat Tillman. "I think they know ," Kauzlarich said in an interview with ESPN. "But I never found out." With even greater callousness, Kauzlarich said of the Tillman family: "These people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs." Noting that Kevin Tillman declined to have a chaplain say prayers over Pat's body, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, 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." Mary Tillman says she'd like nothing better that to let go. "I'd like for this to come to a conclusion so we can focus on the more positive aspects of Pats life," she said. But she's not going to move on until she gets the truth.

Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy, applauds the Tillmans for their courage and commitment in trying to uncover what happened to Pat. "They're tough, smart and not intimidated," he said. From the Pentagon's perspective, "the Tillmans have become the family from hell."